Microsoft: 'No question' downloads will overtake retail

Microsoft says there is 'no question' that the sale of downloaded games will overtake the sales of games at retail in the coming years.

[AStupidXbot]

It will, but I dont think it will overtake it untill atleast another decade.

[IzKyD1331]

probably when everything is obtainable by digital distribution, and harddrive sizes get to like 500 GB in gaming consoles

[sonarus]

I don't know if it will be a decade but assuming next gen games will be taking like 50GB i need to have at least a 1TB hard drive that can easily be swapped out and super high speed internet to download my games

[NO_PUDding]

It will.

But much slower than Microsoft wants. Not even 80% with an Xbox 360 is online, so it's not viable yet.

People will still want long experiences, and not just an arcade game resurgence. And to me, it seems only Sony is actually doing proper titles for download. Where are Microsofts Episodic games and proper games. GT5P, Siren, Warhawk, Quest For Booty... What does Microsoft have. It's a genuine question, becuase I might have forgotten something.

You can talk the talk, but you gotta be walking the walk first.

[IzKyD1331]

one major flaw in digital distribution is the download times, when everyone has a fast enough connection where a 2 hour movie can be downloaded in like 10 minutes is probably when it'll start sounding more attractive to less techy people

[Spread Butt Cheeks]

What do you mean not 80% is online?

19+ million people with 11 million on live? its getting very close to possible

[Lifendz]

at least not anytime soon. Are retailers going to react well when they're cut out of their take? That's assuming MS and Sony don't kick something back to them.

Not sure if this is something I even want. I like having the option to pick a game up used. Or maybe let a bud borrow a game. And the time involved with downloading a game (and installing it on PS3) is going to be insane.

I hope they follow the Warhawk model and have games on both PSN and in the stores.

[SixTwoTwo]

Yeah it will definitely be awhile before it happens but at the same time there will always be a market for physical media whether its games, movies, or music.

[DaKid]

I think it will, but not nearly as quick as i believe Microsoft is thinking. First we need way faster internet connections, and they have to be to everyone or atleast a great majority of poeple. before it has a chance to "over take" retail sales.

Off topic- who all has played Braid? That game is AMAZING!!!

[IzKyD1331]

well, now that i think about it, it doesnt seem completely off the radar, think about music?
do you buy your music CD wise, or do you download it off limewire, itunes etc.?
illegal way or not, your still getting your music digitally....but again, music takes like 200 MB while games and movies take space in the GBs

[The Lazy One]

If you get a physical copy it will probably stay $60, but would you download a game if the cost of distribution was cut dramatically so the end price to you was only $40?

I'd probably download all my games so long as I could redownload them if I could save $20 every time.

[Real Gambler]

Instead of paying $40 for a download, I would rather pay $60 for the physical game. Play for it as much as I want. Be able to lend it to my friend if he want to try it. Bring it with me if I want to play to another friend place. And then, when I get bored with it, sell it for $20. End result, I will have paid the same price you did for your download. But even better, I may even be able to trade it with a friend, at the end for a totally different game. (We do that a lot in my friend circle).

You should not believe that Microsoft marketing guys are genious. Sure download is coming, but not that soon. If it would, they would have put a hard drive in all their consoles...

[The Lazy One]

It's just a good alternative. We're going to have physical copies of games for a long time (decades at least). That doesn't mean downloaded games won't overtake them as the most popular way to purchase.

People look at DD and consider it to be a replacement for the physical version. It's just an alternative, and a very good alternative for a lot of people.

[Silogon]

Maybe someday, I can see myself loving the idea even right now, but lets face it too many people are without stable connections, connections at all, and more often than not people with less incom tend to not throw away their money on digital media they cannot obtain hard prints for.

The wealth of the world isn't rich by any grand number. More people are poor than they are rich. More people have less money than they do more money and while a lot of people think the rich are fueling the industry, they're not.

The people with money have more to do in life than play video games. the people without money are what keep rental places open and the video game industry alive. Why you ask? Cause they don't have the money to travel and do lavish things like the above can do.

This is just my thoughts on the situation but things will have to change a bit more before we can acheive this goal.

Keep in mind I love it and will support it fully when the day comes, but I am in the minority. I have warhawk, Siren and over 30 PSN games sitting on my hdd to prove this fact too.

[Montrealien]

I guess we will see in the coming years. No question about it though, digital distribution will be a force to be reckoned with.

[thebudgetgamer]

if hd-DVD would've won would this article exist?

[Le-mo]

No thank you, I want a hard copy of the games I own. Having a Digital copy is too much hassle, you would have to download the game, a possibility the harddrive might fail, or you would have to transfer all the games from the harddrive to another harddrive when it becomes full which could take a long time considering the games capacity.

[morganfell]

Yes, go total digital and shoot yourself in the foot.

I agree it's somewhere in the future but not this gen nor the next.

And talk about crying. If you think publishers cry about not selling games now, wait until someone is dumb enough to try digital only. I don't mean for 1 title on PSN or Live.

You see, this is what MS misses. The minute you try and nail gamers for digital distro on every purchase, the kind of purchase a gamer can't trade, watch sales drop like a rock. Because gamers will buy far far fewer games if they know they can't trade them.

A digital only game world with no way to trade will put sales through the floor.

[beoulve]

MS doesn't even have a full-blown game on XBOX Live. All small little arcade games. Yeah Downloads will overtake retail alright, but you are damn far behind.

[IzKyD1331]

i cant believe MS are saying this when they dont even have full retail games on Live like sony does

[Spread Butt Cheeks]

ps3 driods are like the blacks. nothing but liars and sneaks.

[Kleptic]

dude shut up...'droids' even have your best interests in mind...I know you are obviously a retarded 360 fanatic...but even an idiot like you wouldn't want to pay $500 for a garbage proprietary 300mb 360 HDD and put up with the absolute trash DRM MS has imposed on XBL...at least I would hope you wouldn't...

and because your post will be deleted in about 30 minutes...this guy is obviously getponed being a racist again...ban him entirely...what is that like 16 accounts now?...you suck...

[Spread Butt Cheeks]

waaaaaaa

bu bu but he was mean to the blacks. walk down the rap aisle at best buy and tell me you dont laugh.

[beoulve]

is that the best that stupid bot can do. try harder sour loser

[juuken]

They're idiots.
Nuff said.

[SpaZaA]

Yet it's Sony that is actually releasing full games and Episodic content on PSN (Warhawk, SOCOM, GT5:Prologue, Siren, R&C Quest for Booty, etc). And their original PSN titles which are smaller games are fantastic as well. If anybody is rooting themselves in digital distribution for games it's Sony.

[beoulve]

they talk the talk but they let Sony do the walk.

[boodybandit]

but you said it Spazaa.

[The Wood]

takes up more space on my hdd than dvd9 can hold. DD will overtake far quicker on the xbox than on the ps3 just because of blu ray alone because its got longer legs. Downloading siren wasn't too bad but imagine downloading MGS4 and can you play your console whilst your downloading like you can on psn? Your console will be downloading more than you actually playing.

[devilhunterx]

I was just gonna type what you wrote.

[IzKyD1331]

im also guessing this is MS' answer to their storage problem

[Sony Rep]

We here at Sony realize that we are the leaders the in the current online distribution of games. We are still relying heavily on retail as a key source of our distribution. We here at Sony are also asking consumers through our online surveys, what they prefer...unlike our rivals.

[zo6_lover27]

M$ actually needs a digital download service (as in full games) first. The only ones with such a service are SONY, and they probably don't even want digital downloads to take over.

EDIT

Next gen games (not saying this will happen next gen) will be well over 100GB each, with ever increasing graphics we will need at least a 2TB HDD, and with HVD having 3.9TB on a single disk, digital downloads are at least 15 years away.

[SpaZaA]

from a profitability standpoint, it's much more convenient for Sony to sell games online, it cuts out the middle man (aka brick & mortar retail) and it's also hard to sell a digital copy to Gamestop lol. They allow 5 downloads on your PSN account for any purchased games BTW, so if you lose a copy (accidental deletion, format HDD, new HDD, etc) you can just grab it again.

As SonyRep said, Sony are doing plenty of surveys , and it appears for larger games they will continue to offer a BD version for now.

[The Lazy One]

you can only download it 5 times? It can't register it to the machine and ID and give you infinite downloads?

That's kinda lame.

[Oner]

No. You can download it UNLIMITED times on your PS3 with the option to download it on up to 4 additional DIFFERENT PS3's that are friends/family etc. For a total of 5 PS3's.

[Spydiggity]

i want the hard copy.

too many things that can go wrong. plus you can't take your game to your friend's house. but i guess that's the goal...to force everyone to pay full price for every game, eliminate rentals, eliminate being able to borrow games, and eliminate buying used games.

i am a huge gamer, but i can't stand where the industry is going.

[SpaZaA]

In a manner of speaking you CAN take your downloaded games to your friends place, you just need to set up you account on there system. If you are inclined to take the time to do it. PSN game sharing is pretty popular.

[iHEARTboobs]

I prefer hard copies also. I hope Sony allows us to save our games to the HDD like the 360 to avoid wear on the PS3. Aside from that, i'm perfectly happy with hard copies, especially if there isn't an incentive (cheaper price) to buy a downloadable copy. Digital downloads are getting more popular but as far as full scale games are concerned, they have a long way to go before they overtake retail.

[xjxdoggystyyle]

is the ticket....so i spend 60 dollars a game..download it...say i buy 20 games....or....50 games...all on my hard drive...and its stolen...lost....broken...then what? im out 1200 bux for 20 games? 3000 bux for 50 games? no way no thanks...cds/blu rays.....plz

[The Lazy One]

What? It's a hell of a lot easier to steal games than it is to steal hard drives. Robbery is actually a spot where DD has a huge advantage, because you can just download them again, where if a disk gets stolen, you are screwed.

[Spydiggity]

stealing a whole library of discs would be much harder. plus that was just one possible scenario that he mentioned. the bigger one would be system failure or HDD failure.

[xjxdoggystyyle]

stealing a stack of 50 games....would be alot harder to do...then putting an xbox hard drive in your pocket ....so im havin a party at my house and theres a few kids there that i dont know well.....are they gonna start stuffing there pants with all my games...how many can they get out cases and all......sure ill lose some but not all 50....now how easy is it to pocket a hard drive and slip off..hmm

[The Lazy One]

how do you get around the fact that they are easily trackable locked to your gamertag and probably in some way loosely locked to your console.

You can always REDOWNLOAD a stolen downloaded game. You can't go to the store and repickup a stolen game without paying another $60

[Sony Rep]

We here at Sony believe Microsoft are just jabbering at the lips. They do not have actual facts of trends. We here at Sony distribute full games online. Microsoft does not.

-Sony Rep

[qface64]

lol sony rep your gunning for allot of bubbles aren't you

[cmrbe]

will increase in size. Games always increase in size from one gen to another. The question of dd for games is complex. Will internet broadband speed increase at a faster rate compare to game size?. Will broadband internet penetration increase dramatically all over the world in a couple of years?.

DD for games is already happening but i believe it will remain a very small portion of game distribution in years to come unless someone developes ultra fast super cheap broadband in the near future. There is already talk of Ultra High Def. Who wants to download 100 gig games?. hehe.

[joevfx]

once the internet providers put a cap on download sizes and make people pay per download size, downloaded movies and games will come to an end fast. its already happening

[ice_prophecy]

My monthly cap on internet downloading is 25Gb. Theres no way in hell that I can download any game with that limit. I pay roughly 89$AUD a month for that connection as well, with a 35$ line rental fee on top. DD is just not feasible for me, or many people in Australia for that matter.

[joevfx]

thats slowly being tested here in the states too, im sorry Microsft but optical discs arent going anywhere.

[PirateThom]

Optical discs may not go anywhere, but what may replace it (for games anyway) could be a flash memory card, similar to what the DS uses, if they can bring the cost down and make the space on the disc high enough, load times may be abolished forever.

[ice_prophecy]

But how does production costs for disc based media compare to flash based media?

edit: nm, What you said just sunk in now haha.

[ultimate920]

They are already planning on doing this and for people to pay per download, they are going to get choosy about what to do, making some people not willing to download a game to pay extra when the bill comes...

Microsoft is stupid as hell, they aren't thinking well to the future. I still believe it will happen, but no big games are coming out of this, especially with the amount of space it will take. Sony already has full games in their PSN and they seem to be doing good. How come Microsoft is doing anything about it.

They got a long way to go...

[ToeKneeHaze]

I think these dummies forget that one bonus side to have DISC-BASED games is that u can sell them after ur done or trade them. How the hell you supposed to do that with digital downloads? Unless someone figures out a hack to have games run on any machine despite ip/login.

[joevfx]

thats exactly what they want you to do. NOT be able to sell the games back. Game companies dont make any money off there games if soemone buys them used. they are trying to figured out ways to stop trade ins.

[Raoh]

I agree with SpaZaA

MS is just trying to play damage control. they have no real full titles to release on xbla. hell they have a hard time allowing large large arcade titles and extra content.

oh i know, its because you can now install the full game onto the 360 hard drive... .. wait.. you need the original physical media for that right? not to mention a larger hard drive if you purchase a lot of games.

the only thing i can see them having up their sleeve is streaming from live as a rental.

[SpaZaA]

As having a very adverse effect for MS. People will be able to simply rent games for a day, copy them and play them for as long as they like/space permitting. I expect many people will pass up buying shorter games and renting/copying them and enjoying them for a few months.

We'll see how it pans out, but I think it's unwise.

[Voiceofreason]

You'll probably need to disc in to play the game even if it doesnt need to get any data off the disc.

[Chandresh Patel]

They're a Multi-Billion Dollar Corporation bent on taking out OTHER Multi-Billion Dollar Corporations.With this,they're basically saying "F you GameStop!","F you BestBuy!","F you Walmart!".Basically," ;F you for selling physical Media,we'll do our own sh!t that will take all of you out!".

See,they THINK they can do what Apple did;That is,create a successful Online distribution network of Media that rivals the Retail distribution network.The problem with Microsoft?They haven't realized that Apple ARE NOT seeing the same amount of success from their Movie sells compared to their Music sales.It's not even CLOSE.

So now Microsoft are basically trying to take out both the Video game retailers and Movie retailers,by providing a machine and service that will,in their minds,be the perfect candidates for the job...The problem?While the Service is great,the Machine is not so great.RROD,Hard drive isn't standard,you know the drill.

This is why Warner Bros choosing Blu Ray back in January was such a crushing move;Not only did they effectively kill the rival format,they also made a very decisive underlying message;"We support Blu Ray,we support PHYSICAL MEDIA"<----This is why Microsoft are in a panic,because the biggest Movie Studio in the World is not willing to throw their FULL support behind Digital media.

You want to know the crazy part about this all?Between Sony and Microsoft,it is in fact SONY who have the most influence and electronics out there to initiate a successful Digital distribution store for Movies and Video games.So Microsoft can pay Viacom $500 Million for their content,but at the end of the day,when the rival company has their OWN Movie Studio and can equally pay $500 Million for the same content,you will always be at a disadvantage.ALWAYS.

[TheColbertinator]

I don't see this happening.Games like Rage,Doom 4,and MGS4 already take over 20 Gigs.I just dont see a hard drive efficient enough to hold all that space

[PirateThom]

If I have an option (like GT5P or Warhawk) I always take the disc, because I like physically owning what I've bought, same with movies and music. I like having a physica product I can actually touch.

All the same, I have to laugh at Microsoft for taking about downloading as if it's the future but not even venturing into it as far as Sony have in the present.

[Voiceofreason]

If they dont sale a physical disc you cannot buy it. It will not be done by choice. Gamers will be forced into it.Developers want to stop theft and resale. Their thinking will probably bethat they wont lose any more money with DD then they with discs and piracy so let some people get pissed off.

[Tacki]

I think eventually downloads will overtake retail... but we're still many years from that. It won't happen till more people have higher internet speeds. For myself, I'll still by games on disc whenever I can. That's what I'll be doing with Warhawk and and SOCOM: Confrontation and any other game that's also released on disc. Not only do I think it's 'safer', but I'm also big into collecting things like this. Was the same way when I focused just on my DVD's. To me there are just more advantages to actually having the disc when it comes to both games and movies. Even when/if digital distribution takes over there, physical media won't be dead. Many download music now... but not enough to the point where they've stopped selling CD's altogether.

[divideby0]

I guess this is a new revelation to MS..cause it certainly was not planned for with a gimped 20G drive in the launch 360, it could not hold up to real downloadable games.. and dont forget their other fiasco with their DRM..

[Reibooi]

I don't think downloads will ever overtake retail. First off I don't like downloads I like owning the disc and I know alot of people out there feel the same. 2nd the tech for this to work perfectly wont be in place for at least another 10-20 years and even then you will still have to worry about crashes losing all you Data and having to rebuy/redownload everything. Downloads are great for small little games but big budget stuff like MGS and FF will never see it. I wouldn't wanna spend a large portion of my day downloading a game when I could grab the game at the store and be playing it way faster. There are just to many negatives to downloads and that is why I think disc based will never go away.

[RAM MAGNUMS]

what? Thanks to Sony & the ps3 digital distribution isnt just the future, its today!
thanks to easy installation of laptop hardrives & external hardrives you can have terabytes
in your ps3!
download full retail games straight from ps3 online.
titles include:
warhawk (launch)
tekken5 online
siren
& more

Also, go the ps3 store & buy hd movies & store them in your hardrive or USB stick
its yours! Do what you want with it. Even play it remotely on your psp!
You can pirate movies from the ps3 browser too but don't ask don't tell nobody ok.
original psp games will sell on the ps3 store because its fast, its easy & your psp
wants it & you need it!
ps3 today & beyond!
r u red e?

[REPLOID24]

i want a physical product that i can take wherever i want, and to display my collection.

[dkgshiz]

They don't even have a full game on xbox live! What are they talking about?! Why say something you don't have! And no, their wrong. downloads will not take over retail. I would rather have a hard copy of a game than a digital game. Much better. Microsoft is living in a fantasy world. Downloads wont take over for a long time. Give it another 7 years when downloads are the main format for games and everything else. Not everyone has highspeed internet. Theres tons of people that don't even have internet. So they would be left out for everything.

[Lou-Cipher]

Playstation 4 and Xbox 3 will probably see many full game download options, but it will not surpass disc based sales for at least 10-15 years.

Microsoft has to say something to prevent the Xbox fans from running away from a console that wont have a future very soon.

[Bazookajoe_83]

But that is only based on logic, if games are going to be 50gb a piece. You would need a hdd thats atleast 2-5tb to feel safe that you dont need to upgrade it (especially if you only can buy the companys own over priced hdd´s). And a 100 mb internet line would have to be a must to get the games home before the second coming of christ.. I do however think that smaller games up to 10gb could be sold over psn or live with success...

[harv052]

I just don't see it happening.......at all!! Well, probably not for a long time, I'm thinking over a decade. ISPs are starting to bring back download limits (where I currently live, download limits were ALWAYS present). Fact of the matter is, it would cost ISPs a sh*tload of money to get potent speeds for Microsoft's vision to happen...You know corporations...they don't want to spend a lot of money if they don't see the benefit....

[grider99]

I will always want my physical media with the game on it.

[Lou-Cipher]

When digital dowloads become more of a factor its not like Microsoft is going to leave Sony in the dust. Sony will be just as much a part of digital downloads as Microsoft.

Microsoft acts like this is their big advantage over Sony in the future. LOL

[zo6_lover27]

Sony is already bigger in the digital distribution of games than M$.

[AcidHorse]

because they STILL have an SKU with no hard-drive and several SKU's with too little of a HDD. How can Microsoft be for downloadable future when their product line does not prepare them and their customers for that future? Microsoft only offers expensive upgrade alternatives as a remedy for their short-sighted console design.

The system most prepared for a download future is the PS3; with its easy and cheap HDD solution. Anyone can buy a standard 3rd party laptop HDD and wa-la. The PS3's greatest feature is its future potential, which is also what hurts it in the present. Sony has failed to highlight the PS3's plethora of features, big mistake.

It is puzzling how Microsoft contradicts itself on this issue. They may have the leading online community, via XBL, but they lack the hardware necessary to hold the download specific economy they are so adamant
on pursuing.

[thehitman]

I think they just mad that they rushed their 360 and realized they missed the bandwagon. They tried to hope hd-dvd would do something it failed and now they trying to say DD will be the nxt big thing to make themselves feel better. Sorry MS you failed in every possible way.

[AcidHorse]

Well, had Microsoft added HD-DVD to the 360, the Bluray would have gone the way of the dodo. HD-DVD was a more consumer friendly and manageable format in my opinion. Bluray was superior, but like the PS3, had more 'hidden potential' that it had real-time potential. With that said, war is not about who is right, it is about who is left. Hence the format war of yesterday.

[dkgshiz]

MS is the one saying downloads are the future, well look at xbox lives games! They have bomberman, prince of persia, all small little arcade games. PSN has GT5P, Warhawk. Siren Blood curse, and many more. Microsoft doesn't even have one full game on xbox live.

[gololo]

eventually it will...let's hope for our sake that MS doesn't force expensive HDD like the ones found in the 360

[HelghastGeneral]

Microsoft is a company of force they force there operating systems on everyone and they will try to force digital downloads. They also pay off developers with large paychecks to get exclusivity or to develop for xboxx360.

I do not want digital downloads so microsoft just accept blue ray into your future.

[TheExecutive]

Tell me how they will force the consumer to download everything when they eventually put a cap on the size of downloads? If MS doesnt put a physical disc drive in their next xbox it may be their last.

[Bathyj]

Maybe, if M$ keep making pissy little DVD size games forever. As someone who play primarily on a Next Gen optical media I find it hard to believe DD with overtake retail anytime soon.

Doesn't XBL have a cap on how big a game you can download and its smaller than a CD? Why do you suppose that is? I guessing the whole network would lag a bit if everyone was downloading a 7 or 8 GB game let alone a game that fills a BluRay.

The quickest, cheapest, easiest way to get 50GB of data into someones house is on a BluRay disc.

[ForROME]

This is simple, its like Music, they simply didnt stop making CDs regardless, they just produce about 60% less for shelves now.

Music Albums only amount to 160MB most of the time. Obviously downloading a song is muuuuuuch smaller and quicker.

With Games I see it dropping about 33% every 7 years.

[CouchKing0]

Microsoft put a file size limit on Xcrap live because they know PSN is better then Xcrap live! AHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHA

[Bathyj]

Also its amazing that some people will complain about a 10 minute install that takes a couple of GB on your HDD yet they want to DL'd whole games that would take hours and use 2 to 3 times more space, all because they dont want to get of their arses and go to the shop.

And good luck selling or trading that game when you're done with it, or even taking it to your mates place for a go. Man thats some cloudy thinking.

[Tyrael]

Forgive me, but I enjoy HARD COPIES of my media. Nothing replaces the look of a shelf full of your favorite titles.

[Smacktard]

I really hope retail game sales stay around forever. I like having hard copies of my games. Seems more reliable. Makes me feel safe.

[AcidHorse]

The next generation of gamers are coming and they are use to their i-pods and MP3 players, physical media across the board is on its last legs. Something unsettling about having my, video games, movies, music, pics, etc on one physical storage device, because that means less control over my content and by control I mean were I can use the content, who I can share it with, and so on. Going completely digital breaks some of the consumers control over how their purchase is used and personally distributed.

[IzKyD1331]

another reason why this wont happen anytime soon is because retailers would lose out ALOT

[DaKid]

mistake...

[Nervz]

Put this Crap next to the time machine....Physical disks aren't going nowhere for a LONG LONG TIME.

A great example is, the internet, used for basically anything, but many still read the papers and listen to the radio for there daily info.

[morganfell]

People like to own things they can hold, that they can take to a neighbors house or on a trip. This is one more area where Sony has outgunned MS. Look at movie downloads for own or rent on PSN and what can be done with them. I have actually rented one movie already, put it on my PSP, went to a buddy's place and threw it up on the big screen from my PSP.

The fact that MS is also pushing this digital approach should help quell those stupid rumors about MS trying to get into the Bluray market. If anyone ever read the actual interviews they would see MS was in discussions about Bluray but only to gain technology access so it can be supported in Windows, not in a console.

I actually read one of the tech reports and the title was "MS in Talks to Bring Bluray to the 360." Yet when you read the meat of the article it mentioned nothing about the 360 and was only about Windows support. The problem was that 50 other moronic publications read the headline and what do you think they printed? Right, and Xbots were running around en masse shouting about Bluray. Here is a rock to crush your dreams.

To paraphrase Sir Sean Connery, "They're between a rock and a hard case." MS is in a very untenable position right now.

The 360 is rapidly showing signs of age and a poor conception for a console planned merely for the short term. It is the MS method. New OS and New console every 4 years or less. This outdating of the 360 is only going to accelerate. Microsoft should be sweating bullets about the comments made by John Carmack for another reason than the obvious remarks pertaining to storage.

When I buy a game that is on the PS3 or 360 and then that same game is also available on the PSP or DS, why would I expect those two versions to be exactly, precisely the same? This is what developers are going to realize. There is no reason for the PS3 and 360 versions to be the same either. I am unsure from where that stupid, game strangling idea sprang. With the PS3 becoming more often the lead platform as well as the high seller between the two, it will become standard to produce a game on the PS3 and then cut it down accordingly for the 360. Smaller levels, poorer textures, fewer features, compressed sound.

I have no doubt MS has gone into a breath holding stage in fear over this issue now. Two disks are going to become more and more common on the 360. I expect Idtech5 to replace Unreal3 as the next licensed engine since unlike Doom III and Idtech4 it is being produced with a full tool suite and licensing in mind. And since Idtech5 specializes in large textures do the calculations.

MS have to release a new console before Christmas 2010. Wayne Kim said there would be no new console announced at E3. There wasn't. I know, an unusual moment of truth from him. He also went out of his way to say there would be no new console launched in 2009. So that leaves us with new console announced at E3 next year and launched in 2010.

And there is the problem. The World Wide Web doesn't have the infrastructure to support digital game streaming. In such an instance you buy the game and then can access is from online. It isn't on your HDD. You are paying for access, not the product. There is a one time local install and the rest streams. Sounds good but it won't fly with the public at all. You also have no way to trade it as I discussed above. Prices would have to be far lower for anyone to take a chance. They would begin to heed reviews more and more to save money. Or publishers could try episodic content and we all know how well episodic games sell. A few succeed and most fail.

On top of this MS has no next gen disk capability and we all have seen the future of storage needs. Some dumb 360 fan can deny it in the face of common sense and 2nd grade math - that would be a zhuk specialty - but they will just look like an even bigger idiot...than normal. So with no next gen storage capability, and no infrastructure to support game streaming by 2010, what kind of fight can MS deliver. Not much. They can also choose not to launch a console and as the 360 grows even more outdated, outmoded, and outdesigned they will see something very familiar that will be occurring before 2010. The Xbox becomes the Xzune.

As long as they have the same disk storage medium they are screwed. Larger HDDs won't cut it. What is MS going to do, use...*gasp*...game installs? The vast number of 360 owners have the 20GB, er, I mean 12GB HDD. Download one movie, a few add-ons and what kind of space is left. No, the 360 is between a rock and a hard case.

[dro]

i see this happening in the future,if it happens now it will put millions of people that work at game company/music stores out of business and also putting the companys out of business which is obviously not good for the economy......i think when this will happen is when the next gen of console comes into place.hell iv not even but a blu ray movie/h.d tv and i got a ps3.but its good to see companys are starting to think fast and ahead of time.

[tethered]

Fix download speeds and then I will believe it.

I changed out my 60 GB PS3 with a 320 GB HDD and its been a real pain in my a$s re-downloading everything I had saved to the 60 GB HDD.

Then I changed out my 40 GB PS3 with the 60GB HDD and I have to re-download everything to that too.

It will happen but it wont happen for a few years still.

[juuken]

There goes Microsoft living in dreamworld again...

[Quickstrike]

mostly because a large number of people (like myself) prefers to buy a game at a store instead of downloading it. If gaming goes full download it will spell the end of the industry.

[CouchKing0]

Too bad Micro$oft can't see that.

[Halochampian]

would not be happy. lol

or anyone that wants to trade in a game.

[badkolo]

why cant they invent something a little simpler.

We all get a small flash drive with lets say 100gb each.
then we go into a store like gamestop and insert our flash drive , pay for the game and instantly from some booth it copies the game in a minute to our flash drive then go home and play it. this way we avoid the downloads which will take forever for big games.

[jinn]

they r absolutely correct

[TheExecutive]

I think MS is pushing this a little too hard. ISP's are gonna end up spitting in MS's faces when they impose a cap on the amount of downloads you can do.