PS4 Stuck With Discs "for the Foreseeable Future"
- Thread starter Fanghawk
- Start date
WAY too soon to talk about the PS5 but I'm sure people were talking about the PS4 back when the PS2 was revealed to be called the PS4.
Anyway, this sounds excellent for people like me who try really, really hard to never ever buy digital games when there's an option to purchase a physical copy. I don't see how a console utilizing physical media (and thus, allowing consumers to actually purchase and own their games as opposed to downloading king-sized game-apps) is a shortcoming. The PSP-Go was a download-only console and most people agree that the Go was nothing but a short-coming in and of itself.
Anyway, this sounds excellent for people like me who try really, really hard to never ever buy digital games when there's an option to purchase a physical copy. I don't see how a console utilizing physical media (and thus, allowing consumers to actually purchase and own their games as opposed to downloading king-sized game-apps) is a shortcoming. The PSP-Go was a download-only console and most people agree that the Go was nothing but a short-coming in and of itself.
As with pretty much everyone in this thread already, I think this is great news. We already know the drive is going to be faster, and it's likely an install option will exist for every game if you want to use it, so I don't really see any downsides here.
Although efficient programming and what not is a nice thing to aim for, with 50Gb blu-rays it isn't really needed.Roxor said:
As for the article itself, I don't see how anyone could have thought different.
The world isn't properly equipped yet for a download only console.
Some want slower console cycles too, like John Carmack thoug, so staying with discs will hopefully slow Sony down a bit and get back to their mega PS2 era (which only just recently stopped being manufactured).
When you make a console that has lots of processing power but costs a LOT ($1000 in Australia on release), has obtuse programming surrounding it making utilising said hardware very difficult (compared to x360/PC relationship), doesn't function as well as a media centre, and stupid triggers then you can't really be surprised when the x360 is very profitable and the PS3 isn't so much (although the stupid triggers is fixed if the PS4 controller specs are going to stay as they're inverted now).
When you make a console that has lots of processing power but costs a LOT ($1000 in Australia on release), has obtuse programming surrounding it making utilising said hardware very difficult (compared to x360/PC relationship), doesn't function as well as a media centre, and stupid triggers then you can't really be surprised when the x360 is very profitable and the PS3 isn't so much (although the stupid triggers is fixed if the PS4 controller specs are going to stay as they're inverted now).
Makes sense, most people don't have the option of a high speed internet connection in their area to even begin to consider downloading a 50GB game, and that is also not considering how much storage space the ps4 will have at release to be able to store that size of game. So Sony would be right to wait for the infrastructure to catch up before delivering a more digital centric model.
Couldn't agree more. What's with the title anyway? "Stuck with discs?" Please. As if downloading something the size of a blu-ray disc takes nothing.bluegate said:
Well, that's great. Really no problem with that. I do have the internet speed to stomach large downloads, but I prefer not to do that. Plus storage space. I don't like stacking my hard drive with huge games. Discs are okay. Plus I like physical copies of games. :3
Apparently, spending more than a day waiting is better than going out, because the sun is scary or something.Mcoffey said:
But seriously, folks, was this ever really in question? The US is one of the primary markets and it lacks the infrastructure to have console level sales on pure digital distribution.
WAIT! I hear people protest. STEEEEEEEEEEEAM!
Yeah, Steam completely owns DD on the PC. The PC market is estimated, according to Forbes' sources, at about 4 billion (all figures in USD unless marked otherwise) annually. Steam owns about 80% of that. They own 80% of 4 billion, to repeat.
The gaming market was worth an estimated 67 billion in 2012. So while no actual numbers are available on Steam (Since Valve doesn't release any figures; Gabe pinky swears they're making it big, though), even if they held 100% of the market, they're still, what? about a sixth of the overall market? Yeah....
Hell, let's be generous. The PC market is double what is estimated, and they're now just over a TENTH of the market.
Well, then, I can see no flaw assuming that bringing the rest of the market digital, with ten times the load, would work out okay.
The truth is, people want an all-digital future, and this is the only reason they're predicting it. There was no pragmatic reason to believe the PS4 or Durango would offer themselves up as solely digital devices, because there's no reason to velieve either Sony or Microsoft are THAT suicidal.
I think in a few years the PS4/Xbox will move into digital streaming. I think some companies will go disc based with there games, but some i think will have download only versions through psn or live.
It would be good to slowly change peoples opinions and prepare the way for digital download only for the PS5 in the future. I for one would like the choice, to buy in the shops for £40, or to download it for £25.
It would be good to slowly change peoples opinions and prepare the way for digital download only for the PS5 in the future. I for one would like the choice, to buy in the shops for £40, or to download it for £25.
50GB does not necessarily mean that the developer will even come near that amount, it's simply what BD can hold. Between compression techniques and determining what gets stored on the hard drive and what's alright to be read off the disk every time, you won't have to worry about this issue.loa said:
OT: I'm seeing a few remarks regarding spectrum crunch and how things regarding internet bandwidth aren't going to get much better. Spectrum crunch is for mobile data transfer only. If your PS4 is going to be running off a 4G connection, then yeah be worried about it. But if you're running off a home network connected by a conventional "hard wire" land connection, you don't have to worry about it. It doesn't come into land connections at all.
I don't see a problem with having blu rays stick around. At least they have the capacity, unlike DVD.
Example: Crysis 3 PC retail, $60 CDN + 13% in taxes for a total of $67 CDN. Crysis 3 Greenmangaming.com, $50 USD, no taxes. Crysis 3 CJS-cdkeys.com, $40 USD, no taxes.
So would I, but as a PC gamer, the average retailer either has a) Shit pricing or b) no stock. Many people are being forced into digital because they lack competitiveness.VMK said:
Example: Crysis 3 PC retail, $60 CDN + 13% in taxes for a total of $67 CDN. Crysis 3 Greenmangaming.com, $50 USD, no taxes. Crysis 3 CJS-cdkeys.com, $40 USD, no taxes.
I like optical drives, computer companies are removing them because "the PC is dead." While sony sondiers on with the PS4. Good on them.
Stuck with? You say that almost like it's a bad thing. I wouldn't buy a console from any of the big three that didn't use a disc or cartridge of some kind, and I never will. I'm not alone, either.
They can try, but the revenue they'd loose won't make it practical to make a game for any console; not with production costs as high as they are. For most people playing a streamed game is actually an impossibility right now. Who knows how long that will last, for some places in the world it may be near indefinite.SonOfVoorhees said:
Yes. I honestly dislike the prospect of digital-only gaming in the future.
There's just nothing like popping in a cartridge or sliding in a disc (though I prefer the top-loader thing). Yeah, it's convenient to be able to click on Borderlands 2 in Steam and BAM it's there. But. It's different.
Moreover, I like being able to look at my collection as a physical mass, rather than just a list.
There's just nothing like popping in a cartridge or sliding in a disc (though I prefer the top-loader thing). Yeah, it's convenient to be able to click on Borderlands 2 in Steam and BAM it's there. But. It's different.
Moreover, I like being able to look at my collection as a physical mass, rather than just a list.