The video game market has changed quite a bit over the past few years. Due to the popularity of digital storefronts such as Steam or the Epic Games Store, users are increasingly buying their games in digital form. For example, Sony’s financial report from May 2022 also showed that whole 66 percent of their video game sales were as digital downloads, rather than physical versions.
The Last of Us Part 1 Steelbook does not include a disc
That’s not too much of a surprise, of course, given that PlayStation 5 digital edition owners can’t use physical discs for their console at all. Collector’s Editions or Steelbooks have therefore become more and more interesting for collectors who also want to show their passion with real objects. Unfortunately, the trend towards digital downloads has also spread here, because nowadays many steel books or similar items are only delivered with a download code.
For example, the Collector’s Edition of God of War: Ragnarok comes with all sorts of goodies and a steel book, but only a download code can be found in it. Some players are far from happy with this situation, such as a new Reddit post about the “Firefly Edition” of the remake of The Last of Us Part 1 shows.
the Edition costs just under 110 euros and brings “early unlock” of some in-game items, the prologue chapter Left Behind, four volumes of the comic book The Last of US: American Dreams, as well as a steel book with “limited edition packaging”. However, the actual game does not come with the Firefly Edition as a real disc, but as a download code. Some users on Reddit therefore complain that they only get a picture on a case for the stately price of 110 euros.
Steelbooks that only come with a download code are no longer uncommon, but the normal version of The Last of Us Part 1 (buy now €74.99 / €53.99 ) It actually comes with a physical disc. Sony may have made that decision with the Firefly Edition, giving digital PlayStation 5 owners peace of mind, but the whole situation is arguably frustrating for collectors. Everyone has to decide for themselves whether the extra charge of 30 euros is worth it just to download the game from the PlayStation 5 shop. At least here the actual game is still part of the limited edition, unlike the Collector’s Edition of Diablo 4 which requires the title itself as a separate purchase.
