Digital Edition consoles

A Digital Edition console is the same machine as its standard version with the disc drive removed. Performance is identical — the games run exactly the same. What changes is how you buy them.

With no drive, every game has to be bought digitally from the platform store and downloaded. It is usually cheaper to buy, which is the whole appeal.

What you give up

Used games. The entire used market becomes unavailable, and used discs are considerably cheaper than digital copies of the same titles.

Reselling. You cannot sell a game when you finish it. On a disc console, selling completed games lowers the real cost of everything you play — at Games 2 Egypt we buy selected used games back in cash, and within 10 days of purchase we will buy a game back regardless of stock needs, at a better value, if it is in excellent condition. None of that applies to digital.

Lending and borrowing. No passing a game to a friend and getting it back.

Discs you already own. If you have a shelf of games for the previous generation, a digital console cannot play any of them.

Installing from disc. Everything must be downloaded, which matters on a slower connection.

What you do not give up

Performance, exclusives, online play, storage — all identical. There is no technical penalty, only a commercial one.

The arithmetic that actually matters

The saving on the console is fixed. The extra cost is paid per game, forever.

If you buy many games, the digital saving is consumed quickly and you end up paying more overall. If you buy few games, mostly during sales, and never resell, the digital console can genuinely be the cheaper choice.

Be honest about which of those you are before deciding, rather than optimistic.

One thing to check before buying

Some digital consoles can accept a detachable disc drive later; others cannot. If the model you are considering supports it, the decision is reversible at a cost. If it does not, it is permanent — and worth thinking about properly rather than saving on the day.

See our PS5 page for current models, or ask us on 16280 which version suits how you buy games.