You didn't have to install an update before playing? I did.Oh man to live in a world where you're just instantly playing the game is great. Loved that about Mario the other day!
You didn't have to install an update before playing? I did.Oh man to live in a world where you're just instantly playing the game is great. Loved that about Mario the other day!
Prices have dropped. Here are for instance spindles of 50 Blu-Ray discs for $20.No, BRDs do not cost pennies, they cost $2.
https://arstechnica.com/uncategorized/2006/03/6400-2/
https://www.discmakers.com/quoter/default.aspx
Nah, discs are distribution formats. Gives you access to the game without having to download anything, and they are also available many, many years from now even if licenses has expired. Discs as install was also used commonly back in the days on PC even when download versions werent available.Yep, no installs is the biggest winner.
Disc games are just an awkward form for DRM for digital games anyway now.
The first article is over 10 years old, a time when Bluray was a new format on the market. CD-Rs also used to be quite expensive when it was new. As someone else mentioned, prices has down in the past 10 years.No, BRDs do not cost pennies, they cost $2.
https://arstechnica.com/uncategorized/2006/03/6400-2/
https://www.discmakers.com/quoter/default.aspx
Its storage only. The read speeds are probalby fast enough.Would going to cartridge effect the quality of the game? Or is it solely a storage thing?
I categorize mandatory install of a physical media as a negative solved by going back to cart, but then NBA Switch pulled that stunt on us.Consoles don't really read off discs anymore. Except Nintendo consoles I guess. And even then you have downloadable games.
You can get the cost down to $1 per disc on Disc Makers (5000 units, three week delivery), and that's a service aimed at consumers/small businesses. Big games are printed in hundreds of thousands (or millions).No, BRDs do not cost pennies, they cost $2.
https://arstechnica.com/uncategorized/2006/03/6400-2/
https://www.discmakers.com/quoter/default.aspx
The reason for why BD have better movie quality is also related to space. This means that you can compress the movie less than you need on DVD, and therefor also get better picture quality :)Ok cool, I never understood if going to BD was purely because they are larger capacity than normal DVD's or if because they allowed for better quality like a movie would.
Well with that new found knowledge I will vote for the cartridges, I really miss the days of clicking in a cartridge.
The reason for why BD have better movie quality is also related to space. This means that you can compress the movie less than you need on DVD, and therefor also get better picture quality :)
Faster load times is the biggest reason I'd want cartridges over discs.
Mind you, those are single layer Blu-Rays. Most (if not all) PS4 and Xbone retail games ship on dual layer Blu-Rays which are considerably more expensive:Prices have dropped. Here are for instance spindles of 50 Blu-Ray discs for $20.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DUHUPCS/?tag=era0f0-20
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Smartbuy...nk-Data-Video-Media-50-Disc-Spindle/174375391
Even a more reputable brand like Verbatim as them at less than a $1 per disc.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Verbatim-BD-R-25GB-6x-Branded-Spindle-50pk/35206210
These are retail-level prices. Prices for Sony and Microsoft who buy millions each month should be lower.
A small price to pay for faster load times, no installs and sturdier media!switch prices still too much
they are the most overpriced versions just because of the cart
Yes you do get a benefit to load times. Flash memory is a lot faster, especially in non sequential reads/random reads, than a BR-Disk. So while it might not be as fast as ROM memory, as you correctly stated, load times would still increase majorly especially if they require random reads. Something even the harddrives in the two major consoles have issues with. Sequential reads can be similar, although one can easily design it so most of the bus is used for reading rather than writing. So only when you write a save, update or DLC, it is slower. But you'd be limited to your connection speed in those cases anyway. And even then one can design a bus that inverts the bus allocation dynamically depending on the state.A distinction worth noting that I haven't seen anyone point out is the fact that modern "cartridges" (actually flash cards) are not the same as old-school ROM cartridges, so you don't get the same benefit on load times. The old ROM cartridges for the NES, SNES and co. all effectively acted as an "extension" of the system's main circuit board, which is what allowed for tech like the SuperFX chip and suchlike. The game was effectively temporarily part of the system's hardware while it was plugged in, which is why games could load instantly.
That said, I wouldn't be against newer systems using flash storage. As others have said, it's a lot easier to keep these safe and in good condition than discs for preservation purposes -- although Blu-Rays are much more durable than CDs especially.
Yes you do get a benefit to load times. Flash memory is a lot faster, especially in non sequential reads/random reads, than a BR-Disk. So while it might not be as fast as ROM memory, as you correctly stated, load times would still increase majorly especially if they require random reads. Something even the harddrives in the two major consoles have issues with. Sequential reads can be similar, although one can easily design it so most of the bus is used for reading rather than writing. So only when you write a save, update or DLC, it is slower. But you'd be limited to your connection speed in those cases anyway. And even then one can design a bus that inverts the bus allocation dynamically depending on the state.
Really this stuff hardly is rocket science by now. It all comes down to the controller that you design/buy.
Publishers don't pay wholesale manufacturing price for their media. The cost is bundled with royalty and platform fees, the manufacturing price differential mainly impacts Nintendo vs Sony/MS.Pretty sure discs are still super cheap, so good luck having a publisher give up something that costs $2 for something that costs $10.