PlayStation has been in the bad books this month for declaring the death of physical games, and it has left people feeling the need to boycott the sale of digital downloads over a lack of ownership rights. If you feel a similar way, or you simply like having a physical game collection, then the PlayStation Summer Sale may have arrived at exactly the right time.
Usually, only the official PlayStation online store has mega discounts on digital titles, but this July, retailers in the US like Target, Best Buy, GameStop, and Amazon seem to have mirrored the sale but with physical game discs.
This is a win-win for gamers, and I've picked out some of the best deals for you below, with up to 60% off on titles like Spider-Man, Astro Bot, and the Horizon franchise.
What's the big deal about having a physical or digital copy of a game?
Personally, as someone who used to work in a secondhand game store for 5 years, I can tell you there's huge value in being able to resell or trade in a game after you've completed it.
This allows you to recoup some of the cost towards buying another game, not to mention it's a great way to teach kids the value of money, promotes ownership, lets you share a game with friends or siblings, and you can retire the game to your physical collection when you no longer want to play it, bestowing it with nostalgia as it becomes retro over time.
When we switch over to digital downloads only, I believe it can limit how we play, but also adds to the larger problem of brick-and-mortar stores suffering, games costing more (no way of purchasing a pre-owned copy for less), and it's just a bit sad overall.
