re: Shopping for a console for 10 yr olds birthday...help!

They allow for both but the Playstation 5 will have a disc less version. The Xbox will have a cheaper version as well that may or may not have a disc drive. Playstation does have a Gamepass like service but its not as good imo b/c it requires streaming for most games and the selection imo is not as good either. That may change. I would talk to your kid about the options and wait until the new systems prices and launched dates are settled.

One other thing to consider would be Xbox All Access. It like a buying phone contract where you get the system and the Gamepass service for a 2 year contract and options to upgrade after so many payments. You could get him a Xbox One X (dont bother with an S) which is still going to run games great for another year and then upgrade to a Series X or S. Here is a link to the service LINK