No Optical Disc Drive for Xbox 3

[Friendly]

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/exclusiv ... box/092534

Somehow I doubt this. Blu Ray would seem like the way to go.
No disc drive would also indicate no backwards compatibility...

[Skykid]

It's perfectly possible. Xbox Live is enormous and successfully pipes movies, games, and TV to millions. If they just make XBL accounts transferrable to the new console, they'll be all set.

Bring it on I say, time to draw a line on physical media. There's not much left I care to play anyway.

[nZero]

No disc drive would also indicate no backwards compatibility...

Unless it's like how the Vita provides PSP backwards compatibility, and you have to rebuy the Games on Demand version from the marketplace.

[Friendly]

No disc drive would also indicate no backwards compatibility...

Unless it's like how the Vita provides PSP backwards compatibility, and you have to rebuy the Games on Demand version from the marketplace.

Yeah, screw that. Sony won't get a dime from me for this kind of BC (or should I say BS), and neither will Microsoft.

[TransatlanticFoe]

A sad day if true.

As far as the xbox brand goes, it'll probably make the ruddy things more reliable though.

I suppose PC gaming has already heralded the end of "owning" the game you buy and the physical media cheaped even further by removing printed manuals. But consoles too? It would basically not warrant the purchase given that I already have a relatively inexpensive gaming rig which wipes the floor with the current gen... so if I enter into the next generation it'll be with Nintendo again.

[Jeneki]

If the price is right, I don't mind not owning anything except an extended rental. Steam is a perfect example of this. I bought plenty of games last year during sales, however none of them were over $10 and many were in the $2.50-5.00 range.

So if a hypothetical "you own nothing" console sticks with the normal console download pricing schemes (same price as retail games years after release, sales few and far between, no real bargains) or pulls any bullshit such as forcing you to pay an extra membership fee to get discounts, this won't interest me at all. If games receive aggressive discounts after a set amount of time with no extra fees attached, I'll grab one.

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

Not buying any console on which I can't play the games I bought for it 10-15 years later.
Not buying any console on which the console manufacturer can render your whole collection unplayable anytime they want.
Not buying any console on which I can't own the games.
Not buying any console designed to nickel-and-dime people to death.
Not buying any console that needs a working Internet connection to be played.
Not buying any console on which I can't do whatever the hell I want with the games I buy for it.

[t0yrobo]

I could see it happening, but I'd also expect them to sell a external disc drive for $$$ because they just love gouging people on accessories.

[JBC]

Count me out.

[Blackbird]

Not buying any console on which I can't play the games I bought for it 10-15 years later.
Not buying any console on which the console manufacturer can render your whole collection unplayable anytime they want.
Not buying any console on which I can't own the games.
Not buying any console designed to nickel-and-dime people to death.
Not buying any console that needs a working Internet connection to be played.
Not buying any console on which I can't do whatever the hell I want with the games I buy for it.

This.

[Specineff]

^^^ Seconded. Give me discs, or get hacked, mother truckers.

[Kiken]

From what I've read elsewhere, MS are actually working on two different SKUs. The first, will be a set-top box specifically designed to connect to Live (allowing the user to download and play XBLA, XBLIG and GoD games)... which is most likely what this article is referring to. The second will be a console in the conventional sense that uses a Blu-Ray disc drive (which is supposedly gonna be the 720/Loop/Infinity whateverthefuck name MS go with).

Otherwise, I'm look forward to the return of cartridges.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Not buying any console on which I can't play the games I bought for it 10-15 years later.
Not buying any console on which the console manufacturer can render your whole collection unplayable anytime they want.
Not buying any console on which I can't own the games.
Not buying any console designed to nickel-and-dime people to death.
Not buying any console that needs a working Internet connection to be played.
Not buying any console on which I can't do whatever the hell I want with the games I buy for it.

This.

Again.

[Casper<3]

A sad day if true.

As far as the xbox brand goes, it'll probably make the ruddy things more reliable though.

I suppose PC gaming has already heralded the end of "owning" the game you buy and the physical media cheaped even further by removing printed manuals. But consoles too? It would basically not warrant the purchase given that I already have a relatively inexpensive gaming rig which wipes the floor with the current gen... so if I enter into the next generation it'll be with Nintendo again.

It's already happening. Battlefield 3 brand new doesn't come with a manual so to say.

[Estebang]

Vita games only have digital manuals, although Sony hasn't explicitly disallowed including physical ones.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

It's already happening. Battlefield 3 brand new doesn't come with a manual so to say.

I used to love reading manuals as a kid. Heck, I'm still used to games that expect you to actually read the manual beforehand and threw you right in the game instead of having to spend 10 minutes on handholding tutorials. Sad to see 'em go if that's what's happening, although I understand why they'd be cheap in order to make more money...

[Casper<3]

It's already happening. Battlefield 3 brand new doesn't come with a manual so to say.

I used to love reading manuals as a kid. Heck, I'm still used to games that expect you to actually read the manual beforehand and threw you right in the game instead of having to spend 10 minutes on handholding tutorials. Sad to see 'em go if that's what's happening, although I understand why they'd be cheap in order to make more money...

Sometimes I'll be hanging out with a friend that's playing a game. I tend to look at the case and browse through the manual.

I really wish they would bring back normal cases and actual manuals. Paper and plastic aren't that expensive to manufacturer and if I'm buying a physical product, I want the whole deal.

[ryu]

Manuals are redundant in this day and age since they're embedded within the gameplay already. Because it really is a fun and engaging activity to keep reading the same explanations again and again on every replay. Right?

Personally I can't even stand them on my first play though.

I read someone saying the console used cartridges with some sort of SSD technology. Since I didn't check for any source and considering current prices for SSDs, I can't help but find this extremely unlikely. And it's not like these could have the same life-expectancy of the old "8 and 16 bit console" cartridges anyways.

[replayme]

Would certainly be interesting to see as to how second sales and traditional retail is affected.

I know that GAME might be closing down, so the writing is kind of on the wall, but what about HMV (who have reduced shelf space to games and are almost dead themselves) and CEX?

The next few years are certainly going to be interesting.

[Friendly]

Otherwise, I'm look forward to the return of cartridges.

Remember the no-used-games-for-Xbox 3-rumor? They could sell games that lock themselves to a single console. I'm NOT looking forward to this.
If true, I am not going to buy Microsoft's next console. And it's not just me.

[ryu]

after the disaster that is the x360, why would anyone even begin to think of buying any more microsoft consoles?

[Friendly]

after the disaster that is the x360, why would anyone even begin to think of buying any more microsoft consoles?

After the collossal failure of 360 in Japan one can only hope that Japanese shmup-devs will return to Playstation next gen, which like PS3 and Vita hopefully will be region-free, too. I'm also willing to bet any amount of money that the next Playstation will have a Blu Ray drive.

[neorichieb1971]

I vote to keep things traditional. Although alot of plastic will be used for landfill in years to come, our countries need retail outlets to keep society traditional. The way its going, society will cease to exist in 50 years. You will only meet with people you work with, if you can find a job.

[replayme]

after the disaster that is the x360, why would anyone even begin to think of buying any more microsoft consoles?

i'd buy one (eventually). i have more faith in the next microsoft machine at this moment in time, than nintendo's. i'm certainly not interested in the wii u.

[replayme]

I vote to keep things traditional. Although alot of plastic will be used for landfill in years to come, our countries need retail outlets to keep society traditional. The way its going, society will cease to exist in 50 years. You will only meet with people you work with, if you can find a job.

let's see how game group stack up after two weeks. also, i do agree about the part where you only really meet people through work. most of the people i have met have been through work (whether that be through my website/magazine credentials, or through my job).

i guess one is defined by their job after all...

[Ed Oscuro]

I vote to keep things traditional. Although alot of plastic will be used for landfill in years to come, our countries need retail outlets to keep society traditional. The way its going, society will cease to exist in 50 years. You will only meet with people you work with, if you can find a job.

Well, you're assuming that stuff like social media, "real world" gaming, and Eye Toy / Wii / Kinect aren't foreshadowing possibilities in more physical and social gaming, and that we will forever be tethered to mice and keyboards. I don't see this, personally.

Now, I do imagine that trying to play a "real" FPS with people could prove to be dangerous, due to all the butthurt and egos in that crowd. But take out some of that and the possibilities for collaborative gaming are quite nice, even if J.S. Joust looks less than compelling to me at the moment.

[Benjamin]

I can understand some of the backlash here, but a focus on digital distribution should provide the incentive to ensure the longevity of content. It works for music. It works for books. Why not games? The big bottleneck for the bulk of consoles has always been the incompatibility going from generation to generation. So long as consumers reap some benefit such as the lower prices of XBL/PSN/Steam stuff, so be it. I'd happily buy my $10/15 digital game and forego a $40/60 retail copy that'll just sit on a shelf.

[evil_ash_xero]

Well, that'd be cool and all, but they tend to take down some games every once in a while...and that freaks people out.

[TransatlanticFoe]

Well it works for music because plenty of providers supply you with files you can do what you want with. If digital distribution for games meant getting an .msi package then fine, but that'll never happen.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Well it works for music because plenty of providers supply you with files you can do what you want with. If digital distribution for games meant getting an .msi package then fine, but that'll never happen.

Exactly. With music or visual media in general, they can be much more readily/easily reproduced than video games because they don't have the distribution problems video games have (technology aging, games needing emulation or a port to be played on a new system, etc).