sc94597 said:
Additionally an optical drive is unecessary these days unless you want an all-in-one HTPC. The last two PC's I built don't have them, and didn't need them. You can install Windows from a usb flash drive, and it is quite easy to do. Hell, I bought a laptop in 2011 that cost an extra $75 because it had a blu-ray drive, and I used the blu-ray drive probably twice, and both times it was a hassle because the laser was super sensitive and wouldn't read blu-ray discs unless I would clean it with alcohol. Optic drives will go the way of floppy, not necessary/side uses for compatibility with old resources. Not to mention you can get an external dvd reader/writer for something like $15. |
I didn't bother to read anything leading up to optical drives being any sort of factor in the console or PC debate.
In short, optical drives are unnecessary in PCs for anything beyond legacy software that is no longer supported by the developer. Yes, developers still give consumers the option of buying installation discs in many, but not all instances, but pre-recorded commercial media remains the primary purpose for any optical drive in a PC.
The only reason why current gen consoles still have optical drives is differences between PC and console markets. Consoles are consumer devices and are still tethered to physical media although this is right on the verge of changing. It's simply a matter of when the consumers are ready for that shift.
Microsoft effectively tried to force that change prematurely (originally, retail disc copies were essentially installation discs that could not be freely used by any user) and that idea went down like a lead balloon as console consumers saw that as an end to the secondary/used game market. Sony retained the old model and Microsoft was forced to change policy. Both offered the same direct download options (Microsoft's was more generous in allowing family sharing among separate consoles until they had the flip flop), but it was the retail copy policy that made the difference in the minds of consumers.
Even now, with the advantages direct download offer over optical/retail copies, many consumers still cling to retail copies because of the used game market with a smaller niche attached to collecting media.
By contrast, the PC consumer has already accepted a DD market.
