Sony's new PS5 heralds the end of drives

Today may be the beginning of the end for gaming console drives. Sony has finally announced the $699.99 PS5 Pro. Although it looks like an impressive machine, it is the first PlayStation console to require You will need to purchase the console and a separate drive if you want to play your physical games.

Sony has offered disc-less variants before and is moving in that direction with the PS5 “Slim,” which you can buy with a separate drive already attached or add a drive later. With the PS5 Pro, however, you'll need to get a separate PS5 drive, whether you buy it for $79.99 or swap a drive from a slim PS5 to a PS5 Pro.

It seems that Sony and Microsoft are testing the possibility of making the next-generation PlayStation 6 and Xbox all-digital – or at least offering separate drives. That's like Apple removing the drive altogether.

I have mixed feelings about this potential move to a future without disc drives. I switched to an entirely digital library for my games a long time ago because I like being able to switch between games without having to change discs and because I don't have much space at home to store physical cases. It's convenient!

We'll have to wait a few more years, probably until the next full console generation, to see how far Sony and Microsoft will go down the discless console route. For Xbox at least, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer recently said the company's strategy “doesn't depend on people going completely digital” and that “getting rid of physical consoles” is “not a strategic thing for us.” On the other hand, Spencer noted that “the majority” of his customers buy games digitally, so it might just be a matter of time.

But if you're looking to buy Sony's best PlayStation, the PS5 Pro, now and play games on discs, you'll want to budget accordingly. The disc drive retails for $79.99.