While there are some benefits to leasing, particularly for those who want to play a PS5 but can’t afford the initial cost of buying one upfront, there are drawbacks. Depending on the lease term and length of the plan, renting a PS5 can cost more than buying one. There are options to buy a device at the end of a lease, or to continue renting or upgrade (a three-year contract would take you up around the time the PS6 is rumored to arrive in 2028). Otherwise, you won’t own the thing you’ve been paying for over the last several months.
I don’t know if UK ever had the gaming cafes but they’re still common in east, if you can’t afford console/game, it made so much sense to go to gaming cafe, meet your friends there and you can play from library of hundreds of games without having to pay for games themselves.
I know it’s still more expensive than buying hardware and games long term, but at least that way you don’t lease console and then pay for games as well, and invest in controllers, good headphones etc etc.
You get all round package.