Ever since Sony announced it It plans to stop producing physical PlayStation discs in 2028many people have rightfully worried about how they will protect ownership and long-term game access in a discless world. But discontinuing production of PlayStation discs also means eliminating the market for cheap used PlayStation discs, which are available for much less than the price of a digital download.
What is the discount based on this disc? To find out, Ars analyzed how the prices of the 19 best-selling PlayStation games varied between digital downloads and physical discs (both new and used). We’ve found that while used discs are the cheapest option for most games of the year, the frequent and occasional deep discounts offered on the PlayStation Store often undercut the cheapest game disc options. This situation will continue even without PlayStation discs in the future.
Our prices are so low you’d think we’re brain damaged
For our analysis, we started List of top sellers on Sony’s PlayStation Store. We deleted the games that were not on the physical disk, then used Database at PlatPrices.com to determine both the “Standard” price and the lowest “Discount” price (as well as the total number of days the discounted price was offered) offered for those games on the PlayStation Store in the past year.
For physical game prices, we checked the current price of a new game disc on Amazon, as well as GameStop’s suggested retail price. We also analyzed previous disc prices on eBay by taking the average price of the last five successful sales (including shipping) for that game to estimate fair market value.
In some cases, we added to the price of the included DLC to ensure content compatibility with the digital “special edition” package of the “standard” game disc. For PS4 games with “enhanced” PS5 editions, we’ve added the price of that downloadable upgrade (if applicable) to the price of the PS4 discs.
If the PlayStation Store game isn’t actively on sale, you can usually save money by buying a used disc.
Kyle Orland
If the PlayStation Store game isn’t actively on sale, you can usually save money by buying a used disc.
Kyle Orland
During periodic PS Store sales, the download price is often (but not always) the lowest available.
Kyle Orland
During periodic PS Store sales, the download price is often (but not always) the lowest available.
Kyle Orland
If the PlayStation Store game isn’t actively on sale, you can usually save money by buying a used disc.
Kyle Orland
During periodic PS Store sales, the download price is often (but not always) the lowest available.
Kyle Orland
A quick look at the results shows that the ‘Standard’ price for games offered on the PlayStation Store is usually an incredibly raw bargain. This digital price was the most expensive option available for 15 of the 19 games we looked at (including two that were more or less tied for the most expensive game). In some cases, games that are six to eight years old (i.e. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Assassin’s Creed Valhallaand Assassin’s Creed Odyssey) was still being offered digitally for its original retail price of $59.99, even though used discs were selling for just $9.99 at GameStop.
