So what physical medium will Microsoft be using for their next gen console?

[Squilliam]

madskillz said:

Squilliam said:

sguy78 said:

Squilliam said:
Digital Downloads increased 73% over the financial year vs 50% increase for overall console sales and live subscriptions. If that trend continues and the digital downloads increase another 20-30% over an above whatever install base increase there is and this trend continues for the next couple of years, digital downloads will become critical to the success and prosperity of the system.

Hell they could simply offer people the chance to pay $10 and digitise the game whilst turning in the disc and that would go pretty well with any kiosk system they set up if they chose to go that route with the next Xbox.

They will still need a physical medium next generation.

Flash memory!

Its the future.

I rarely disagree with you, but this one I will. MS won't make the same mistake Sony did. They will NOT alienate the 30M+ gamers by making a system their games can't play on. BC will be a big part of next-gen consoles. While Flash is good for a lot of thing, flash drives can be easily hacked vs. discs. Plus, discs wear out and break a lot easier than a flash drive. There are industries that thrive on things breaking down - wheels and tires, windows and windshields, even automotive.

They can make the Arcade/Premium units cheap and simple. They can cut $50 off the launch price of the console by not including an optical drive. Just as Sony offered a more expensive SKU with BC, what would stop them? Its fair for people who want BC in that they have to pay extra for it, but its also fair for people who don't.