Sony
has
brought
its
hardware
rental
service
to
the
UK,
allowing
prospective
customers
to
lease
a
variety
of
PlayStation
hardware.

Lease
with
Flex
first
popped
up
in
Japan
last
month,
but
has
now
made
its
way
to
the
rainy
shores
of
the
UK.
Ran
by
a
third-party
service,
the
idea
is
that
you
visit
the

PlayStation
website
and
agree
to
lease
a
console
or
piece
of
hardware
on
a
rolling
monthly
basis,
or
12-months
to
3-years.

PS5,
PS5
Pro,
the
PS
Portal,
PSVR2,
and
the
PS5
DualSense
Edge
pad
are
all
up
for
grabs.

At
first,
the
idea
seems
quite
good
until
you
start
working
out
the
actual
maths
behind
it.
You
see,
this
is
only
a
leasing
service,
meaning
at
the
end
of
the
contract
you
still
won’t
own
the
device
and
have
to
return
it.
However,
you
will
have
paid
almost
the
exact
same
amount
as
buying
the
hardware.
For
example,
for
the
digital
PS5
you’ll
pay
just
under
£400
across
36
months
which
is
roughly
the
same
as
buying
it.

Of
course,
the
obvious
answer
is
that
the
service
is
perfect
for
people
who
simply
can’t
afford
to
buy
a
console
or
PS
VR
2
or
Dualsense
Edge
outright.
However,
in
those
cases
it’s
pretty
easy
to
find
finance
deals
with
zero
interest,
and
those
come
with
the
benefit
of
actually
owning
the
product
at
the
end
of
the
contract.

Should
those
deals
become
unavailable
though,
which
is
always
a
high
possibility
given
how
crazy
the
world’s
economic
situation
is,
then
Flex
might
become
more
appealing.

It’s
also
worth
noting
that
the
small
print
does
mention
a
possibility
of
being
able
to
buy
the
device,
but
it
doesn’t
offer
any
details:
“You
have
the
option
to
return,
upgrade
or
you
may
have
the

option
to
purchase
the
device
at
the
end
of
your
lease,
subject
to
Raylo’s
discretion
and
pricing
at
that
time.”

So,
are
you
tempted
to
try
it
out?
I
admit,
I’m
tempted
to
lease
a
Portal
for
a
month
just
to
see
if
my
network
could
do
it
justice,
rather
than
shelling
out
for
it
and
discovering
it
won’t
work
well
enough.