With the recent announcement of the PS5 Pro and the reveal that the console won't even include a disk drive at the launch price of "just" $699.99, scalpers have obviously already started cleaning up every stock on the globe in what looks like yet another chapter in Sony pathetic management of its new console parts (first the console wasn't available, then the replacement stick modules for the dualsense edge they advertised as the solution to drifting sticks, now the disk reader modules).

I am not interested in the console but I was wondering.

Given that both the original PS5 and the slim model came both in the disk and digital only version, was the disk version model just a digital only PS5 with a pre-installed disk reader? Can you detach the disk module from an old PS5 disk version console? Could you take the disk module from your original PS5 console and mount it on a PS5 digital only model? Or did Sony welded the module to the console out of spite (there is no reason to do this since it would actually increase production cost by having two separate models instead of the same base hardware with an optional part)?