320°

Pitchford: We don't need a new format. Blu-ray is good

Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford believes Blu-ray is just fine and we don't need a new disc format, telling VideoGamer.com that "there's plenty of space on there". He also thinks that the industry isn't currently demanding a new console generation.

"I mean, the PS3 has Blu-ray! We don't need a new format," said Pitchford. "Blu-ray is good, we'll do it with Blu-ray. There's plenty of space on there."

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videogamer.com
stonecold34732d ago

m$ need to update dvd its holding a lot of games back .

TheDareDevil4732d ago

They're adding 2 gigs in the new disc format.
We'll most likely see Blu-ray on the Xbox 720.

theonlylolking4732d ago

It is clearing up space that is already on the disc with a new security update.

Devs can only use 7gb on the disc right now but with the update it will be closer to 9gb.

I think(for now) blu-ray discs are just fine. There are already 1tb+ blu-ray discs.

@fOrlOnhOpe57
They wont fill the disc up unless they are willing to pay the extra $$$ for more discs on the xbox 360.

@ares84
some companies have 900mb/s download speed

Shaner_Bock4732d ago (Edited 4732d ago )

For the majority of games the addition of a couple of GB's is great, but when it comes to ambitious titles like LA Noire, you're still going to see multiple disc titles on the 360.

Blu-ray is a great short-term option until digital distribution really becomes the norm, which I think is still years away. Now if only there was a way to get the PS3 to read BD discs at 2X or 4X speed.

ChrisW4731d ago

No, we won't see Blu-ray on the next-gen non-Sony consoles, because it doesn't have the read speed that MS nor Nintendo wants. However, it's a serious debate, slower speeds vs disc swapping.

Nodoze4731d ago

MS will not give in and use Bluray. They can't. It would be admitting defeat to Sony. They are in essence stuck. They either need to develop a new proprietary format ($$) or go digital only (pissing off the retailers). They are trying to strech the 360 as long as they can....meanwhile they are collectively holding back gaming because of it.

I wish MS would exit the gaming space. They have caused (and continue to cause) more harm than good. Micro-transactions are the brain child of MS. No thanks.

gamingdroid4731d ago (Edited 4731d ago )

I never had an issue with multiple discs on Xbox 360. I really don't understand why switching the disc is such a big issue. It takes you less time then to b1tch about it here!

Would it be nice not to? Sure! Does it matter? Not really! Never prevented me from playing a game! PSN being down or RROD would!

However, you guys can complain about discs all day long....

btk4731d ago

@ChrisW
You must really not be tech savvy...
What do you think the 12X, 16X etc on CD's and DVD's mean. It means X the speed of the minimum spec.

By the time we see the PS3 we will have 8X BR or 16X BR drives in them. The first gen drives was slow - like the original fat PS2 had a slow DVD drive. That did not mean that DVD remained at that speed until now. The read speed is not set in stone...

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4731d ago
belal4732d ago

Next gen we will see 100 gig blue ray and 1terrabyte blue ray. if thats not enough what is lol?

shikamaroooo4732d ago

i dont see digital distribution working till maybe another 6 years so yeha Blu ray FTW

Ares844732d ago

Even more so. Games are getting bigger and bigger. Some games this gen are close to 50GB even if compressed it'll be a lot of GB. Will you download all that stuff?? We would need HUGE hard drives and a lot of patiance.

Maybe if they can come up with an internet that is 1GB/s and hard drives that are about 50-100TB than I don't see DD working at all.

bumnut4732d ago

DD works now. I buy most of my games of Steam and have done for several years.

sikbeta4732d ago (Edited 4732d ago )

Best thing about BR is that it's so versatile, it started with 25GB, then went for dual-layer holding 50GB, then they revised the format and BR can hold 33GB per layer now, but it doesn't stop there, they can add even more, then 450GB to 5TB BR-D in the works, that's just insane and it'll be like DVD all over again, making the format more affordable and accessible to everyone...

B1663r4732d ago (Edited 4732d ago )

Yeah, like bumnut said, Digital distribution works great right now. I actually prefer to get my xbox games from Games On Demand (when the price is right) because then I don't have to fuss around with the DVD.

And I have a lowly 5mb connection from an ISP that offers 50mb connections...

bumnut4731d ago

How can people disagree that I buy my games from steam and have done for years?

4731d ago
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LightofDarkness4732d ago (Edited 4732d ago )

Wrong on both counts, I'd say. Flash memory prices are still dropping while capacities are increasing dramatically. I imagine we'll be phasing out optical drives quite soon in favour of these devices. Heck, a 50GB BDR still costs €35, I could buy a 32GB flash drive for that.

Moreover, flash is faster, smaller and more useful. Plus, SONY/MS/Nintendo can adopt a cloud-based/DD-based model and still sell the games on physical flash drives until the market catches up entirely. It's just smarter.

Wikkid6664732d ago

Totally agree.

They could have download kiosks in the stores to keep retail in the loop. USB3 is very fast!

LightofDarkness4732d ago

Exactly, I remember hearing about Gamestop already having these plans in place.

NiKK_4194732d ago

Yep, they should totally do that, they won't have to worry about space, and it'll read waaay faster. They should have USB 3.0 for games and include bluray for movies and backwards compatibility

Jocosta4731d ago

I read somewhere that they are still trying to take care of the problem of data on the flash drive degrading over time, is that still true?

DeadIIIRed4731d ago

We're still probably ten to twenty years away from phasing out optical drives. It would be nice and probably convenient, but it's just not going to happen anytime soon.

Oner4731d ago (Edited 4731d ago )

"Heck, a 50GB BDR still costs €35"

I don't know where you get ripped off but I can buy a 10 pack of Verbatim 50gb DL's for $88. Proof ~ http://www.amazon.com/Verba...

I.E. $8 each. FAR from the $50 (€35 converted to US currency) each you claim them to be. Hell that was only after a 10 second search @ Amazon too! Not the other online shops I actually purchase from. Mind you that is end user consumer retail, not corporate pricing for Millions of discs.

Personally it doesn't matter to me whether it be disc based or flash based as long as it has the space that will not limit a developers creativity and vision. Though the physical small size and reliability of a flash based product being a solid state/no movable parts device does offer a good argument for them.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4731d ago
Tony-Red-Grave4732d ago

no what we'll see is whats nessacry which is sony will either use higher layerd blu-rays which go to 100gig or use the current format since developers already make good with it.

oh and the limits for blue-ray disks is suppose to be some 200 or 500gigs not 1TB those are the holographic disks, if im right and thats what their called, adn were a longs ways of from seing those insie gaming

joeorc4731d ago

"oh and the limits for blue-ray disks is suppose to be some 200 or 500gigs not 1TB those are the holographic disks"

Blu-Ray is also a Holographic Disc technology, they already can mod the Blu-Ray disc Technology to Holographic Storage Data to store Worm Data.

Sony was already looking into it along with Panasonic, an Sharp.

phoenixdown4732d ago

if Nintendo and Microsoft don't have blu-ray next gen, i really don't know what they are gonna do.

maverick404732d ago

Apparantly nintendo is using a new disc format but I am guessing it will hold just as much as blu ray.

jack_burt0n4732d ago

half as much, 25gb and no movies.

Tony-Red-Grave4732d ago (Edited 4732d ago )

but guess who owns blu ray.

so if microsoft or nintendo want to use blu ray in their next consoles their going to have to talk to the BRDA or was it BDA

Jocosta4731d ago

Microsoft also doesn't own DVD, but they are dealing. Just saying.

Fishy Fingers4732d ago

With improved read speeds there really shouldn't be any need for a new format for a fair while yet.

fOrlOnhOpe574732d ago

So come on Gearbox - when are you going to fill a blu ray with Borderlands 2?

scotchmouth4732d ago

Exactly what i am talking about! Love me some borderlands!

Show all comments (48)
170°

Gearbox says Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands ‘clearly a new franchise after shattering targets’

“Future experiences [are] already under development at Gearbox," says Randy Pitchford

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videogameschronicle.com
melons582d ago

I'm actually surprised by this, I feel like it came and went very quickly without too much interest

but good to see!

dumahim581d ago

Well, it was relatively short and no True Vault Hunter mode to replay the campaign. The DLC was horribly short, lame and overpriced, which didn't help.

Sgt_Slaughter581d ago

Probably had a significantly smaller budget, so it was able to smash lower targets while not being immensely popular.

I wonder how Borderlands 3 did overall as well. I've seen that game for under $15 multiple times (and in multiple clearance racks for $5).

franwex582d ago

I too am surprised at how well this sold.

gold_drake582d ago

im surprised, bit damn was it a good game.

porkChop582d ago

A sequel will need a lot of work. They didn't lean nearly enough into the fantasy elements, which left the combat feeling like Borderlands rather than a new franchise. The end game is trash, there's no new game plus, no proper DLC/expansions, etc. The drop rates for loot were god awful.

It had a lot of great ideas but in terms of gameplay it felt way too safe, like Gearbox was too scared to stray too far from Borderlands.

Profchaos582d ago

I legit thought it was intended to be dlc at first for b3 which kind of explains why it didn't

dumahim581d ago

Yeah, fuck those drop rates. Trying to farm for something specific was futile. Especially for the armor. Need to match 2 classes instead of 1, and then there's the whole Ascended, Primordial, etc thing that made it even harder. Add another class into it later lowered the chances even further. They really needed to tailor drops so you had a better chance of getting your own classes drops.

This is why I stopped playing. I'd spend an hour or two every day farming, filling my inventory, loading up loot bunnies with crystals, and consistently get nothing to show for it after a month of trying to get an upgrade for one piece of gear.

582d ago
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150°

Gearbox Is Working on a New Brothers in Arms Game, Confirms Randy Pitchford

Pitchford mentions that they're currently working on a Brothers in Arms game, but also suggests that the game is in early development.

RaidenBlack956d ago

Finally ... the much needed conclusion to Baker Company's story.

porkChop955d ago

It's been way too long. They cancelled BiA: Furious 4 to make Battleborn and look how that turned out. Though I do hope this new entry is more like the proper BiA games, rather than F4 which was basically Borderlands meets Inglorious Basterds.

Bathyj955d ago

FINALLY!
Please let it be true to the series. Don't wreck it like Rainbow 6. Can we get at least one tactical single player shooter with squad commands?

outsider1624955d ago

Socom is another that could hopefully be it.

outsider1624955d ago

Oh my God!! Freaking finally!! I loved the BiA games especially RtH30 and EIB

Show all comments (10)
80°

Randy Pitchford: The magic behind Gearbox’s merger with Embracer Group

Gearbox Entertainment CEO Randy Pitchford said that selling his company will be good for both gamers and employees.

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venturebeat.com
Knushwood Butt1176d ago

Lots of cash enhances the magic.

1176d ago
NeoGamer2321175d ago

Any merger that openly talks about financial targets is bad news for gamers and code for "We need to figure out how to get more money from gamers".