Is the world ready for a disc-free game console?

Nintendo patent hints at a new, download-driven future.

[SPARDA_426]

It might be cartridge based though.

[XBLSkull]

Yes most definitely. I've been disc free on PC for years and on console for 2. Way better than having a collection of worthless plastic, I'll never touch a physical game again. Once we get rid of those and digital prices can finally drop, the gaming market will be much better.

[Nineball2112]

Honest question... Do you really think the prices will drop?

I'm not disagreeing that they shouldn't (no plastic cases, no cd, not artwork, less expensive distribution, etc.) but I wonder if the publishers will give up that revenue.

[breakpad]

no its not, if the consoles go completely physical-format -free i ill stop gaming ...no digital for me

[xHeavYx]

Prices of games are supposed to go up as development costs more. I think that, if they go all digital the price will be the same and the excuse will be "if we hadn't gone digital, the prices would be higher".
But no, we are not ready for a digital only era on consoles (as MS was made aware). Especially with the space that current consoles offer.

[ocelot07]

I disagree about the digital prices dropping. Company's like EA or Activision won't drop there prices. In fact they will probably do away with standard edition games and only sell these digital deluxe versions for £70.

Look on the XB1 or PSN store. Why is COD Ghost still £40+ even thought it is almost 2 years old.

[x_RadicalAura_x]

I agree. People who are doubting this need to look into a game called Hellblade by Ninja Theory. Independent self-published AAA games are the future. And if they're SP only, they can use the cost savings to make the upfront price of their game cheaper (like $40 in the case of Hellblade).

[Spotie]

@Radical: Or they can keep the price the same and come up with some excuse, as others have stated. What reason do they have to pass their savings on to us?

[Clown_Syndr0me]

Worthless plastic?
Are you thick? Digital downloads are worthless as they have 0 resale value as theyre impossible to resell. The "worthless plastic" can be sold, therefore have value.

You made no sense at all.

[JEECE]

I love how everyone downvotes you and says digital prices won't drop faster than they do now once physical games die out. Clearly these people have no knowledge of Steam.

Even though I'm a Playstation user, I wish MS would have stuck with their original vision for the Xbox One EXCEPT FOR THE ALWAYS ONLINE ASPECT. All digital doesn't require always online DRM, contrary to what many of those desperately clinging to a dying medium want everyone to believe. If they had done that, it would have massively hurt Gamestop, which someone needs to do, and pushed the industry towards digital, since would have been able to offer awesome digital deals on their store.

[ABizzel1]

Absolutely not.

PC is different, you can put multiple hard drive bays into your PC for storage, consoles only have 1. PCs can use 3"5 (much more storage space and cheaper than 2.5", but forces consoles to be bigger), 2.5", and SSD (significantly faster than 2.5 and 3.5, but cost too much for console).

A console has to be affordable ($500 or less), and they can't spend $100 on storage alone, since that would impact the money spent on the more important aspects of the hardware (GPU / CPU / RAM).

It's much better reading from the HDD I agree, but until consoles use 3.5" HDD's (which shouldn't be a problem, just bigger boxes), but also HDD cost has to drop significantly which is extremely unlike at this time considering HDD prices are already at an all time low in the 3.5".

Allegedly SSD's will soon be dropping to HDD prices thanks to cheaper production and parts, and they have been declining, but I doubt it'll be fast enough for the PS5 / XB4 let alone NX. The high end manufactures are still charging an insane premium while the low end are selling just above retail profit ($80 for 256GB SSD).

The best consoles can hope for is a hybrid SSD + HDD, that lets games read and write from a 120GB SSD, while storing everything on the HDD 3TB / 4TB. It's the only feasible option that a console will have access to if they truly want to go digital only out the box. Or else force people to buy externals.

And that's only the storage issue they face. The next big issue is global internet speed which is nowhere near ready for digital only. I literally just got Google Fiber here in the US, and thankfully gone from a 12Mbps AT&T max speed in my area, up to 1Gbps thanks to Google (averaging about 800 - 900 MBps, and 200 - 300 over Wi-Fi... should be more with a better router). And with those speed I'm in the top 1% of the world. The average speed in the US was only 10Mbps in 2013, meanwhile games have only increase in size and scope averaging 20GB and some up to 50GB, and soon we may even see multi-Blu ray disc games.

A digital only console isn't going to function to it's maximum capacity until the PS6 / XB5 (2025), where worldwide internet speeds are well above 50 MBps average, 5G speeds will be rolling out slowly featuring speeds allegedly up to 10 Gbps (real world I'm sure will be much slower, considering 4G alleges 150 Mbps, but you're hard-pressed to see 30 Mbps), so by then yes.

For now, No.

[freshslicepizza]

yes we are ready, steam has proven it for years but as long as there are choices out there physical will be preferred by many and in many cases rightfully so.

it's not a question of if we are ready, the question is are people willing to adopt? give the consumer no other choice and you will soon see the barriers are really not that bad.

[ShaunCameron]

@ ocelot07

Maybe the demand for COD: Ghosts is still high.

[ShaunCameron]

@ Nineball2112

They're not. The last thing publishers wanna do is underprice it and lose money on each sale.

[BlackWolf12]

Digital prices are in no way related to physical media prices.

No way.

If a retail store can sell a product for $X, then a digital store has absolutely no justification to sell it at $Y when Y is MUCH higher than X.

[fanboysmackdown]

What a fail comment.

[King Nezz]

Honest question, do you ever feel robbed considering digital games cost as much as a physical copy? I wouldn't mind the whole digital download movement, but come on, 59.99 for something you download vs something you can actually have in your hand?

Just an honest question. You say you've been doing it for a few years now.

[rainslacker]

Worthless huh? Past few weeks I've been selling off parts of my game collection to make space, and I've made over $7,000 on about 250 games.

How much is that hard drive of yours worth? $100...$200?

[XBLSkull]

@Nineball2112
I don't think new game prices will change. I do however know that games will get discounted much sooner.

You find higher priced in digital because they have to be priced higher. If a game prints 5 million copies at $60 and sells those all to the retailers, and then goes ahead and sells a digital copy for $50-55 then why would people buy the physical copy for $60. They need to keep retailers happy. Once they have sold to retail there job is done, they have made their money, whether the retailer sells that through to a customer isn't their problem. Those physical copies put the burden on retailers to sell. They need to sell all those physical copies or money is lost by the retailers, so they can drop prices on physical to simply get rid of that extra stock, if digital undercut that price all the time, retailers would buy significantly less copies or none at all, then the burden is back on the developer to sell you the game, which is more work for them. If we can eliminate that need to sell back stock you get faster discounts on digital games and that is the simple truth to it, thats why Splinter Cell Blacklist costs $30 on digital via amazon/steam, and you can get physical copies for $8 via best buy and $15 on amazon, those worthless discs need to be moved.

@King Nezz
"Honest question, do you ever feel robbed considering digital games cost as much as a physical copy?"

No, not even close. I have my fun with the game, just as much fun as someone with the disc, and I never need to go look for any discs, I just launch the game. The convenience of never having to deal with discs is a better value to me then owning a piece of plastic that takes up space.

@rainslacker
I'd like to see your proof that your 250 games netted you $7000. I'm not saying they are worth nothing, I got my PS4 free for my X360 game collection. But that is an average of $28 a game, highly unlikely.

"Worthless huh? Past few weeks I've been selling off parts of my game collection to make space, and I've made over $7,000 on about 250 games. "

That just makes my point too, you had to sell parts of your game collection to actually make room in your home. So much junk plastic clogging your home that you get rid of it. Not a problem I've ever faced in the digital realm. Digital is the only way to go, and unfortunately for you, you aren't going to have a choice, unless you want to quit playing games. You'll be dragged kicking and screaming into the digital age. I mean do you people carry an MP3 player/streaming capable device with you or do you still roll around with a giant CD wallet for your tunes?

[rainslacker]

I didn't have to sell it. Although I get your point.

I have thousands of games I won't sell, but I just came to the conclusion that I'd rather have the money than some of the games I'm not going to play anytime soon, or ever. I also have a lot of duplicates and odds and ends I've collected over the years.

I'm a collector, so I never considered the games to be in the way. I even made a rather large storage room to store my collection. The room I had to make wasn't out of necessity, it was more that I have OCD, and I just wanted to tidy things up. For the most part, much of my collection has been stored in boxes while we do a home remodel.

While I don't care to share personal details on here, it's actually 292 sales, which have come to $7600 minus shipping costs and stuff as I write this. I don't need to provide proof. Anyone that's sold off numerous games at one time can confirm it's not that unheard of, particularly since I had quite a lot of nice rare games in new condition. It only averages out to $26 a game really.

Still much more valuable than a digital account unless you happen to sell the whole account. But it's far from worthless, whereas a digital purchase is pretty worthless outside of the account that it's tied to.

I don't know about you, but is it better to have that clutter laying around that is worth a substantial amount of money, and occasionally actually becomes more valuable as time goes on, or be completely out of the entire purchase price as soon as you confirm the purchase? No matter what happens, a physical purchase will always have some value, even if it's negligible. The same can't be said about digital.

On the plus side, if I ever care to play the game's I've sold off one day, and they become so valuable that I don't care to purchase them again, I can likely get around to buying/renting them digitally in the future, so it's nice to have both options.

I won't be dragged into a digital future. I just won't support it heavily. I'll play the occasional game when the price is right...which will be significantly lower than I'd spend on retail(day one for instance). I'll still have plenty of retail games to fall back on even if publishers no longer make it available. I have enough self control not to waste my money on things that hold no tangible value....and digital is the definition of that unless things change like what MS wanted to do with the X1 originally.

[Kidmyst]

For anyone using Steam as an example to cheaper prices for digital, you are missing the big picture. Steam is competing with retailers, Sony and MSFT the same way retailers compete with Console makers to drop prices. if you compare prices I can get games for $9.00 off Amazon that are brand new, where digital versions on Sony and MSFT are $19.99. When your only option is to buy a digital version from one source, the price never has to lower because there is no competition for 1st party titles. Some games like COD don't seem to ever get much cheaper like other games do. If Nintendo moves away from discs, I hope they go back to cartridges, much faster loading times.

[Theantidote619]

I've also went disc free on my xbone and ps4. Wii-u I still keep physics mainly because Nintendo games hold value over the years. It's upsetting to see $60 games on the digital store when it's the same price in store. I wish they would try just setting the digital $10 cheaper to see how much of a difference it would make in people purchasing. I'm sure the discount on Witcher boosted digital sales.

[Fluke_Skywalker]

Only if it's got a massive hdd. Games are pretty damn big these days.

[Clunkyd]

You do realize when you buy a digital copy that means it has zero value. I dont know about you but having a game that im done playing after 2-4 weeks, which is most of them, I like to trade or sell and get at the very least half my money back towards another game.

[Bigpappy]

Might just be an SD card. I don't see the next "Next-Gen consoles" having physical disk. When you go to game stores in the future, you buy a license, and copy the game to your thumb drive.

[Crowserk]

Real talk. I miss blowing carts (no homo) and load times on flash memory are pleasant. BRING IT ON NINTENDO

[Joey_Leone]

I dont mind using cartridges, as long as it doesnt require an internet connection to run a PHYSICAL game.

[FallenAngel1984]

Hell no. There are so many things wrong with a closed platform going digital only

[Xavior_Reigns]

It may be cartridge based for the NX but in general I say hell no the world isn't. However let it become so, let these companies alienate a large base of gamers. Either somehow games will become cheaper or more realistically, games will become even more chopped up for DLC and MT than ever before. Therefore prices will increase on everything to make up for loses on those who want a pure digital future. Even if that doesn't happen, definitely expect the AD gates opening.

[Heyxyz]

I agree, People keep saying a digital future would mean cheaper games, but I just don't see how that would be true. Can you really see greedy companies like EA or Ubi charging less when they'd have control over the one market.

[Double_O_Revan]

They dont drop prices now as it is. What makes people think they will if Digital was the only option.

Way more often than not, physical copies are cheaper than digital. I usually dont but games anymore until they break the $40 mark.

[JEECE]

Obviously games wouldn't be cheaper to begin with, but as demand died down when games got older, they would have incentive to drop the price, to stimulate demand.

You can call insult ubisoft and EA all you want, but they'd much rather sell 15 copies of a 6 month old game for 30-40 dollars than only 3-4 for 60.

They can't do this right now because it would make their retail partners upset.

Look at how quickly digital prices drop on PC (where retailers have little influence) compared to on console. Obviously online-focused games that continue to sell lots of copies for a long time are an exception, because there is no reason to drop the price when demand stays high at $60.

[Chaosdreams]

@Jeece

Ubisoft, Ea, whoever, doesn't care how much their game sells, if option a requires less sales for the same revenue, they will go with option a.

A digital only future will be how the prices are now, if not higher. It won't benefit gamers, but punish those who adopt. That's because of greed, and the direction the industry has taken in the past few years.

They have 0 reasons for why it'll be the same if not a higher cost, and to them it doesn't matter, because those who adopt will stay pay up, and even if they only sell 1 damn copy, if it's at a cost that covers a thousand gamers, they still make bank.

[JEECE]

@chaosdreams

"if option a requires less sales for the same revenue, they will go with option a."

Not necessarily. Fewer sales means less opportunity for word of mouth advertising, a smaller online community to attract new players, a smaller fanbase that would potentially buy a sequel, smaller numbers that don't sound as good to press/investors, a smaller number of people to buy dlc, etc.

Even assuming, for the sake of argument, that they'd rather sell 10 copies at $60 than 5 at $30, eventually demand is going to drop to the point where the $60 dollar price is no longer achieving twice the sales that the $30 price point would. As everyone notes, they are greedy, so they will drop the price to stimulate sales and increase profits.

EA and Ubisoft like money. They aren't going to keep prices high just to spite consumers. They will drop them when the demand drops.

Sources: Steam, basic laws of supply and demand.

[PX54]

At the moment I would say the worlds not ready. Mainly due to the prices - hell I've seen the "sale" prices for digital games 6 months after release still be more expensive than I bought the physical copy on launch day.
However currently there's very few 3rd party digital download stores for console games - for example if I went to Amazon and searched for The Last of Us: Remastered, I would only get the physical copy as an option to buy.
If the consoles went digital only they would need to give the digital option to 3rd party retailers to continue selling the games - this is where the price drops will come from, competition between retailers.

[2pacalypsenow]

nope

[Maybay]

No, gamers aren't ready.

Going back to the NX thing, didn't Nintendo patent something to do with holographics? Ah, here it is: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/...

We might be in for a surprise.

[ninsigma]

That sounds really cool! I hope they do something like that!

[Maybay]

Here's the video: http://youtu.be/6l6T0GcgufE

[ninsigma]

I like having both tbh. For some reason I don't care about disks on pc. I built my own and didn't bother with a disk tray and buy all my games digitally and it doesn't bother me at all. But on console, games I know I'll keep I buy digitally, for example, halo mcc. But for games I'm sure I'll end up trading in I get on disk. Also my hugely anticipated games I also buy on disk.

[spicelicka]

Yes exactly, why should we be forced to go all digital if we already have both options and everyone is happy?

It's perfect the way it is. If a dev wants to make an digital only or online only game they're free to do so. Like destiny for example, and Crackdown 3.

[SliceOfTruth888]

I was ready this gen

[spicelicka]

What difference does it make? You already have the same digital marketplace that you would have if the consoles were disc-free. It's about choice.

[Heyxyz]

You are the words of reason.

[SliceOfTruth888]

systems and games would have been cheaper...i dont even know if my disc drives work due to the fact i have yet to use either on PS4 or Xbone since launch days

[spicelicka]

Cheaper by how much? You realize the physical game market is much cheaper in the long run, and under the consumer's control right? We decide what we want to pay.

If you want to pay CASH, pay cash. If you want to support the dev, pay full price at retail. If you want to wait for a sale, wait for a sale. If you want to get the game used, buy it second hand for prices you will NEVER get digitally.

If you want to rent, borrow from a friend, or borrow from the library (which I do, they keep newly released games, some of which I'd never be able to try otherwise), you are free to do that.

With digital only you're under the publisher's command. Average price of big budget games may go down let's say $10, but then it will remain consistent for years. They'll throw you a few sales here and there but other than that you're at their mercy. Games that released at launch almost 2 years ago are still $30 digitally, that I can get for $10 from retail stores.

If you haven't used your disc drive, congratulations. If you wanna pay $30 for $10 games and be restricted to virtual copies, that's great. That's actually exactly my point, you have the choice to do that, and I have to the choice to buy how I want. So please don't encourage them to force this down our throats.

[SliceOfTruth888]

There is no need for physical games other than pure nostalgia. I am also a collector i own pretty much everything from atari 2600 till now and i still embrace the digital future. I am guessing you are unfamiliar with Steam? Do you know why it has the power to have prices like that? Because there are no middlemen, no places like gamestop to have power over developers and console makers. The reason your digital games are still 30 dollars is because those used physical copies exist. Lets not forget how worthless these physical copies are anyway. The majority of them need an online connection to even get a first time use and most games today without internet connection is almost unheard of. On Xbone and PS4 the games are not even read off disc so after the initial install the only reason you put them in the console is DRM.....congrats you have to switch discs because you need to insert access keys every single time you play.....yayyyyy

Microsoft initially had a digital game share option before the internet lost its mind and that is where the future is.

[Spotie]

First, you don't represent the world. Therfore it doesn't matter if you were ready or not.

Second, you cannot know that consoles would have been cheaper if they were all digital. For example, perhaps prices would be marked up higher so physical retail outlets can make some sort of profit off the hardware, which traditionally makes them almost no money. That's assuming they stock the consoles at all.

Third, there would be zero reason for digital distributors to drop prices. They don't HAVE to do it now; why would that change if they were the ONLY way to get your games?

You're going all out, but it's pretty pointless.

[SliceOfTruth888]

its working great for the music and movie industry i guess we should just keep pumping out physical copies it seems the world wants it.

[Spotie]

Both music and movies are 50+ years older than gaming, for one thing. For another, these aren't without their drawbacks(rampant piracy or artists not getting fair payment, anyone?). There's also ownership rights that aren't as much of an issue because the same measures used for piracy can be used to backup your digital versions of music or movies. Oh, and physical- at least as it pertains to movies- is still pretty popular; for music, the MUCH smaller file sizes makes all-digital more attractive: not a lot of 3GB albums being released.

Sorry, but there are just too many differences between those mediums and gaming for there to be any direct parallels as far as digital is concerned.

[Ashlen]

Disk free fine. Digital only, I'll pass.

I assume it's going to use some form of flash media since the rumor is that it's a system that plays the same games on portable as well as home system. In that situation a disk based system wouldn't work.

[Immorals]

Maybe it's just a digital only cheaper version, whilst there's a 'premium' one with a disc drive?

[Software_Lover]

I would like the option with the current consoles. I have two Xbox ones and one ps4. I take one of the Xbox ones with me to work when im on night shift and when traveling. I would like a smaller discless version that I could just attach my external HDD to and call it a day. Or at least remove the disc drive and make the PSU internal.

When/if they come out with a smaller PS4 I will get another. I hope they make it even smaller by going discless. I also hope they implement the option to install games to an external HDD just like the Xbox One.

[ShowanW]

I'm already most of the way there.

All my Xbox One games are digital..
And all but 1 of my games for the PS4 are digital (KZ:Shadowfall only physical game i own this gen)

[Ravenheartzero]

Parts of the world maybe... But I still like physical. Loved Kingdom hearts 1.5 final mix case, it was like a book with art pictures then the disc at the back of it.
Witcher 3 too was cool with the soundtrack, map, compendium etc included.

[Vanfernal]

It would probably make the console itself cheaper. But I still believe most people would rather have a choice. I tend to buy smaller games digitally while big releases on physical format.

[akaFullMetal]

This will only happen if more and more places have better internet for starters. From there, there would need to be a way to let others borrow a game. Finally, a way to resell said digital game. Once that happens, digital games will get cheaper as there is a way to compete from 2nd hand. People will be interested in digital and people will feel they have value in the games they buy.

[gangsta_red]

The biggest markets these consoles sell really well are more than likely the places that have really good internet service. If this rumor is true this is something Nintendo and more than likely later Sony and MS are targeting.

[Lionalliance]

No

[STK026]

I don't think everyone is ready, but many are. Take PC for example, many probably can't remember the last time they actually used a disc to install a game. And on the current consoles, digital sales are going up as well. It probably is too soon to go digital only, as many still prefer having a physical copy or simply don't have the internet connection required (speed and bandwidth), but with each passing year, I think a digital only future is becoming closer to being a reality. Probably not for the NX though.

[i8urCAKE]

Nintendo fans will buy anything from nintendo..

[ShaunCameron]

Just like Sony fans will buy anything from Sony.

[Savsky]

And Microsoft fans will buy anything from Microsoft. And GameSphere fans will buy anything spherical.

[ZombieStalker]

People forget that only about 30% of internet users actually have fixed internet access. Until the internet infrastructure is upgraded for non urban areas, console systems should not be digital download only.

Provide a small discount for digital games but allow the consumer the ability to purchase a full price physical copy of the game.

[ShaunCameron]

ISP's have little incentive to upgrade internet infrastructure in non-urban areas. It's a waste of money and resources to cater to a barely existent customer base.

[SmokingMonkey]

1st World Problem #116

Having to switch those damn disks.

1st World Problem #547

Having to Free-Up Hard Drive Space for a New Release.

[ShaunCameron]

1st World Problem #1012

Using the plights of the less fortunate to demand companies to offer the product for free if not at a steep discount.

[FreddyFazbear]

I would rather change disc than free up space on my hard drive and then re downloading the deleted game from the servers which may or may not have them by the long run.

[Clown_Syndr0me]

So when there was talk of Xbox perhaps being disc free the internet was outraged, but when Nintendo could possibly be doing it, all is good?
The hell..
If there is no physical copies count me out. Can be disc, cartridge whatever but needs to be physical.

[JevonDee]

I am not ready. I live in an area where I only have a max monthly allotment of downloads and uploads and pay a fortune for 3mbs. It took me 3 days to download a game and it took me over my monthly limit so I had to pay extra. I'll gladly continue to pay for physical copies. Not to mention I like having a nice shelf display of my games.

[LAWSON72]

Nintendo is the last console maker I would want to make that decision

[assdan]

I'd be ok with it, I'd want a lot of storage to compensate though. Like, at least 1tb.

[theshredded]

f* no! unless it's cheaper

[Summons75]

Not if they want to sell games through Walmart, Gamestop, Best Buy, or Target. It's the same reason why digital games aren't cheaper than stores....companies are afraid of undercutting the people they expect to sell their systems. They do that then they will have a harder time selling the system....like I said, physical is going nowhere until brick and mortar stores are useless which will be never

[_LarZen_]

Disc free? Yes. Physical games? No.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

I am already... whether its PC or console... I only buy digital now.

[Minute Man 721]

The younger dumber generation might be and that sucks

[Jalva]

Calling the younger generation dumb for acknowledging the evolution of technology just goes to show how enlightened you are... gaming has been ready for disc free consoles for years now but the older generation are too set in their ways to embrace any change because of their closed-minded outlook on technological advancements and their freakishly weird fetish for physical discs... all they're doing now is holding back their digital counterparts, I'm tired of seeing older gamers using dumb and incredibly outdated logic to defend physical discs when they're nothing but a restriction on what games could achieve if they were unchained from the limitations of a disc, eventually it will have to be done by force and if you don't like it then you should either quit gaming or forever live in the past, the industry must move forward and will do so with or without you.

[rainslacker]

That doesn't make them dumber, just less bent on keeping the old ways of thinking. Young people nowadays grew up when CD's were on the way out, and downloading individual songs exploded and is pretty common. Whether they pirate them or buy them individually, and it's convienant because there are plenty of ways to consumer that media on any number of devices they own. Going to a CD for some of them would seem terribly backwards.

Games aren't really going to be much different in the long run. However, internet infrastructure and game sizes that keep increasing will make it less practical for than music, which will slow the inevitable.

Given all that though, the choice will likely still remain in some fashion. Even today, you can still buy CD's pretty easily.

[Movieworld]

The big sticking point for me is the lack of re sale value. Case in point I made the mistake of staying loyal to Nintendo and buying a Wii U. When the games started to dry up and I sold it and bought a PS4 I had 12 games. 3 downloaded and 9 physical copies. I got around #100 cash for the games that I had physical copies of and not a penny for the downloaded games. They were worthless. Also what happens if you buy a digital game and it turns out you don't like it? You're stuck with an expensive mistake. Also I like the display aspect of having all your games on display, digital only means people will have to ask you what games you have cos you can't even see them. Physical rules for me.

[rainslacker]

I'm much the same way, although I am a collector, so retail rules for me due to that.

You are right that under the current digital system, there is no convenient way to sell off your games, unless you're willing to sell off your entire account, which is usually not allowed by the platform holders.

MS tried to bring in a way to do this, and while advantageous in a way for the digital owner, it was also not very convenient, and it put an extra step in the process. This is always going to be true in the digital world, as a 3rd party is always going to be necessary to trade/sell a game this way. MS approach also devalued one's trade in value, due to them having an undisclosed fee to make it happen. If MS had left this mantra out of the retail chain, they likely would have been praised to high heaven for being so forward thinking...because honestly, it was a big step forward for digital content which is currently perpetually tied to an account, and not a tangible medium.

There's nothing wrong with buying digital if one prefers to do such a thing. There's nothing wrong with buying retail if one prefers. The two aren't really at odds with one another, and I could never understand why some people feel that it has to be one or the other, or that retail simply has to die because digital is the inevitable future.

It's odd to me that as consumers, one would wish such a thing. It serves no real purpose to remove one's choices if you look at it from a consumer's point of view. If anything, having more choice is always a good thing, and it drives prices in the consumer's favor. Some people just want to believe that a digital only market will be better in the long run, and I think what they'll find if that ever becomes true is quite the opposite...particularly on consoles where the market is controlled by a single entity.

[Bobafret]

Knowing Nintendo it will be cartridge based or a new format altogether.

[madjedi]

Look at the vita memory cards it will likely be something fairly similar to that, although the prices need to drop like a stone for it's use to be practical.

[ABBAJESUS]

My body is not ready

[Jalva]

It will never be ready, it's too old and irrational towards change and progress.

[OldDude]

I am, but only when console manufacturers realize the significant cost savings and pass that on to the consumer like on Steam. The same $60 for digital is an insult in my book.

[Skankinruby]

I'm definitely ready, I'm already doing this with the ps4. At the end of last gen I wound up with around 70 ps3 games just collecting dust and wasting space in my apartment no way I'm doing that again

[Dogswithguns]

I have too many game discs already.. so I don't care anymore.

[level 360]

No.

Internet speed and services around the world differ like day and night in some areas.

[TeamLeaptrade]

I think there's still a lot of time for physical games to stick around. I don't think people want just a digital only device. You have to think, what happens if that device loses support? What happens if support is gone and your digital games go corrupt? With physical media you can go back to it anytime as long as you have the device for it.

But I still believe it'll be a digital only future at some point, just not for a while yet.

[sovkhan]

The world, i don't know, and tbh i don't care...

because, i'm not and will never be...

Gimme the Disc, the cartidge or whatever, but something or i'll never gonna buy it.

Digital only is not my thing.

[DragonDDark]

I am not. Digital is boring.

[ajax17]

Nope

[MasterofMagnetism]

Not me. My internet isn't that great to begin with and I will always prefer physical over digital.

[Azzanation]

I wish the world would hurry up.

[Tzuno]

is the world ready to pay 60$ for digital while developers cut huge expenses by not releasing a disc,case,manual,bla,blah,blah and still selling at full 60$???

[MultiConsoleGamer]

It's not "download driven." These people need to go back and read the damn patent before they write this drivel.

[madjedi]

I would trust a ms or sony digital only console long before I trust a Nintendo one.

This seems about 3-5 yrs too early for it to be ideal, rotational hdd as still slow as hell and ssds's are still kinda expensive per gigabyte vs old fashion hdd.

Till we have ssd's with 2+tb as a standard feature, digital only for a console is not a particularly good idea.

I would prefer a flash memory based cartridge, that way you still get the speed improvements over a traditional hdd, without having to jack the price up on the system for a high capacity ssd.

Digital prices are not that much better than retail prices, with the obvious exception of steam/gmg sales ect.

[KentBlake]

I am totally ready. My PS4, X1 and Wii U are already digital only, as I never buy discs anymore.

The world? I don't think so.

[Monduu]

PS4 is my last console if this is the case.

[massapeal79]

I say no if u want a disk free system get a high end pc

[jjb1981]

ABSOLUTELY NOT!! I couldn't play Witcher 3 on X1 for a few days and all my games that have been patched after ps4 update 2.50 will not start now. I keep getting error CE-38612-0 and Nobody knows how to fix it!! It's frustrating.

[spoonard]

No. Forced digital is BAD. Even after Microsoft tried to do it, there are still people who are slobbering at the idea. Why?? I don't get it.

[Kinger8938]

No. Not whilst PSN expect you to pay £57.99 for MGS5 digitally, terrible.

[StormLegend]

NO!

I'll never go all digital.
Who wants to download 40-50GB games? it takes forever to play them.

Then what if I delete the games? I'll have to download them again.

Physical is much easier and quicker, since it install the game in no time. Doesn't matter how many GB's it is.

Also not everyone had lightining fast internet.