For playing at midnight, digital wins: it preloads from Nov 12 and unlocks on the dot. A disc gets you a resellable copy and no store dependency — but launch night still involves a large mandatory download, and you can't fully preload it in advance.
The disc catch nobody mentions
Modern discs don't contain the finished game. Expect a substantial install plus updates pulled from the network on first boot — which, on launch night, means joining the very download rush preloading exists to avoid.
Honest comparison
Digital
Disc
Preload from Nov 12
Yes
No (partial at best)
Playing at 00:00 sharp
Yes
Depends on downloads
Resale / lending
No
Yes
Price flexibility later
Store sales
Used market
Own a disc edition anyway? Insert it the day it arrives and let the console pull whatever it can before the 19th — don't leave it sealed until midnight.
Want the exact hour to start your download? The Preload Calculator does the math for your connection speed. Open the calculator →