By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - Microsoft Discussion - Physical media is like "having a dead body handcuffed" to Xbox One

the2real4mafol on 05 August 2013
S.T.A.G.E. said:
the2real4mafol said:

On the Playstation Store, it reckons the whole game is 38gb. I don't even have that much space left on my PS3 anymore (mine is 250gb as well!) and it would take literally all day to download. And to think, future games will likely be even bigger. A digital only future is a long long way off. 


Exactly, I understand that these Xbone fanatics want to jump up for joy about everything MS does. I know they want digital, but they arent providing us with at least a TB and adequate internet when ever the Xbone is sold. Microsofts demands are too high for their consumer base and it will cause them to shrink if they force it.

When did Microsoft say this? I though most games came on blu-ray for Xbox One. Not like they had a choice anyway. 



Xbox One, PS4 and Switch (+ Many Retro Consoles)

'When the people are being beaten with a stick, they are not much happier if it is called the people's stick'- Mikhail Bakunin

Prediction: Switch will sell better than Wii U Lifetime Sales by Jan 1st 2018

Around the Network
S.T.A.G.E. on 05 August 2013
the2real4mafol said:
S.T.A.G.E. said:

When did Microsoft say this? I though most games came on blu-ray for Xbox One. Not like they had a choice anyway. 


Sony got the market to switch to Blu Ray, so MS is following suit after saying they would never support it. In fact they tried to aid in the death of Blu Ray, so this is only a natural position for them when it comes to it. Sony runs hardware and format, MS runs online plain and simple. They forget that if they want to mirror Sony, they arent going to beat them with formats which is why they are desperate for digital. The Xbone has manditory installs while the PS4 doesn't. As long as physical media is around we should be fine. As I expressed before the majority of gamers would be in trouble if MS tried to force all digital on us. Switching formats on gamers doesn't hurt them, which is why Sony isnt being attack for their stance.



greenmedic88 on 05 August 2013
Machiavellian said:
nuckles87 said:
There are some very big reasons to sell physical games when the internet exists: retail games are huge downloads and are only going to get bigger, which is going to require even more hard drive space then what current consoles are offering. I mean, we are talking about massive games upwards of 20 to as much as 50 gigs for some of these retail titles. PS3 already has games of this size. Uncharted 3 is so massive I couldn't even fit it on my hard drive along with the other PS3 games I wanted to download, and I have a 160 gig drive! Now imagine a console generation where blu ray is the standard across all gaming platforms and games the size of Uncharted 3 become the norm....even that 500 gig hard drive the One is sporting is going to start to look tiny.

And then there is the simple fact that many people don't even have the download speed for these games! Why is it that so many of these industry proffesionals live in a bubble where all of their customers have access to high speed internet?


This really is not something people can use to justify physical media.  Back in the day when people were download GB from torrent sites, and it took a day for the download to happen, millions of people still did it.  The only thing diffrerent here is that if your net speed is slow you will make a purchase and have it the next day.  Its not like people purchase a bunch of games at once.  Also on another tip for preorders just like steam, the games can be preloaded so you have it on release day.

Here's the thing about that: people were stealing, ie. not paying for games when they torrented them.

It amazes me the depths and lengths some will go through to steal software, even something as cheap as games, at the cost of all their bandwidth. But I suppose if one has a broadband connection that is used for nothing but downloading "warez", that's not an issue. 

As far as legit use goes, I'm all for pre-loading games, as is available on Steam, not that I do much (as in none) Day 1 play purchases where I literally have a countdown clock sitting on my desktop letting me know when I can play X game that I've been waiting to play for the last 2 years. 

I'm sure XBL and PSN will have some sort of pre-load function for games purchased via DD. If not, they really need to get on that. Make use of that down time for those of us who aren't home 24/7 or playing games all the time. 



greenmedic88 on 05 August 2013
S.T.A.G.E. said:

Its extremely inconvenient for me to digitally download, and I buy three games a month on average physically during a healthy gaming season. You're really not thinking about the vast gaming community. I am lucky to have cable internet, but I share it between people in my house and it gets caught up, but theres people in America or around the world with DSL or worse, dial up or nothing at all. They need physical copies so they can just save to the HDD and get to the gaming. Those without the internet need to have the local multiplayer (Military, rural, second and third world). Until those things are remedied you cannot deny the majority.

You also have the issue of ownership and collecting, which publishers have actually invested into to satisfy the most hardcore of gamers who like collectibles (which mind you are in limited supply). When everything goes digital, that market is forced out. Only at cons and first party can you buy collectible decor for the house of your favorite characters and games complete with the titles themselves. That and the collectibles themselves without the bundles are at hiked up prices, generally speaking.Collectors have the choice to save them and sell them off for much more if they are a big title in mint condition. Plenty of people are doing that today. Its much more expensive to buy first party. The collectibles also save you money.

The collector niche is probably a lot smaller than you realize. Even the vast majority of core gamers really don't care about having a visual collection of boxed media decorating their shelves, much less "collectibles" that generally aren't worth what one paid for. 

While there will probably always continue to be a market for collectibles and collector's editions, I really don't see the market for those do anything but shrink over time. Remain flat at best. 

At any rate, that's pretty poor excuse for publishers to continue to rely upon physical media sales.

If anything, collectors should be demanding that fewer copies of anything they want to collect be produced and made available for purchase because it's only when demand exceeds supply that any collectible is actually worth anything. If the number of collectors isn't increasing, the only way to see collectibles appreciate in value is to reduce the supply. 

A better excuse/legitimate reason would be to keep retail outlets and retailers in general in the loop and keep as many sales options as possible available to the consumer. 



richardhutnik on 05 August 2013
archer9234 said:

Why is it so hard for people to accept that there is just people that want to own what they purchase. And not have it just as files, depend on HDD space, and accounts. How is physical with digital in anyway hampering digital. Microsoft was the one that "removed" the family share plan. Nothing was blocking them from retaining it with discs around. Or any other benefit that digital gives. It's all there for people who want that stuff. Plus, a ton of other factors are involved when people choose which way to go. Internet caps is one of them.

Thing is that people down own the content they purchase.  What they own is a license to use the content they purchase.  The big deal is the industry would prefer no one have a license they keep indefinitely.  They love repackaging content and getting people to pay over and over again, cutting out as many middlemen as possible.  So, they get rid of backwards compatibility, and so on, and have people buy remakes, or reboots.