Could the next gen be disc free?

[thevulture]

Given just how much MS has invested in it's online services since the 1st Xbox and also how they responded when HD DVD lost out to Blu ray in the movie format wars, basically shrugging it off, proclaiming downloadable movies being the future etc, not exactly beyond the realms of making educated guess that they'd want to see a move to DL only sooner or later.

Something which would'nt really happen i guess until a major player made the 1st bold step.No optical drive would solve number of issues that hit 360 this generation (producing lot of heat, lasers going, drive motors burning out etc), cost saving, but then if they go via some form of physical media (High Density carts/cards), then they've got to look at costs involved in the producing off them.

Wager it's far cheaper to stamp out discs, be they DVD or Blu ray, rather than mass produce carts.Has to be something to it, as rumour refuses to die. Digital Foundary, now MCV reporting it, i'd put more 'faith' in their sources than say Eurogamer or C+VG reports

[Matt_B]

I still can't see a return to cartridges. The premium for ones of around DVD capacity would be about £5 and for Blu-Ray sized ones it'd be more like £20.That's nearly half of what you'd save by deleting the drive in both cases for just one game. All other things being equal, nobody's going to pay that much extra for what they can get on a competitor's console on a cheaper format.

Most likely we'll get a generation of machines where downloads are the primary means of distribution, but optical drives are still there for backwards compatibility, collectors who must have physical media, and anyone who doesn't have a good enough broadband connection. I'd expect that, in the space of five years or so, downloads would account for over 90% of purchases though, to the extent that the generation after won't need to support anything else.

I wouldn't rule out download-only models before then, but I doubt that'll apply to the entire range.

[Joey]

Most likely we'll get a generation of machines where downloads are the primary means of distribution, but optical drives are still there for backwards compatibility, collectors who must have physical media, and anyone who doesn't have a good enough broadband connection.

I think backwards compatibility has had its day. The big boys know that money can be made from selling HD remakes and collections of old games as well as trying to make new consoles as profitable as possible, therefore not bothering adding the tech to make it work.

You only have to look at the situation this gen. 360 hit and miss with original Xbox games, PS2 compatability removed from the PS3 and the Vita passport system not being rolled out outside the company's home territory.

[Matt_B]

I think backwards compatibility has had its day. The big boys know that money can be made from selling HD remakes and collections of old games as well as trying to make new consoles as profitable as possible, therefore not bothering adding the tech to make it work.

You only have to look at the situation this gen. 360 hit and miss with original Xbox games, PS2 compatability removed from the PS3 and the Vita passport system not being rolled out outside the company's home territory.

I'd think that backwards compatibility for one generation is desirable, as brand loyalty is much more easily kept when you can continue to use an existing collection of games, but beyond that I'd agree that they'd much rather trawl the re-make territory.

Looking at recent consoles, the Wii, PS Vita and all the Nintendo handhelds have it. The Wii-U certainly will and I'd expect the PS4 and 360 to at least make a stab at it. The main reason it was patchy in the PS3 and the 360 was that both had major architectural changes to their predecessors which hampered their efforts. We're unlikely to see anything quite so radical with the next generation, so it'll come a lot easier for them.

[nakamura]

If the PS4 was 100% backwards compatible with PS2 games and upscaled them to HD I would buy one on day 1.

[thevulture]

MS went on record (around time of the last update to Xbox B.C on 360 ) that: outside of Halo 2, internal data points to low numbers of backward compatible games being played on Live, with BC updates "not being downloaded that much anymore." so they wound process of delivering more updates to inc.number of Xbox titles you could play on 360.

Sony:Removed PS2 B.C from 40G PS3 as part of cost cutting measures they claimed, (then off.PS3 magazine went and showed just how little a saving it made), but it was apparent Sony were selling PS3 hardware at loss, expecting people to buy new PS3 software (where they'd make money), but instead folks buying used, cheap PS2 games instead, so Sony put a stop to that cycle continuing.

Now we are seeing 'PS2 Classics' appearing on PSN. Not hard to guess were Sony will be headed by time PS4 hits.

[thevulture]

MS has 'Xbox originals', on XBL this gen, so would not surprise me to see similar thing for 360 games on XBL come Xbox 720/Next.

Capcom, Ubisoft etc content to pass off PC code etc on their so called HD collections (Splinter Cell C.T even missing the brilliant multi-player mode), seem to recal Tomb Raider HD collection including the PS3/360 game, Underworld on it, along with the PS2 games, been 2 God of War HD collections, Prince Of Persia, M.K, Sly Racoon, Jak And Daxter, Ico+Shadow, MGS, Silent Hill, (ZOE incoming?), Halo Anni., Strangers W.

So publishers i expect would love next generation to do away with B.C so they could try and sell us the 1080P collections of 'classics', even if it is just more upscaling.

[snowkatt]

justa rumor http://www.computerandvideogames.com/33 ... ve-report/ stil ominous

[kiwimike]

justa rumor http://www.computerandvideogames.com/33 ... ve-report/ stil ominous

Just rumour as you say, so will reserve judgement- But I don't like the sound of that at all. I would definately not go with the 720 if true, and would see what other hardware offered. If all companies followed suit...no idea. As another mentioned, Sony made such efforts getting Blu ray established one would assume that'd be PS4 format...
Long way off though- In the next month I'll be shopping for PS3 or 360 so won't worry me for a few years I don't think! PS3 me thinks though.

[SJ_Sathanas]

Ultimatly I don't care as I won't buy one anyways but download distribution doesn't bother me at all. I've just moved all my DVDs to file and have them stored on a little media server that's smaller than a shoebox. I'd love to do the same with my PS2, if/when I take the time to figure out how to do so. I have no interest in boxes, manuals or what other related tat.

The one thing that would bother me is it looks like all the major publishers are setting up their own, standalone "virtua-shops" ? Having my card details stored in so many different places would bother me a great deal.

[HalcyonDaze00]

I have no interest in boxes, manuals or what other related tat.

agreed, i just want to play the games.

[QuantumCrayons]

justa rumor http://www.computerandvideogames.com/33 ... ve-report/ stil ominous

When did you get back?

[RetroMartin]

Unfortunately, from personal experience, most people who own 360's are the casual sort who just play COD/FIFA and maybe one or two other games and don't have the most minted internet connections in the world. If the 720 or whatnot goes download only, they are going to lose a VERY huge chunk of the casual crowd which may boost the quality of games that are released as a lot of rushed crappy game aren't bought, but it will hurt MS' finances I believe.

It would be best to stick with physical media but give people the option, let the consumers decide. If more people flock to the download then the physical, then you know where your consoles primary buyers are, and you can cut back on the production run of physical (not completely but just partially because I bet my kidneys there will still be a huge chunk of profit in physical media)

And at the end of the day, they could easily chuck it on flash cards, something like Killzone 3 which used up the entire blu-ray (I believe) on PS3 would fit onto 2 flash cards. Small boxes (DS sized) with 2 or 3 flash cards that you can still "physically buy" but you do have to install onto the machine to run would allow for a "download only" style service (cos a flash card port is small) but those that like physically owning it can still do so.

However download only will still hurt the retro market, as when servers go down, how will we get ahold of the games in the future?

[look at it sideways]

Ultimately, it's an issue of convenience. Price considerations aside, would you rather buy your games:

1. By going to a shop, browsing through a limited range of titles, and fending off overzealous shop assistants.

2. Buying from an on-line retailer offering the full range of games, but waiting a couple of days for someone to leave a package under a bush in your front garden.

3. Buying from the comfort of your sofa and having the game ready to play in minutes. Not only that, but you'll get an even larger range of games including those from indie publishers who would be unable to finance a production run of physical media.

I'm pretty sure where I stand on the matter. I've got to ask whether a box on the shelf really matters that much to people? Maybe they could still sell the boxes for those who want them, with the added benefit that you'd never even need to take the shrink-wrap off?

Why can't we have both?

Looking at the ridiculous prices charged for full-release games on the PS Network, I think it would be an utter disaster for gamers if we faced a download-only future.

It'd be pretty cruddy for game firms too - they'd lose a chunk of the casual market, I reckon. You couldn't pop into a shop and "gift" a game in the way that you did previously, for example. You'd also lose all your games if the server were to shut down and your console were to die/break when things become "retro". And also, it'd be bad for the future retro gamers, if physical copies of the game didn't exist to hunt down and play. Plus many people don't have a fast enough connection to make downloading current-gen games anything but laborious.

I reckon Microsoft might give it a bash, but it won't work so well and their competitors will benefit from that. There can still be a healthy download market whilst you can get physical copies of games. The current-gen mix of both is the way forward.

[Matt_B]

Why can't we have both?

Looking at the ridiculous prices charged for full-release games on the PS Network, I think it would be an utter disaster for gamers if we faced a download-only future.

It'd be pretty cruddy for game firms too - they'd lose a chunk of the casual market, I reckon. You couldn't pop into a shop and "gift" a game in the way that you did previously, for example. You'd also lose all your games if the server were to shut down and your console were to die/break when things become "retro". And also, it'd be bad for the future retro gamers, if physical copies of the game didn't exist to hunt down and play. Plus many people don't have a fast enough connection to make downloading current-gen games anything but laborious.

I reckon Microsoft might give it a bash, but it won't work so well and their competitors will benefit from that. There can still be a healthy download market whilst you can get physical copies of games. The current-gen mix of both is the way forward.

I think we probably will have both, for the next generation at least. The problem for fans of physical media is that market forces will almost certainly drive most people towards downloads by the time of the generation after.

As for the pricing, it doesn't have to be like PSN. There are bargains aplenty to be had on Steam and it's become the norm for prices of iOS games to be much lower than console versions, so I don't think there's necessarily an association between download services and high pricing. On the whole I'd lay the blame at Sony for needlessly keeping them high, not that Nintendo or Microsoft are any better.

You might still be able to gift games, at least you can on Steam. If nothing else you could always give people vouchers and a suggestion.

You certainly might lose games when the servers get shut down, but Valve are on record as saying that, if Steam were to be shut down for good, they'd be able to make all games playable without it, so I don't see why other services couldn't make a similar promise. Physical media won't necessarily guarantee that games will remain playable either; if they need on-line server access to play or for registration, you'll be just as stuffed so I'd think it's a separate issue really.