Report: Microsoft to release a disc-less Xbox One in 2019
- Thread starter zedox
- Start date
Vinyl came back for valid reasons.
Physical games won't be going away for their own reasons you fail to grasp even though it has been repeated adnauseum.
Physical isn't "going away". But the market for physical games shrinking quickly.
I wonder if it's the same power as X1S will they use 7nm and make it the size of the original Wii. Would be cool if they did.
I think for me the big hangup is still UHD. Especially as someone who just invested in a 4k HDR tv. If it weren't for that, i'd be up for a all digital console; but streaming UHD isn't as good as disc yet.
I suppose I could just invest in a dedicated UHD player, but having it as part of my Xbox is super convenient.
I'm sure there's a significant number of people who want an optical drive for one reason or another.
But the number of people who will need their game console to do that is shrinking.
Vinyl are for collectionist and are clearly irrilevant on how the music being distruibuited nowdays
The physical games are not going away for still a gen (xb2 and PS5) next one will not have physical drive I'm sure of it
Vinyl is a billion dollar industry, but it's very, very niche. It differs from digital because of the sound and such that audiophiles love.
Physical games are no different from digital unless you collect the box.
It's only a matter of time before consoles loses the disc drive. I can't think of any other tech that still use a disc drive besides consoles.
I'd be all over a disc to digital service. Getting a lotlo cost machine into the market is definitely something worth pursuing.
Here's the thing... the drive itself isn't that expensive anymore. Maybe 20-30 for each system. It's not a huge money saver, so if this is supposed to be the budget system, then something else is being cost cut as well.
It furthers cost to manufacture, not to mention licenses you have to pay for, and most importantly it's another point of failure that console makers probably want to ditch yesterday.
Manufacturing and licensing would be part of the price for the drive itself. The failure part, sure, I'm just saying that if this is all just an attempt to make a cheaper console, I would expect that such a cheaper console is going to have to skimp elsewhere to make it an attractive model price wise. Very few people are going to buy a low end mode l if they are only going to save $30-50, especially when you realize that designing and manufacturering an entire new console is going to eat a lot of money by itself.
I am 100% digital this generation and I am glad that a discless version is launching in 2019... Just find it odd that is only a One S version and only 1 year previous to new generation... even if it is to test waters, i think is late to that...
Exactly physical games will go away Ina very very very close future ... that's one of the few sure things
We live in a world where digital music distribution has been a thing for damn near two decades and internet speeds have gotten to the point where even the most backwoods motherfuckers (like myself) can download or stream music easily yet they still sell CDs at Wal-Mart, Target and the like. Physical isn't going away, no matter how much you psychos want it.
"UHD Blu-Ray is a great feature that will really sell the the Xbox One S".
One year later.
"The switch to digital is pretty much done and people will not give a fuck about physical".
That's a good point.
Even DVD's are still selling and I haven't bought one of those for nearly a decade.
They're actually selling about on par with Blu-Rays, crazily enough.
Cool. Now count how many CD players and DVD players are still being sold versus streaming boxes. Physical will eventually go away, no matter how much you psychos don't want it to.
Tech moves fast man.
I will say if you do include a disc at least make it 4K.
Microsoft are likely to swallow even more of the unit cost of a console that has little option but to buy games from their store, from which they take their cut on every sale.
How many people need new CD or DVD players vs how many how many people need streaming boxes? And how I the psycho for not wanting consumers to be completely stripped of their ownership rights just so what is essentially an expensive toy will cost $20 less?
Plus how many returns do they get because the disc player fucks up. Same with games.
I will not be surprised if they announved a US$150 price exactly because of that.
I don't even care about the cost as much as the portability. The smaller the console the better. My Alienware Alpha computer has no drive and is smaller than a Wii but stronger than the Xbone. I transport my game systems a lot.
News at 11 the electronic move fast ....I said the the next next gen (ps6 or xb3) I expect to don't have any physical drive .....not tomorrow
There's a market for both, but more importantly you're underestimating how fast consumer needs move in consumer electronics.
Point is that CDs and DVDs are niche at this point, which is why manufacturers are not investing in players. And they've maintained their niche for reasons that will never apply to video game software. Games aren't universal media, they are tied to the console they are made for. There are low income people out there for whom a CD or DVD is the only way they can watch or listen to stuff at home or in their cars. There is no analogous scenario with games. There are videophiles and audiophiles who will buy physical media for the improved quality. Digital games have no "loss" in quality compared to physical.
And you're right, these are just toys. They don't actually mean anything long term. Which is why nobody in the real world has your guys' utterly bizarre attitude of "OMG I NEED TO PRESERVE MY OWNERSHIP RIGHTS FOR THIS VIDEO GAME FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE OR I WILL FUCKING DIE OMFG!"
It really isn't. Less than half of all games on consoles sold are digital. Sorry.
Two years later.
For me personally it's still an important feature though.
Yeah next gen will have another big push ..what I mean is that the days of physical are ending
In 5 years time, we've gone from less than 20% of games being sold digitally to nearly 50%. It's all down hill from here...
Here is one thing.... My brother who is 47 couldn't possibly figure out how to go completely digital . And he just bought a C7 and Xbox one X its just no one the generation a few years older than me has any clue about anything technology wise. Plus I can find used games so much cheaper physical copy wise
Last edited:
Your brother is an outlier most likely. 47 year olds use smartphones and can find the appstore. They can browse Netflix and find the movie they want. Going digital for console games is no different.
Also, if they push a digital only sku, I'm sure there will be some nice instructions on how to buy more content.
It saves money in plastic, shipping, storage, etc. More than just the drive cost.
Remember when people said that the 1s having a 4k drive was a big deal? Good times. Here's the thing. This thing has to sell for dirt cheap, doesn't it? If they are going to do it I mean. You can get a ps4 slim with spiderman for $199. That's basically $140 for the console. So they'd have to sell a discless one $150 with not uncommon sales dropping it to a hundred for it to make sense
It's not just the cost of the drive though. There's the cost of the license for the drive as well.
On top of that with a decrease in console size you have less plastic, and less packaging. Now these may sound minuscule but we see it all of the time with consoles. Those model revisions on the Playstation don't actually change specs but they decrease cost of manufacture and even if that's a few dollars it all adds up in the end.
Plus with digital only the consumer is buying games directly from the storefront which means that they are making more money for every game sale. They could sell it at a loss if they wanted because they will make up the cost in game sales.
I think if Microsoft want to do this right then they need to price it cheap. Like if the Xbox One S is selling for $250, place this at $150 and market the hell out of Game Pass with it.
PC has been basically digital only for awhile. I prefer digital, and bought only digital for the past year with the exception of the delicious Yakuza steelbooks. However this past year has burned me too many times to stay digital for the time being. Steam has the solution for this and it's refunds within 2 hours of playtime/14 days. I can't go back to all digital until Sony implements a refund policy.
If Sony offers me a Disk Drive version of PS5 and Microsoft doesn't, then I'm staying with Sony... And Nintendo. I just like to buy the boxes, and disks, and carts. There are few exceptions where I buy digital - Destiny 2, MHW, the rare indie game - but then I end up buying the physical copy later.