I stand by my opinion that there's no point in the digital edition existing if it's only a $50 saving. It's not just about the money made from that customer buying digital only games this generation, but also becoming so invested in your ecosystem that they're never likely to leave. That includes buying games, subscription services, movies and TV shows (no idea who does this but someone must), not just this generation, but future generations too.
It also normalises a digital only console and massively cuts down on used game sales. It's a big win for Sony if you buy one of these consoles. And the lower price just might entice someone who it normally wouldn't.
Exactly. Like, what would be the point otherwise? So many people in this thread are like "Disc drives don't cost $100 lol", completely disregarding the entire strategy of releasing a digital console.
Just like you said: You control the pricing of your software, you get a higher cut of the software profit (for the entire generation), you reduce used game sales, you lock people
even deeper into your ecosystem, and most importantly you use this as a justification to position your flagship product as way cheaper than you could afford to do if you only had one SKU.
Charge high for the PS5 ($499), include few months of PS+ or some digital pack-in, then undercharge for the DE ($399), and you drive way more people to the SKU that nets you all those benefits above (and in this case, is close enough to the XSS to dull some of its luster).
I mean anything could happen, but a $50 difference just seems too financially pragmatic, when I think the distinction between SKUs serves a greater purpose than that.