I was just thinking about this.

What if Sony and Microsoft allow to install the complete game on the harddisk and allow playing it with out the disk inside the drive?

of course they would need to block the disk for use with another machine, or it would just go around and anyone would install the game and play.

But you could have access to any game you own without having to insert the disk first.

Of course you could keep the disk as backup, if you need to reinstall it after you made room for other games on your HDD. Or you could sell it or give it away, but since it is blocked the new owner would have to pay to unlock it.

i can also imagine having a choice of playing the game without the disk inside, so you can decide yourself if it will be blocked from playing on other machines.

There may be even a choice of unlocking it again after you delete the game from your HDD so you can re-sell it for a higher price.

there is lots of possibilities for that technology, and not all of them are downright evil.

your thoughts?

that would be more reasonable.

It would be full digital but with a retail convenience. As long as the disk can serve as a back up, say if they detect that you deleted the game from your HDD it would allow you to reinstall it.

The problem of blocking used games still exists though, but this is better than just straight blocking because you have a full install option. Also without using up your internet.

In fact if you have more than one console, it would allow physical copies to play on both.

this would be a good and reasonable feature. basically all the convenience of digital without the need to have fast internet. i would certainly approve of this functionality.

..you are probably being overly optimistic though.

Sony did mention in their conference something about removing the need to keep swapping discs out. It was really quick and I wrote it off as a comment on the rise of digital distribution, but maybe it hinted at this instead.

Great point. This might be it. As for used games...maybe you can remove a title that is tied to your account....or better yet the disk unlock pass we keep asking be implemented. No more than $5 please.

I'd rather see them do what Blu-Ray movie companies have been doing, which is give you the physical disc, with no restrictions, AND give you a download code. That way the consumer gets the best of both worlds and the company gains a lot in terms of their consumer relationship.

Ha, I'd love it, but that isn't happening in this day and age. The videogame companies of today really don't give a shit about "consumer relationship." All they would see from that scenario is giving away two copies for one purchase, leading to lost revenue.

That sounds great, and you still physically own the game, which is a big reason why I prefer not to download games.