A Kotaku writer tried to buy Kingdom Hearts III digitally and found it would have cost more than the entire series on disc. The article's subtitle asked whether "we're not mad enough about the digital future." Shared to r/PS5, it passed 5,000 upvotes. The comments, though, were far from one sided.
"It goes on sale every other week"
The most upvoted reply came from someone who dislikes all digital but bought the whole trilogy for around 12 Canadian dollars in a sale. Many others said the same. One commenter counted 15 sales of the collection in two years, often less than 30 days apart, and called the article "the worst kinda of click bait." Several shared price tracker links showing recent discounts.
Others noted the digital bundle appeared to have been delisted, with a replacement bundle reportedly coming in October.
The counterpoint: physical means you don't have to wait
A second group argued the first group was missing the point. "The benefit of physical is that you don't have to always wait for a sale in order to get a game at a major discount," one person wrote. With discs, the used market sets the price every day, not just during a store promotion.
That depends on where you live, though. A commenter in Ireland said the used game market there is awful, so waiting for a digital sale can actually be the better deal.
Everyone agreed on one thing
The Kingdom Hearts naming is confusing. One commenter's reaction to seeing "1.5 + 2.5 Remix" on Steam is not printable here. Helpful replies explained that 1.5 bundles the first game with Chain of Memories and a movie version of 358/2 Days, while 2.5 bundles the second game with Birth by Sleep and a movie version of Re:coded.
Our take
Both sides have a point. Digital sales can be excellent if you are patient and check a tracker. Physical copies give you a second market that does not depend on one store's discount calendar, and you can sell the game when you are done. The best approach is to compare both before you buy, which is what GameShelfClub's price tracking is for.