Microsoft to launch disc-less Xbox One (due 7 May 2019 TBC)

To re-purchsse AND re-download if they're already in your catalogue.

Nearly 13 years ago PS3 was launched. Not only are all my digital games still available to download as I please at no extra cost to me I can still fire up, say, any Call of Duty title and join a thriving community in online battles. By the logic of the anti-digital brigade I shouldn't be able to do that by now.

You might be right and it'll all go to gooseberry fool, but I can't help but feel you're reaching for these digital doomsday scenarios because that's what you want to happen, and why? Because you simply like owning stuff in a box and don't want that to change.

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Gemini73 wrote:That said, nearly 13 years ago PS3 was launched. Not only are all my digital games still available to download as I please I can still fire up, say, any Call of Duty title and join a thriving community in online battles. By the logic of the anti-digital brigade I shouldn't be able to do that by now.

Fair, but that doesn't apply to all games.

Gemini73 wrote:You might be right and it'll all go to gooseberry fool, but I can't help but feel you're reaching for these digital doomsday scenarios because that's what you want to happen, and why? Because you simply like owning stuff in a box and don't want that to change.

I do like owning stuff in a box yes, and I'm quite happy with the option for physical or digital that exists today. I'd never want the doomsday scenario to actually happen, because millions of people would lose their stuff, and I'd have to be a real dick to want that. I just don't want digital to be the only option, because of my personal preferences. What's wrong with options?

Hime wrote:

rinks wrote:

Alvin Flummux wrote:Disc-free. Games starting to take up 100GB+. I hope they're prepared to include 5TB+ hard drives in these things, or at least make swapping out the stock HDD a quick and easy process.

I don't think they could make storage expansion much easier than the current Xbox method.

Also, how many games do you need installed at once?

Every game I own for the system, or else what's the point?

Nothing is wrong with options, I've hundreds of physical games myself and continue to buy them, but at the same time I'm not going to buck the idea of digital media becoming the dominant way to buy and play video games because of some (very) speculative possibilities of what that might mean a decade or so down the line.

Don't want to go all hippy on you mate, but just enjoy your games now and don't worry what may or may not happen to the medium x amount of years from now.

Speaking of which, my copy of The Witcher 3 GOTY for the X1 should have updated and installed by now. Over 50gb off a god damn disc!

Gemini73 wrote:Nothing is wrong with options, I've hundreds of physical games myself and continue to buy them, but at the same time I'm not going to buck the idea of digital media becoming the dominant way to buy and play video games because of some (very) speculative possibilities of what that might mean a decade or so down the line.

Don't want to go all hippy on you mate, but just enjoy your games now and worry what may or may not happen to the medium x amount of years from now.

Speaking of which, my copy of The Witcher 3 GOTY for the X1 should have updated and installed by now. Over 50gb off a god damn disc!

I think my main problem is probably that my access would be dictated by the whims of the platform holder. But I see your point. Maybe I'll buy the Spyro Trilogy after all.

RainbowGazelle wrote:

Gemini73 wrote:Nothing is wrong with options, I've hundreds of physical games myself and continue to buy them, but at the same time I'm not going to buck the idea of digital media becoming the dominant way to buy and play video games because of some (very) speculative possibilities of what that might mean a decade or so down the line.

Don't want to go all hippy on you mate, but just enjoy your games now and worry what may or may not happen to the medium x amount of years from now.

Speaking of which, my copy of The Witcher 3 GOTY for the X1 should have updated and installed by now. Over 50gb off a god damn disc!

I think my main problem is probably that my access would be dictated by the whims of the platform holder. But I see your point. Maybe I'll buy the Spyro Trilogy after all.

Don't get me wrong, if I woke up tomorrow and Steam decided to stop me having access to my games I'd be as pissed off as the next person, until then I'm just gonna have fun

...and try to get through some of my ridiculous back catalogue.

Enjoy Spyro.

And if you enjoy your boxed games, then you really should checkout this thread. Boxed copy heaven.

t:retro-club-weekender?f=2

Gemini73 wrote:And if you enjoy your boxed games, then you really should checkout this thread. Boxed copy heaven.

t:retro-club-weekender?f=2

Cheers, I'll have a look.

RainbowGazelle wrote:

Errkal wrote:

RainbowGazelle wrote:

Errkal wrote:

Somebody Else's Problem wrote:It better have a strawberry floating MASSIVE hard drive.

TB or so would do as you can uninstall stuff you don't want to store all the time, then install it again later when you want it.

Enjoy that when the servers get turned off.

No one seems to have that worry about steam.

Amazing isn't it, in the console world download only is met with arguments of well they will just shut stuff down and ooooh it will just cost all the money, despite the pc world pricing quite the opposite that when you go hard into download only

1. I'm just going by what the console gaming industry has shown us. Nintendo is shutting down the Wii eShop in January, thus any games that were purchased digitally will not be able to be re-downloaded. Online multiplayer servers for several games on all platforms have been shut down, so forgive me if I don't have unwavering faith that access to purchased content won't be removed at some point.
2. If the console gaming industry thinks it has a chance to wean us off physical games, whilst keeping the prices the same as before (i.e. £50-ish), it bloody well will try to. We've already got digital deluxe editions that are pushing towards £100, with no physical equivalent, so I wouldn't be surprised if they stayed the same price after discs are gone.

The mistake you are making is using Nintendo as the example.

They are strawberry floaters about this sort of thing, they make a new unconnected store with each console because some how they get away with it, they then strawberry float over everyone and people just go "oh that naughty Nintendo" and rebut everything anyway.

Microsoft however has the same store and anything you bought on 360 is available to a 360 and if it has been fixed to work on a one you can download it on a one.

On the PC world pretty much everyones library is in steam and it spans at least 3 OS releases and everything openly available.

Your argument doesn't work outside the Nintendo world and is the usual OMG A DOWNLOAD CONSOLE WILL BE THE DEVIL bollocks, there are clear examples of how that won't happen with Xbox and Steam.

Yeah there are expensive ultra versions etc. But that usually only includes extra dlc which on a physical version is a download code so that doesn't include any resale value in physical world anyway.

This console would represent an experimental move that might be testing the water for a next-gen console with customers and retail alike.

The concern for manufacturers with making a console that doesn't have physical media is that retail stores cannot make profit from the sale of digital games stores like Xbox Live and the PSN Store - thus they are less likely to sell or promote less a console that cuts them out of future profit streams. This is of course mitigated by the sale of digital game codes instead of new game discs. However it means it would kill off the second-hand games market - great news for the hardware manufacturers and publishers but awful for retail who now makes a sizeable amount of profit from it.

A digital only console is inevitable the only question is when is the right time? If Scarlett comes at a transition period then Microsoft would try and avoid an 'Xbone' launch backlash by providing hardware options.

I’ve still mostly resisted going digital. I only buy the very occasional game on day 1, but mostly I buy things when they are dirt cheap. I’m talking under £15, and in many cases under £10. I know digital only is going to make this a more expensive hobby for me.

Errkal wrote:

RainbowGazelle wrote:

Errkal wrote:

RainbowGazelle wrote:

Errkal wrote:

Somebody Else's Problem wrote:It better have a strawberry floating MASSIVE hard drive.

TB or so would do as you can uninstall stuff you don't want to store all the time, then install it again later when you want it.

Enjoy that when the servers get turned off.

No one seems to have that worry about steam.

Amazing isn't it, in the console world download only is met with arguments of well they will just shut stuff down and ooooh it will just cost all the money, despite the pc world pricing quite the opposite that when you go hard into download only

1. I'm just going by what the console gaming industry has shown us. Nintendo is shutting down the Wii eShop in January, thus any games that were purchased digitally will not be able to be re-downloaded. Online multiplayer servers for several games on all platforms have been shut down, so forgive me if I don't have unwavering faith that access to purchased content won't be removed at some point.
2. If the console gaming industry thinks it has a chance to wean us off physical games, whilst keeping the prices the same as before (i.e. £50-ish), it bloody well will try to. We've already got digital deluxe editions that are pushing towards £100, with no physical equivalent, so I wouldn't be surprised if they stayed the same price after discs are gone.

The mistake you are making is using Nintendo as the example.

They are strawberry floaters about this sort of thing, they make a new unconnected store with each console because some how they get away with it, they then strawberry float over everyone and people just go "oh that naughty Nintendo" and rebut everything anyway.

Microsoft however has the same store and anything you bought on 360 is available to a 360 and if it has been fixed to work on a one you can download it on a one.

On the PC world pretty much everyones library is in steam and it spans at least 3 OS releases and everything openly available.

Your argument doesn't work outside the Nintendo world and is the usual OMG A DOWNLOAD CONSOLE WILL BE THE DEVIL bollocks, there are clear examples of how that won't happen with Xbox and Steam.

Yeah there are expensive ultra versions etc. But that usually only includes extra dlc which on a physical version is a download code so that doesn't include any resale value in physical world anyway.

As I said to Gemini, we'll see. I just don't trust the gaming industry enough as it stands.

It's only a matter of time before backwards compatibility is turned into a Microtransaction or something.

Lagamorph wrote:It's only a matter of time before backwards compatibility is turned into a Microtransaction or something.

Microsoft have been doing backwards for a long time I can't see them changing it now.

They would get so much gooseberry fool for it it isn't worth it. Only Nintendo can pull it off as they are some how magic

Errkal wrote:

Lagamorph wrote:It's only a matter of time before backwards compatibility is turned into a Microtransaction or something.

Microsoft have been doing backwards for a long time I can't see them changing it now.

They would get so much gooseberry fool for it it isn't worth it. Only Nintendo can pull it off as they are some how magic

Bethesda have been making highly regarded story driven single player games for a long time as well.

Venom wrote:This console would represent an experimental move that might be testing the water for a next-gen console with customers and retail alike.

The concern for manufacturers with making a console that doesn't have physical media is that retail stores cannot make profit from the sale of digital games stores like Xbox Live and the PSN Store - thus they are less likely to sell or promote less a console that cuts them out of future profit streams. This is of course mitigated by the sale of digital game codes instead of new game discs. However it means it would kill off the second-hand games market - great news for the hardware manufacturers and publishers but awful for retail who now makes a sizeable amount of profit from it.

A digital only console is inevitable the only question is when is the right time? If Scarlett comes at a transition period then Microsoft would try and avoid an 'Xbone' launch backlash by providing hardware options.

If you're talking about specialist gaming stores sure, but they're a dead duck so what a digital console would mean for their profits is moot. Places like Argos, the super markets, Smyths Toys and the like who don't rely on the pre-owned market will still sell consoles along side and bundled with peripherals, download codes, subscriptions etc.

I have been continuing to read the comments on Eurogamer regarding this news for small amusement. It's shocking how many console gamers haven't the first clue about how the digital market place works.

It reminds me of back in the 80s with my grandfather trying to work the VHS player and not having a clue.

5G will be able to supply most of the few remaining people without high speed internet connections, so the need for physical media will pretty much evaporate over the next few years.

If the game is cross platform I normally play it on PC and that'll be downloaded from one of the stores.

For consoles I buy the physical copy just because my brain enjoys the material possession.

PC does allow additional competition that a closed store operated by a single company might now allow but so far I've seen similar deals on the PS or Xbox store to the PC stores for the bigger budget games. Due out the number of PC digital stores there seems to be greater choice in sales at a greater frequency.

Due to there being almost zero Xbox console exclusives there's not much point in me owning one. I can just stream from my PC to the lounge.

Meep wrote:5G will be able to supply most of the few remaining people without high speed internet connections, so the need for physical media will pretty much evaporate over the next few years.

This again presumes people have 5G coverage.
Where my nan lives in a small town just outside of Lowestoft the mobile reception is terrible and we can just barely sometimes get a single bar for a mobile signal if we put the phone on top of a tall dresser in one particular bedroom upstairs .
I'm sure this isn't all that uncommon for many small towns outside even major urban areas like Lowestoft which is next to Great Yarmouth so has loads of tourists and thus should in theory have at least decent reception.