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[Freedom Gate Co.]

5 years ago I'd be like fuck this.

Now? The game you have on the shelf isn't the actual game anymore. Patches, DLC, and harddrive installs have made that disc nothing more than an authentication mechanism. Physical is dead.

Well except all those physical games that have the game on the disc. Not all games are EA/Activision/Square/Namco games.

Also the only reason installs are a thing is because the industry decided to abandon Microsofts idea of higher capacity high resolution compatible discs in favor of Blu-rays because they already had the size capacity and would require less work. Blu-rays where never made for video games and the PS3 showed that for years.

 

[Calibos]

I am all digital right now so this would be cool for me. Also, they will still have disc based consoles, this is just another option as I see it. And, also, hopefully this is a precursor to a "digital" marketplace to sell your game licenses.

 

[JimboJones]

It begins.
Probably going to be an option going forward and inevitability discless being the only option in the end game

 

[Freedom Gate Co.]

Yes, that's why nobody uses Steam.

For the type of games he's talking about yeah, most don't use steam. Since most Steam users have a PC that can barely run a PS2 emulator.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Lol what? Microsoft on the same Blu Ray board as Sony and others.

Do you have information on this? They backed the HD-DVD and not BR.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc_Association

It begins.
Probably going to be an option going forward and inevitability discless being the only option in the end game

Bingo. The option will turn to standard... eventually.

 

[Ptownrich]

This again? If they don't have a disc-drive version, it's going to be trouble.

Games aren't movies. They are a shitton bigger in filesize and growing. Bandwidth limits are still a thing, and this won't fly until it's gone.

Agreed, but isn't the diskless version in addition to the rest of the range rather than instead of. So those with piss poor internet can go disk based and people with fast speeds and big data caps can get a cheaper diskless version and grab a gamepass sub. Everyone wins.

 

[Thiagosc777]

Agreed, but isn't the diskless version in addition to the rest of the range rather than instead of. So those with piss poor internet can go disk based and people with fast speeds and big data caps can get a cheaper diskless version and grab a gamepass sub. Everyone wins.

According to the article:

As for Scarlett, Microsoft is still trying to decide if that console will include a disc drive but should be making the final decision here shortly.

No, everyone loses.

 

[SaviourMK2]

Considering we don't have unlimited data where I live, I don't really see appeal in this product.

 

[ThatStupidLion]

ohhh mannnn. this industry just cant wait to get to all digital distribution fast enough.

console should be lower than 199 imo. the goal is to get as many people to try this out and used to the idea so they can fully assess what to do with Scarlett

 

[Freedom Gate Co.]

Incidentally if we were using HD-DVD there wouldn't be game installs and there would be faster load times.

 

[TheShocker]

This is pretty cool. I'd trade my physical copies for my current X just to go to all digital. I don't do much trade ins anymore and find myself buying most of my games digitally.

 

[quickwhips]

if i can buy cheap used xbox games disc and convert to digital this would be awesome. I have TMNT i would love to convert to digital.

 

[LostDonkey]

Do you have information on this? They backed the HD-DVD and not BR.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc_Association



Bingo. The option will turn to standard... eventually.

Both formats, HD DVD and Blu Ray use the VC-9 codec which is Microsofts technology. It has to be licensed from MS
and thus paid for.

MS have been working with both formats from the start and have had input for each.

Every Blu Ray drive sold since 2004 nets MS money because of this codec.

 

[Petrae]

It begins.
Probably going to be an option going forward and inevitability discless being the only option in the end game

That's the plan. The best way to go about this is to make physical games a premium, and charging more for a SKU with a drive is a good start. With Best Buy and Amazon phasing out physical game discounts, physical media also becomes more expensive on the whole... so there isn't a price advantage any longer at launch.

There will be some resistance at first, but eventually enough consumers will make the transition that the remaining minority will have a tough decision to make as digital-only will become the standard. Some consumers will move on, but others will take their place.

 

[GermanZepp]

Im all digital this gen. My only concern about this was mentioned up in this theard : "what if your account get banned for wherever reason". Not so long ago Sony banned a lot of people for entering some suspicious codes in PSN.

 

[Dibils2k]

why wouldnt they have announced it at XO18?

 

[Patrick S.]

Honestly? That's a good price. It's basically an Xbox One for the price of an Amazon Fire Stick.

 

[Thiagosc777]

Im all digital this gen. My only concern about this was mentioned up in this theard : "what if your account get banned for wherever reason". Not so long ago Sony banned a lot of people for entering some suspicious codes in PSN.

Digital medium is so flimsy. It's so easy to get your account banned, that some people may do it without knowing it and thus losing their entire library of games. They offer no way of getting rid of games you don't want anymore or to transfer ownership to a different id.

I have some games that I regret buying because they are shit, and now they are stinking up my digital library forever. If they were physical I could just sell them.

 

[mckmas8808]

It begins.
Probably going to be an option going forward and inevitability discless being the only option in the end game

Okay...........but the consumers are not asking for this. As a matter of fact, the majority of us actively DON'T want this.

 

[Freedom Gate Co.]

Do you have information on this? They backed the HD-DVD and not BR.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc_Association



Bingo. The option will turn to standard... eventually.

I think he meant the board pays Microsoft due to the codec Blu-Ray uses.

 

[GermanZepp]

Digital medium is so flimsy. It's so easy to get your account banned, that some people may do it without knowing it and thus losing their entire library of games. They offer no way of getting rid of games you don't want anymore or to transfer ownership to a different id.

I have some games that I regret buying because they are shit, and now they are stinking up my digital library forever. If they were physical I could just sell them.

Agreed. If they MS and Sony want to us go full digital they must offer a lot of features of that kind.

 

[Breakage]

I guess this will be released as a stripped down "E" version.
So MS will have S, E and X versions of the Xbox One.

 

[Pallas]

This is interesting and not bad, options as always good. I can't see this taking over disc versions though just because the internet infrastructure just isn't advance enough yet. I bet this would work really well in Japan and/or Korea if it gets released there despite its almost nonexistent presence in that part of the world.

The article sure makes it sound like such option may not exist:

True but the article is still calling next gen "Scarlett family of devices" so maybe Microsoft is test bedding to see if it'll be a viable option for next gen. I find it hard to believe next gen for them would be digital only.

 

[CloudStrife_ca]

I guess this will be released as a stripped down "E" version.
So MS will have S, E and X versions of the Xbox One.

This is sounding more and more like an animator slipping a little secret message into a Disney film.

Also not interested at all, physical media all the way.

 

[Alx]

The idea is that you can take your disc to a participating retailer (like the Microsoft store) and trade in your disc for a digital download.

Interesting, so the originally intended digital market model isn't dead after all.
It might be worth hunting for cheap second-hand games for the only purpose of trading them in. After all those years of playing almost exclusively on X1, I still own zero game disc, and probably used the drive less than 10 times.
I wonder how (if) it works for BC though, can you also trade your 360 discs for digital copies ?

 

[Dirk Benedict]

All digital future cant come soon enough

 

[ipukespiders]

This is for people like me. I have no disc based xbox one games.

 

[JimboJones]

Okay...........but the consumers are not asking for this. As a matter of fact, the majority of us actively DON'T want this.

They are asking for it, it's a growing segment every year and both sony, ms and others have streaming services that are also a growing segment of the market.
It's obviously not gonna dissappear overnight though, it's only very recently we've seen cd's decline, plus you have vinyl record making a comeback as a kind of novelty collectors thing (something we've kind of seen with digital games getting lowprint runs).

 

[mckmas8808]

They are asking for it, it's a growing segment every year and both sony, ms and others have streaming services that are also a growing segment of the market.
It's obviously not gonna dissappear overnight though, it's only very recently we've seen cd's decline, plus you have vinyl record making a comeback as a kind of novelty collectors thing (something we've kind of seen with digital games getting lowprint runs).

What percentage of gamers do you really think are asking for a "Digitial Only Console"? You do realize that the PS4 and Xbox One are both digital consoles right?

 

[Ar¢tos]

Lol what? Microsoft on the same Blu Ray board as Sony and others.

The fees are per patent, not equally split. Sony has the most patents on the bluray tech and MS is not part of the Bluray Disc Association, so they have to pay fees per drive and per disc like everybody else ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc_Association )

 

[Omega Supreme Holopsicon]

Agreed, but isn't the diskless version in addition to the rest of the range rather than instead of. So those with piss poor internet can go disk based and people with fast speeds and big data caps can get a cheaper diskless version and grab a gamepass sub. Everyone wins.

Games are likely to continue growing in size quite fast. When the games are several TBs, it is doubtful people will have the patience to download that, nor will the hardware have the capacity to store multiple games at that size, at least not a significant quantity of games.

 

[TheUsual]

I can definitely see this appealing to a lot of mainstream consumers. Think about how much stuff we download/stream. Outside of us in the niche community, I really don't think many people will care (at least in places where people really don't think about bandwidth caps and all that). Maybe the mom's and dad's who realize on birthday and Christmas morning's when their kids say they can't put the disc in a system.

 

[Hudo]

That kinda makes sense with their Game Pass strategy. If the price is right, this could be a good option for people who prefer to go digital only. Personally, I'm not one of those people but options are good.

 

[Dr. Claus]

As long as this is remains only an option. The day gaming moves to digital only delivery is the day I stop gaming. I refuse to buy Digital games if I can help it and I much prefer having a physical release on my shelf that I can sell/trade/lend.

 

[JimboJones]

What percentage of gamers do you really think are asking for a "Digitial Only Console"? You do realize that the PS4 and Xbox One are both digital consoles right?

Honestly I have no idea i don't have the data that Sony and MS have.
People are willing to put up with massive updates and patches on consoles though, they're fine with PC and their mobile games being digital. It's not that far fetched that people would want this.

 

[CeeJay]

What percentage of gamers do you really think are asking for a "Digitial Only Console"? You do realize that the PS4 and Xbox One are both digital consoles right?

I'll take one without a drive that I never use for £100 less in a more compact package. For me this is a win win. For those who don't want this, buy the version with the drive.

 

[TheUsual]

Honestly I have no idea i don't have the data that Sony and MS have.
People are willing to put up with massive updates and patches on consoles though, they're fine with PC and their mobile games being digital. It's not that far fetched that people would want this.

I would also say that people are almost at the point of accepting a company saying "This will be a digital only box".
Hopefully I'm wrong and this type of setup is an option.

 

[JimboJones]

I would also say that people are almost at the point of accepting a company saying "This will be a digital only box".
Hopefully I'm wrong and this type of setup is an option.

I don't think they could get away with it yet as digital only being the only option, unless there was some seriously compelling benifits for going digital only.

 

[mckmas8808]

I'll take one without a drive that I never use for £100 less in a more compact package. For me this is a win win. For those who don't want this, buy the version with the drive.

No, I'm asking how many people are asking for consoles to be digital only with NO other option. I don't see anybody asking for that, yet people keep saying Nintendo, Sony, and MS will do this with their consoles in the future. I simply don't get it.

 

[CeeJay]

No, I'm asking how many people are asking for consoles to be digital only with NO other option. I don't see anybody asking for that, yet people keep saying Nintendo, Sony, and MS will do this with their consoles in the future. I simply don't get it.

Ah ok, yeah i agree with that. The world is not ready for a diskless console with no other option, that aint happening any time soon. A diskless option for those that want it, bring it on.

 

[Clear]

Sounds like a good deal for US owners, or specifically anyone in close proximity to a MS store. Because lets face it, why would other "participating retailers" want the hassle of processing disks?

 

[Hendrick's]

This again? If they don't have a disc-drive version, it's going to be trouble.

Games aren't movies. They are a shitton bigger in filesize and growing. Bandwidth limits are still a thing, and this won't fly until it's gone.

I avoid disks like the plague. I sometimes pay more for games to not have to buy them on disk. I think most people would deal with it, grudgingly or not.

 

[Woody Nvincible]

I very much welcome a cheaper disk-less option on all consoles going forward.

 

[TheUsual]

I don't think they could get away with it yet as digital only being the only option, unless there was some seriously compelling benifits for going digital only.

I can only see "download the games you want from your phone while at work/school/wherever and it'll be ready by the time you get back home!"
But that's it.

 

[off duty ninja]

I have gone virtually all digital this gen with a couple exceptions due to retail impulse purchases, lol. I'm glad that this option is becoming available. Hopefully it will remain an option for those that like their disks but I have succumbed to the convenience that downloads provide.

 

[cryptoadam]

Makes sense.

As the gen is winding down MS can find a way to offer its box at the cheapest price. Also with Gamepass and all 1st party games on it again it makes a lot of sense.

If you are getting GP you won't be buying disk games most likely.

 

[WouldYouKindly]

And my 4k movies? Fuck outta here

 

[BlackTron]

Great, so I can take a game disc in my possession that will work in any Xbox One system, and exchange it for a license making me entirely dependent on being connected to my corporate overlords over the Internet to access it instead.

Thank goodness Microsoft is thinking about my problems and has me covered!

 

[Horns]

This is exactly what MS and Sony should both be doing. Remove the disk and bundle a few older, but good first party games with it. Sell cheap consoles.

 

[Petrae]

Okay...........but the consumers are not asking for this. As a matter of fact, the majority of us actively DON'T want this.

The consumers weren't ever asking for VR, either, and yet the industry continues to try and shovel it down consumers' throats like it's the next big thing. (It isn't. Not yet.)

The industry is going to set forth trends and then determine how fiercely to cement those trends over time. Consumers may not be asking for it NOW, but with some conditioning and incentives, all-digital platforms will gradually become the accepted norm.

Video game consumers have proven time and again to be easily conditioned. They happily accept pre-order culture, DLC, season passes,
incomplete/broken games at launch without a patch, and paying more for "special editions" to play the game "early"— ERRRRRRRRRR on the actual release day. They'll cave and conform to this, too. And those that don't? The industry doesn't want them, as they're not contributing enough to the overall bottom line.

The industry isn't gonna miss my $1,500 every year when I move to retro gaming full time after this gen. I can bitch all I want about what I don't like and what's driving me away. Too bad, so sad. It's a business. At the end of the day, it's my loss and not theirs.