We're just two weeks out from Sony's disastrous decision to kill discs after 2028, and the PS5 price itself is sitting at an all-time high. That's enough to make any Crash Bandicoot fan wince. So where do you go if you're looking to investigate Sony's exclusives? You're certainly not buying it from the brand itself.
The PS5 Slim Digital Edition now costs an incredible $599 - a full $200 more expensive than the original launched for six years ago. PS Direct's Certified Refurbished scheme used to be the way to go, but even they've run out of digital devices this week. All you'll find on those shelves are Disc editions for $550.
Thankfully, Best Buy seems to have taken another look in the cupboard this week, and come up with a batch of original Digital Edition PS5 consoles - at just $349.99 a piece.
This is the original release, so you're getting the chunkier form factor and just a tiny bit less storage. It's also worth noting that, should you decide to give those disks one last hurrah, this older model isn't compatible with the separate drives Sony started adding to the paperweight market last year.
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Still, if you're happy to embrace our digital future, picking up the PS5 Digital Edition and a PS Plus Extra subscription will keep you in the green for a couple of years to come. At $134.99 for 12 months, you've got the best part of two years before you hit the usual $600 selling price for a brand new PS5 Slim Digital Edition.
Is it ideal? No, ideally we'd be at a discounting point in the PS5's life cycle and Sony wouldn't be taking drastically blatant steps to kill game ownership and make the hobby less accessible in the name on its bottom line. We are where we are though, and if you're after a PS5 this week this is where you should be putting your cash.
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We're also rounding up the best PS5 accessories as well as the best PS5 headsets and best PS5 controllers for more options.
