Sales of the PS5 Disc Drive have shot up after Sony’s announcement of the PS5 Pro.
This week, Sony pulled back the curtain on the mid-gen upgrade, which costs $700 and does not come with a disc drive.
As the debate rages on about the cost of the PS5 Pro, sales of the $79.99 PS5 Disc Drive have spiked ahead of the PS5 Pro’s November 7 release date, and in anticipation of pre-orders going live on September 26.
Walmart shows over 1,000 PS5 Disc Drives were bought since yesterday, with, at the time of this article’s publication, over 200 in people’s carts. The PS5 Disc Drive is currently sold out at some online retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. It is available at others, however, including PlayStation Direct.
Predictably, listings for the PS5 Disc Drive are starting to pop up on auction sites such as eBay with a mark-up. Given the add-on is still available at face value, there’s currently no need to pay over the odds. But this may change if the PS5 Disc Drive’s availability dwindles as we get closer to the PS5 Pro launch.
Sony’s controversial decision to release the PS5 Pro without a disc drive for $700 means those who want to make use of their physical media collection on the console have no choice buy to buy the Disc Drive. It’s worth noting that the PS5 Pro doesn’t come with a vertical stand either.
Sony’s announcement framed the PS5 Pro as the most powerful console ever, a machine that will offer improved frame-rates, resolution, and performance. However, the experts at Digital Foundry recently told IGN that the PS5 Pro probably won’t run the hotly anticipated GTA 6 at 60 frames per second. It will launch with up to 50 PS5 Pro Enhanced games (games that are being updated to make use of the console’s features).
IGN has reported on one analyst who said the PS5 Pro pricing reflects Sony’s adjusted strategy to protect its margin, supply chain inflation, and, crucially, “a lack of direct competitor to its mid-cycle upgrade compared to last generation (where Microsoft was preparing the Xbox One X).”
We’ve also had a look at how PS5 Pro’s price compares with other launch consoles, to get some historical context. IGN readers have already had their say on the PS5 Pro’s $700 cost, too.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.