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It's becoming clear that in the Xbox ecosystem that physical discs is increasingly becoming an inconvenience.
- Thread starter 12Danny123
- Start date
Maybe not next gen, but the gen after I have a feeling we're going to be shit outta luck on this one homie.
Those who want to go full digital have that option now on all three consoles. And for Microsoft, some games support cross buy between Xbox One and Win10.
If manufacturers want to make disc-less consoles an option for their customers who want them? Great. Go for it.
But there's still a significant number of people for whom downloading a 50-100GB game is much more of an inconvenience that dealing with a disc (or two) when they want to play a game.
If manufacturers want to make disc-less consoles an option for their customers who want them? Great. Go for it.
But there's still a significant number of people for whom downloading a 50-100GB game is much more of an inconvenience that dealing with a disc (or two) when they want to play a game.
Again people, the OP is not about a digital only future. They are not saying Microsoft will not have a physical option, in fact they're saying that they believe MS WILL have a physical option. The argument is that digital purchases may have more advantages than ever over physical versions.
In disks too, they can revoke the license anytime. And there are patches/DLC's, some games are unplayable "vanilla"
But you already can...
My friends game share with each other, they split the cost of a AAA game and they can both play it.
I don't get this line of thinking. I don't get NOS keeping 8-bit Nintendo games ransom for a subscription either. I will never give up my physical games, and that's why I don't like the direction Xbox is heading in. Microsoft really wants to make games all digital and eliminate those pesky physical games and ownership of the game media. It didn't work with the Xbox One DRM scheme, now they're trying to do it in a different way. And that makes it very hard to support MS when they want to eliminate the way I enjoy games.
Current US internet structure can't support disc free consoles yet. We just had a thread couple days ago about some poor guy that still uses Satellite internet ffs.
I used to be fanatically anti-digital (because I like to own things) and then I realized that the subscription model is even worse. :(
At least these days there are some really good discounts on digitla purchases. I have no problem buying digitally if the price is 75% or more off the physical price.
At least these days there are some really good discounts on digitla purchases. I have no problem buying digitally if the price is 75% or more off the physical price.
Whilst I wouldn't want my main console to be fully digital, the idea of a digital only Xbox One really interests me for a couple of reasons:
-In the U.K you can get a S for around £170, so this should help get a SKU out that costs around £120/130.
-The console will likely be significantly smaller due to the lack of disk drive, so that's a big win.
-Digital only plus GamePass is just the perfect combo.
-In the U.K you can get a S for around £170, so this should help get a SKU out that costs around £120/130.
-The console will likely be significantly smaller due to the lack of disk drive, so that's a big win.
-Digital only plus GamePass is just the perfect combo.
Do we here believe the majority of publishers will persist to publish physically as profits plummet? The vast majority of indie devs never see a physical release. The economics, the logistics - they just don't work out. Physical is dead on PC, because it was easier to play on Steam and have your entire library there and never have to worry about where you put that stack of disks. Yes, even though we don't own anything on there, just licenses, and it's all DRM-laden. The next generation don't want physical. Minecraft is digital. Roblox is digital. Fortnite is digital. PUBG is digital. Apex Legends is digital. Are there some physical releases? Sure. But not really.
So, the gamer who refuses to accept digital at all is actually committing to a smaller and far more constrained library - and increasingly so into the future. They're committing to a future where they are limited to just the largest AAA releases, which may not even be where all of the zeitgeist and players are. Now, let's be real. No one on here is really advocating that we go all physical or all digital. Certainly not Microsoft. They LOVE the idea of reaching more people - and if they can provide more options to do that, they have. There are costs to both paths, but I think we can all agree that the path of least resistance - the path of inevitability - lies down digital way. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily.
For most consumers, it's a great option. For the lingering fears, these are things we can advocate for in ways that are win-win, rather than insular and afraid. We can lobby Microsoft and other platforms to support game preservation. To allow things like saving game data in state to physical storage, and to access and play those games into the future (by the way, literally no different from expecting game disks to work into the future - let alone online games). We can lobby to request things like game sharing or digital games reselling or even used digital games marketplaces. We can support stores that offer DRM-free digital purchases, like GOG (which may be struggling). We can applaud Microsoft for supporting things like physical disk backwards compatibility.
But ultimately, it comes down to cost and willingness. Not on Microsoft's part. But on developers' and publishers'. I will stand in no one's way of pursuing physical. But let us see with clear eyes.
So, the gamer who refuses to accept digital at all is actually committing to a smaller and far more constrained library - and increasingly so into the future. They're committing to a future where they are limited to just the largest AAA releases, which may not even be where all of the zeitgeist and players are. Now, let's be real. No one on here is really advocating that we go all physical or all digital. Certainly not Microsoft. They LOVE the idea of reaching more people - and if they can provide more options to do that, they have. There are costs to both paths, but I think we can all agree that the path of least resistance - the path of inevitability - lies down digital way. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily.
For most consumers, it's a great option. For the lingering fears, these are things we can advocate for in ways that are win-win, rather than insular and afraid. We can lobby Microsoft and other platforms to support game preservation. To allow things like saving game data in state to physical storage, and to access and play those games into the future (by the way, literally no different from expecting game disks to work into the future - let alone online games). We can lobby to request things like game sharing or digital games reselling or even used digital games marketplaces. We can support stores that offer DRM-free digital purchases, like GOG (which may be struggling). We can applaud Microsoft for supporting things like physical disk backwards compatibility.
But ultimately, it comes down to cost and willingness. Not on Microsoft's part. But on developers' and publishers'. I will stand in no one's way of pursuing physical. But let us see with clear eyes.
Sure. But once you've purchased a game, there are almost no instances of them being unavailable for download. Even delisted games. So.. practically, what's the difference? You could lose your account, but hey you could lose all your physical games or have them broken or stolen.
They don't want that at all. That's a really bad read of the market. Microsoft hasn't eliminated any aspect of physical games and has made no moves to do so. You're mashing together 2013 FUD with 2019 FUD, which is impressive, but very very off base. Essentially, it sounds like you're worried that because MS is making moves that are improving its digital ecosystem.. this somehow means that they're not supporting physical. But.. they are. They're making new consoles, that will have disk drives. 1st party games can be bought on disk. They've supported physical disk back compat. I'll be sad/pissed if they kill of physical this gen. I have no expectation of them doing anything like that, unless gamers show that's what they want.