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Will The Next PlayStation Console Feature An Optical Disc Drive?

With all this talk about physical video game media disappearing in the future in favor of digital downloads, PS4 Talk has wondered: will the next PlayStation feature the seemingly essential optical disc drive?

Although we're not the biggest fans of removing the disc format entirely, we have to agree that without the disc drive, Sony would have more design freedom with the PS4. First of all, it wouldn't even have to lie flat or stand erect; it could look however you wanted it to look, and to top it all off, we wouldn't have size limits for games, anymore. Currently, a game has to be made to fit on a Blu-Ray disc, but without the disc, there's no restriction. Of course, this could lead to a spiraling issue that results in 100GB games quickly maxing out HDD space. Then again, perhaps by that time, HDD space won't even be a hindrance (what with all the technological advancements and all). The machine would also be quieter, smaller, and could also be less expensive thanks to major savings on manufacturing costs. Oh, and if you wanted to buy a game, it would merely be a matter of turning on your PS4, putting in the relevant information, and hitting the "Download Now" button. No braving the elements and the crowds trying to get to the stores.

However, it appears to be a race more than anything else. If - if - digital downloads start to become the preferable mode of delivering video games, will it take hold fast enough for the release of the PS4? Or perhaps the better question is this: shouldn't Sony be working on initial designs of the PS4 already? If so, are they really considering a machine that doesn't boast an optical disc drive due to the digital download expectation...?

12/8/2008 Ben Dutka

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Comments (71 posts)

kreate
Monday, December 08, 2008 @ 10:06:11 PM
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just like the ps1 and ps2, sony is probably working hard on a 'new look' for the current ps3.

i do not like the idea of not having a hardcopy of my video games. what if i am in a situation or a location where i can't get internet access?

that idea of 'no hardcopy' is aggressively supported by the evil microsoft corporation.
its a form of control.

the benefits sounds all nice, but later on, we are forced to download games once this happens.
i bought a ps2 as a dvd player. others bought a ps3 as a blu ray player. why can't we keep advancing the technology instead of getting rid of the disks?

pretty soon i would have to download everything in a digital format from games to movies. its inevitable but i want to push it as far as it can be pushed.

with the slow crappy internet of america (good compared to other countries but sucks compared to countries like japan/korea) do u know how long it would take me to download a 100gig worth of digital data? when a game launches, are we going to have network failures and server downs cuz of all the ppl trying to buy the game at the same time?

it may sound nice, but to protect ourselves from all these corporate BS, we need to fight the idea, if not fight, at least not be so supportive.

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moose88
Monday, December 08, 2008 @ 10:16:01 PM

Ya. What K said. And don't get us started on backwards compatibility... ;)

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ec0li
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 12:06:47 AM

I hope the newer and slimmer look PS3 looks good because I think the regular PS3 is an ugly and clunky looking piece of plastic. Black is a good color but the shape is just all wrong.

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somethingrandom
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 12:58:30 AM

Yeah... It would take MANY MANY days for me to download 100GB of data. It takes a full night to download 1.5GB at my house. If you neglect the fact that internet is faster at night (less users), it would take approximately 33.33 days for me to download a 100GB game.

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djjake
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 1:48:17 AM

atm i'm downloading a 20gb file and its taken a week so far, and its only at 35%

downloading everything is realistically going to happen in the next ten years with the expansion of games being bigger and the internet being slow

even if there was a huge improvement in internet service it wouldn't be fair to use it as people may not be able to make the move to this new internet service, it's only been in the last 2years that everyone's finally made the move to broadband

with the new blu ray disk coming in at a massive 400gb, i don't think they will be turning they're back on the disk format just yet

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gamebuster24
Thursday, December 11, 2008 @ 6:05:30 PM

hm.. wat about a type of memory card dat comes along wit the system where u can jus go to gamestop? then buy a game and the guy will jus load it on! it dont sound dat bad rite?
but then theres the size of the memory card and the price its gon take to make something dats like 100gb

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asianinvasian
Sunday, December 14, 2008 @ 10:05:04 AM

if they use a laser instead of cable for internet 100gb will take 12 seconds to download

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crapreviews
Monday, December 08, 2008 @ 10:17:12 PM
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I dont know about this. I mean one side of me thinks it would be so cool to just download a game. not having to go to the store and it be sold out cuz it was so popular, or the game got delayed becuase of some human error or weather or whatever.

the other side of me just wonders what happens if there was like a big file loss in the servers and all you purchase history was gone and you no longer could use the stuff you bought or download it again.

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LightShow
Monday, December 08, 2008 @ 10:17:30 PM
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=/ you cant lend a download to a friend so he can try out the game, you cant sell a download back to GameStop, can't rent a download, cant have a download as quickly as it takes to get in the store and out, and millions of future PS4 owners who don't have an internet connection to speak of (or they don't have enough bandwidth) are gonna be cut out.

You also cut out a huge social aspect of gaming, i.e. "hey man, you played Gears yet?" "Na man, haven't gotten around to it" "Hey, I finished it, you wanna borrow it?" "ya man, thanks"

the whole scenario is gone with downloads.

It's bad for me, the customer, and you cut out a huge chunk of market share when you go completely digital. I don't see it happening.

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AntDC
Monday, December 08, 2008 @ 11:08:31 PM

You summed up the situation perfectly LightShow.

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Joe_III
Monday, December 08, 2008 @ 11:32:36 PM

Aren't you the one who said that trading games in to gamestop should be illegal???

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LightShow
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 6:37:07 AM

Yes, I did, I was just making the point that there will be a ton of people unhappy with not being able to sell their stuff back to GS

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dveisalive
Monday, December 08, 2008 @ 10:20:05 PM
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I hope the next one does for I prefer disc, but then again with blueray and game development cost getting higher and taking 2-3 yers long to make gorgeous titles etc... then again I think the Next consoles are probably the 10 generation will probably have 1 TB ! HDD's which is absolutely crazy and cost around 500-700 dollars, but PS4 or whatever they call it should be built with another optical/slot drive.

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xnonsuchx
Monday, December 08, 2008 @ 10:20:49 PM
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As I've said elsewhere, people who talk about no more discs or the death of the mouse on computers, etc. are rather whimsical dreamers who lack a lot of reality checks. Are console makers going to cut off the 25% or so of customers who don't have broadband because they don't even have a decent option for it where they live? Also, until all broadband ISPs remove any data bandwidth limits, going DL-only for ALL media (games, HD movies, etc.) is NOT going to be very popular.

Bring this topic up again in 5 more years and we'll see where things stand.

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isaya85
Monday, December 08, 2008 @ 11:11:23 PM
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I simply wont buy it no optical drive no buy

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Joe_III
Monday, December 08, 2008 @ 11:31:37 PM
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it damn well better. They can take my physical media when they pry it from my cold dead hands.

DRM, Net Neutrality, as well as bandwidth caps all conspire against direct downloads at this point in time. Gimme some 100Mbps connection speeds and at least 1000GB a month and I might consider it as long as I don't have to redownload and reinstall things with a huge hassle each time.

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somethingrandom
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 1:05:53 AM

I'll also need a 1PB hdd (that's right peta-byte (1000TB)).

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Wazomba
Monday, December 08, 2008 @ 11:59:24 PM
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Yep have to agree, no optical drive no buy, same goes for the next xbox console no optical drive no buy.

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ec0li
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 12:03:04 AM
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No optical drive, no go! We should have the option of both.

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slayerkillemall
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 12:09:42 AM
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i agree with isaya no optical no buy,however
i believe for sometime now that microsoft would do this because they are not about to use Sony's
technology.it would be funny if they started using some kind "flash" card or similar,kind of ironic since company's stopped using cartidges for cd's,then dvd's, and now blu-ray
i think sony is just going to keep expanding blu-ray. maybe in 10 years they might make one but not now, then again i could be wrong....
Last edited by slayerkillemall on 12/9/2008 12:20:47 AM

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Aftab
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 12:12:59 AM
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I think the question reduces to this one: will internet transactions ever replace walk-in retail? Maybe, around the time when we run out of oil, and just before alternative energy automobiles fill the streets, if at all. But the way mobile phone/pc technology is going, it seems far more probable that we could be downloading very fancy games onto our cells.

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WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 12:49:49 AM
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I would expect to see for the PS4 generation, a choice for all titles. Get your disc or get your download, something we don't get very often this gen. Some of those issues will iron themselves out, but for me, going to the store and picking up my game is a near sacred experience. I even have fond memories of driving to a dozen different stores to sniff out a sold-out game. I'm kind of an old man now but if I have kids ever how in hell am I gonna tell them that Santa didn't leave their game under the tree, he just downloaded it onto their system? Don't seem right.

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Saber1989
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 12:52:32 AM
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Why people talkin about PS4, it pisses me off since it will not exist for another 8 years or so. Lets focus on the now the PS3 which is great. its awesome how easy it is to put a usb in and transfer data. its awesome to since its like a computer. I hope there is an update to allow us to transfer those games from the PSN like Street Fighter 2 onto a USB.

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Fane1024
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 5:24:27 PM

It will exist sooner than 8 years from now. But once it does, it will be manufactured/supported for 10 years, just like the PS2. That's what Sony mean by the 10-year life cycle.

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HUSO
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 12:57:17 AM
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optical media is gonna be around. remember the 400 GB blu-ray discs that are on the way. after all with physical media it'd always be easier to control the flow of content.
and i hope the ps4 looks like a sphere :D

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SplendidBlended
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 2:24:26 AM
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Ahahaha...haha..ha.
Download whole games?
Do you have any idea how long it takes me to just download a demo?

No. Thank. You.

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kreate
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 3:26:21 AM
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u guys are totally right.
the whole digital downloads is only good for the companies and bad for us (the consumers).

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Sir Shak
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 4:34:26 AM
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there is already talk of the 400 gb disc and some are saying that GOWIII can take upto 100 gig. so one can only assume the next gen will have 1 tb games and i dont think connection speeds are going to keep up to make such downloads feasible.

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Troy Powers
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 5:39:39 AM
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The PS4 will have an optical drive if only for backwards compatibility with the PS3. Whatever comes after that may not.

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s360s
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 5:51:46 AM
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If that happens then I wont be buying one.

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hald
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 5:51:52 AM
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I would like to have the choice of picking the console with or without optical drive. That could be nice. But then again, that would have sony to force developers to realese both on disc and download. Because if not forced, I think devs would choose download due to the big savings of not having to put it on a disc and that stuff.

Maybe Sony will make a special console for me without optical drive? Or not. . lol.

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snglbck26
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 8:11:13 AM
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It would be crazy, imo, to replace the disk drive so that all games become downloadable. There are places not far from where I live that can't get high speed internet. They'd be totally out of luck. On top of that consider the amount of revenue lost by retailers and rental stores. I imagine that downloading full games will be more popular over the years but a physical game won't be replaced any time soon.

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CH1N00K
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 8:26:25 AM
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I think the option for a disc drive is going to depend heavily on how far internet service providers get in the next 8 years. This is coming eventually, just probably not in the next generation. But I think we will see more options to download whole games instead of needing a disc on the current generations.

With the whole world being more aware of environmental issues, the idea of less packaging and waste, not to mention emissions needed for shipping, the idea of doing everything online to reduce a carbon footprint will force companies to use less physical media. There are already a few full games for download on the PSN store now. I have a feeling that towards the end of the PS3's life, we will see more and more.

Everyone is worried about their dvd/bluray collection becoming obsolete, but when is the last time you actually went to a CD store to buy a CD? Sure some companies are going to go under with the loss of the optical drive, but it's happening now with CD stores. It happened with record stores before that. Stores like Gamestop and EBgames are either going to enjoy the ride while it lasts and make the most of it, or learn to adapt somehow. The optical drive will dissapear eventually, it's just a matter of when. It's part of the evolution of the industry. You're only going to have 2 options, adapt, or fade away....

Think of how much of distribution costs are involved in buying a game. If we go online, there is no more need for distribution. The gaming manufacturers will have cut out the middle man. This will hopefully mean that we get cheaper better games. More than likely it will mean these companies make more money for themselves. Which should translate into better, faster products and better R&D.

I know we're aren't ready for this technology yet, but when it does come, I'll welcome it.
Last edited by CH1N00K on 12/9/2008 8:32:56 AM

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Fane1024
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 5:28:10 PM

"...but when is the last time you actually went to a CD store to buy a CD?"

Last Saturday.

Last time I bought a song off iTunes or like services ... NEVER.
Last edited by Fane1024 on 12/9/2008 5:29:02 PM

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somethingrandom
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 9:38:34 PM

Buying music online is a total waste. Of course I also believe buying an ipod is a waste (my PSP kicks that mofo's ass any day of the week, even in battery life (turn off the screen)).

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Ivan_PSP
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 8:45:39 AM
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I'm %100 sure that the next PlayStation will use Blu-ray Disc as well. Digital Download only for the store.

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Troy Powers
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 9:32:12 AM
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I think this generation we'll see more and more games released on both blu-ray and as PSN downloads (like Warhawk). Analyst will watch the trends to see which format more people are choosing, and console makers will have more data to go by before the next generation of consoles come out. Either way, we'll need an optical drive on the next Playstation for BC purposes. But, maybe by then people will be more comfortable with downloads and the infrastructure will be there.

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PS3_Wizard
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 9:32:58 AM
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Man...screw that crap. I live in the country, miles away from a town, and only a few people on my street. In order to play online, i need to travel 15 mintues to my aunt't house who has mediocre Comcast and playing online is enjoyable, but unreliable. On my street, no broadband providers provide service. I have a 1 mbps satellite connection, but everyone knows satellite dsl doesnt compare to broadband, and is DEFINANTLY not for gaming.

Until Broadband ISP's can provide service ANYWHERE in the USA, then I don't think they should switch to digital media downloads.

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Game
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 9:33:08 AM
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I don't think they will do that because think of all the people who don't have internet. they will lose a lot of customers just because they can't buy games. But for me, I like the idea if only they made it with like a 5 or 600 gb hardrive.

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Dr_Frodo
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 10:14:27 AM
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Steam for consoles, anyone?

If you're not a PC gamer, Steam is the best solution to content delivery I've seen to date, you can even buy the disk version of a game and never actually put it in the drive to play, you type in your key to your game and it adds it to your games list, available for download wherever you are.

Or simply having games in compressed format on USB pens could be a start, take your pen (comes with the console) to the game outlet and copy files directly, needs work but getting away from limitations is a godsend for developers.

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CH1N00K
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 10:18:42 AM

lol, you beat me to it...

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CH1N00K
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 10:17:34 AM
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For those that don't have internet, you have to go to the store anyways right? How hard would it be to go into a Sony store/game store with a USB key or memory stick, and upload a game onto a re-usable media? High speed download done in seconds and then you take it home and upload it onto your PS4/5. You use the same system as everyone else until high speed is available in your area. I know USB's now don't have the room to hold all that info, but we're talking 5-10 years from now...
Last edited by CH1N00K on 12/9/2008 10:18:06 AM

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Zorigo
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 11:36:39 AM

and i've already seen USBs with 32gb, thats almost as much as my ps3, and mp3 players have up to 120gb hdd and flashdrives, it seems workable.

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Zorigo
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 11:35:15 AM
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if the way you described the ps4, is anything like it is, it seems great.

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PS3_Wizard
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 11:50:44 AM
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There is 1 flaw to that...Whats the point of downloadable media if you still have to go to a store to download it?
Last edited by PS3_Wizard on 12/9/2008 11:51:54 AM

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CH1N00K
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 12:49:46 PM

I made that comment for the people who have slow internet or no internet at home. They can still go to the store and download it onto a memory stick/USB and upload it onto their system at home. Eventually downloading at the store will be taken away as more and more homes gain access to high speed internet. The way it is now, they still have to go to the store to buy the game anyways, with re-usable media, they can slowly phase it out.

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CH1N00K
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 12:57:15 PM
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The major factor I can see of them keeping a disc drive around is the fact that they've just come out with Blu-Ray. If they turn the next console into a Straight gaming console, then they might drop the disc drive, but if they want to keep using it as a multimedia center, they'll need to keep the disc drive.

They would be shooting themselves in the foot if in 5-10 years time they suddenly told everyone that their Blu-Ray collection is obsolete. That would be a big "Thanks for the money, but you're screwed!" move.

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MetalHead09
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 3:18:52 PM
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i cant imagine gaming without my disks. its like paying for something you cant see or touch or anything like that. honestly digital downloads only would threaten my gaming days, im just not comfortable with it at all and its not something i want to change.

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arctic
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 3:22:29 PM
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talk talk and again talk!!
Last edited by arctic on 12/9/2008 3:22:45 PM

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tlpn99
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 3:35:46 PM
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Nothing is better though than seeing your collection and walking past and spotting a game you have not played for ages and plonk it in your machine.

Your mate calls round can I borrow oh no I cant can I its in your machine, what games you got on there oh yeah its all on your machine.

I myself like having physical game in my hands I love new smell of games and game booklets as you open them specially if they are shrink wrapped. That's all gonna go with digital downloading. If they are going to offer it it should be as a choice not dicatating how we download our games, plus how do you trade in ? Sell them back online to the store or who ever. I wouldnt like to do that its bad enough downloading stuff like updates imagine uploading stuff it would take forever plus the speed, so more and more of us are gonna be up on the net half the night as the nets faster at night etc etc etc.

This news sucks and blows.

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Arkhon
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 4:23:13 PM
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Next-gen consoles probably won't get HDDs. They'll have solid state drives. As for optical disk drives, it'll be a while before they are completely gone in consoles. VHS took about a decade to completely die off. Optical disks are only just starting to be replaced, so you can count on any next-gen console to still have one.
Last edited by Arkhon on 12/9/2008 4:36:22 PM

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moose88
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 5:08:13 PM

Agreed. SSD will quieten the machine and increase information transfer (as the tech improves) add to this USB 3.0 for the no BB consumer (3.0 is going to hit 4.8Gbits/s (WOW!) and you'll have all you need for no-optics gaming.

But I still love putting the shiny into the slot. Nothing will ever be able to top that...

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Fane1024
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 5:36:36 PM

While I wish this were true, I doubt solid state drives will have reached affordability in time for the next generation.

I think we'll see much the same hardware set-up as current systems (i.e., both relatively small HDD and multi-layer BRD), hopefully with the ability to add larger HDDs (and SSDs) as they become available.

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Dingodial
Wednesday, December 10, 2008 @ 3:22:16 PM

lol my grandparents still use VHS!

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daus26
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 5:33:18 PM
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I don't see any good reason to move into digital downloads. Everything is working out so well right now.

If space is a problem, why can't they just concentrate on making discs that can support more data. Like everyone said, if the 400gig is coming, then that should be enough for next gen.

I also read about the beneficial on digital media on being more quiet, smaller, less cost, and design.
-I mean is the current system so loud we need to make it quieter?
-Is it so big, we need to make it smaller?
-Isn't the cost of internet service gonna add to the cost loss in production?
-And are they seriously limited to a design of a system with a disc drive?

We should always have a choice like how we have a choice between credit cards and cash.

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Dingodial
Wednesday, December 10, 2008 @ 3:19:42 PM

I think the enormous size of PS3 actually makes it look superior when next to a Wii or an Xbox 360 :)

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mustang750r
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 6:53:19 PM
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blu ray has a long way to go before it dies. heck pioneer made a 400 gig disc that can work on current blu ray drive and they say it would be available by 2009-2011 or something like that for the date and they said a 1TB disc by 2013.

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mustang750r
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 7:02:33 PM
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blu ray has a long way to go before it dies. heck pioneer made a 400 gig disc that can work on current blu ray drive and they say it would be available by 2009-2011 or something like that for the date and they said a 1TB disc by 2013.

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mustang750r
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 @ 7:07:42 PM
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i posted my comment twice sorry. i won't let me delete it

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Toxin
Wednesday, December 10, 2008 @ 4:06:26 AM
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Not sure if it will are not. As others have said the Blu-ray still has a lot more to offer. For Sony to not have an optic drive on its next system would be a wast of an investment on their part.
To me the PlayStation has been a more than a gaming machine. My PS1 was a nice music player. The PS2 movies and music. I love my PS3 as it keeps me connected to the online world.(PC died :( ) as well as offers loads of other entertainment.
Now if the next system did not offer an optic drive Sony has a way to get content to its users. It can use wireless technology(like Amazon's Kindle) so no mater were your at you are connected.
I am a big fan of innovation but digital property is not the same as holding the game in your hand. Think back as a young child on Christmas or your birthday you unwrapped a game you wanted. How would someone buy a game for you? And what do you do with that Walmart/K-mart gift card grandma got you?

I could think more into this but i better stop now.

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Dingodial
Wednesday, December 10, 2008 @ 3:14:24 PM
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The PS4 would have to have an adapter for EVERYTHING (like the Mac book air) if they got rid of the disc drive. It would have to have an adapter to play PS3, PS2, or PS1 games for those of us that get rid of our old systems when we upgrade to new ones. Maybe they can do more with software on the PS4 but I disagree with using it for everything.

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Orvisman
Wednesday, December 10, 2008 @ 3:57:05 PM
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The two chinks in the "download-only" theory for videogames are the anemic bandwith for most gamers but, more importantly, Sony's, Microsoft's, and Nintendo's retail partners would have a real problem with this.

GameStop, Wal-Mart, Target, Amazon, Toys R' Us, etc... would all suffer in a download-only environment. This would not be good for the economy because it would cause more people to be laid off in the future, and it would not be good for the consumer.

Furthermore, I guarantee game companies will still charge $50-$60 for their games; and the consumer won't have the benefit of picking up cheaper used copies.

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Robertson99
Wednesday, December 10, 2008 @ 4:38:55 PM
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The PS4, when it comes out, it will NEED a disc drive. Maybe not for the PS4 games, but definately for backward compatibility!

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Lordnicon
Wednesday, December 10, 2008 @ 4:56:19 PM
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DL speeds are not on par for them to ditch hardcopies. I suppose it might be one thing if the speeds were there and that flash based portable storage was up to par but we can never assume that people will have the internet capabilities to even participate in a format that is so limited.

The PS3 having the ability to play cd's, dvd's, ps1 (for some), ps2(for some), ps3, bd rom, and even read some data cd's, it makes no sense to ditch you're entire library if you got rid of the players required for all of those formats.

The bottom line is that while there are some consumer benefits, there are far more drawbacks.

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Banky A
Wednesday, December 10, 2008 @ 11:49:32 PM
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I agree with Lordnicon.

Right now I only download 10gb a month, that's my limit. So how am I suppose to download full games? LOL.
My country (New Zealand) will be way behind in Broadband. I exceed my limit in like 10 days if I find interesting stuff to look up on YouTube :(

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PaiNT_kinG
Thursday, December 11, 2008 @ 12:40:42 AM
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NO NO NO,this is no good,no optical drive,i will not buy,what if ppl don't have internet,how the hell they gonna buy a game,and how many games the system is gonna be able to hold until it runs out,2-3(in blu ray capacity)?
UH UHHHH,THIS IS VERY DISPLEASING NEWS

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Lovingit07
Thursday, December 11, 2008 @ 3:39:44 AM
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THAT WOULD RUIN CHRISTMAS.

How am i meant to buy my family PS3 and 360 games and puit under the tree...i wont be able to, i will have to think of something else to get them :( lol.

I think we need to wait untill everyones broadband is better....i can only get 8mbps. The new virgin fibre optic one is 20mbps

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SilverLion
Thursday, December 11, 2008 @ 7:34:42 AM
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I've heard this before, at an MS Game Development meeting when I brought up the benefit of Blu-Ray for thw PS3. "They'll get rid of discs and go completely digital!"

Uh, no. Two major errors in the article: you sould still have design limitations, and you would still have size limitations. Games wouldn't exist solely in the ether surrounding your star-shaped, wall-hanging console.

On the game size: your limitations are the size of your hard drive and the quality & speed of your internet connection. And remember most hard drives have moving parts, so they die, eventually. Heck even my DVR is starting to grind... So lets assume a couple 1.5 TB drives, that's a good amount of space! But for how many games? You eventually reach the limit, unless you want to DELETE a game you paid for... Maybe you can offload it somehow? Impossible. Sony has gone to some extreme ends (read: root-kit) to prevent people from infringing on their copyrights. In their zeal to protect their interest, they've made it impossible to make my _legal_ backup of software I purchase. Good thing Blu-ray doesn't scratch easily. On top of that, how long do you think it would take to download a 50GB game over your network?

Also in that vein, Sony has always fallen back to using physical copy protection techniques for their games. Digital downloads would be far too easy to pirate & copy.

On the freedom of design: Have you seen the size of the PS3? Its a bit bigger than the combined dimensions of an optical drive and hard drive. There's a lot of hardware in there. There's a reason PCs are still box-like. And the bigger the box, the better the hardware. (I've yet to see a slim or micro-atx case that can handle a raid-5 array with Firewire and a current gen graphics card.) The PS3 is a computing beast! It needs a lot of cooling for the processors if nothing else. Any cutting edge hardware will have that requirement as well.

So while we might have visions of sugarplums dancing in our heads, I'm happy with my PS3. I assume the next gen will be generally box-shaped, have some kind of removable fixed-state media (maybe a new generation of micro-SD carD?), expand on the technical interoperability (new wireless networking, maybe an HD tuner?), and some kind of internal memory for downloadable content, or transient local installs (fixed-state disk drives are getting bigger...).
Last edited by SilverLion on 12/11/2008 7:38:41 AM

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Veritas Vincit
Thursday, December 11, 2008 @ 9:47:40 AM
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If they did get rid of it how would you watch your blue ray discs?

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BIG_E
Thursday, December 11, 2008 @ 2:53:11 PM
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If sony has this planed blu-ray will suffer.With a 400gb disc in the near future.Sony is in no way shape or for going to remove the optical drive.Logic is a key facter in this.

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NetheRealm
Friday, December 12, 2008 @ 7:56:08 AM
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The PS3 could continue to sell as a great blu ray player/game system just like the PS2 has continued to sell to people lagging behing the times & wanting a dvd/game system. Blu ray will be the ultimate hi def format standard for at least the next ten years so now that we already have the best hi def disk player in the PS3, the PS4 should simply focus on gaming & downloads to harddrives, it's the next logical evolution. Maybe they can design it so the main harddrive can be easily swapped in & out so if games get too big like 100+gb you can buy a 500gb game on a 500gb harddrive & swap it in just for that game like an ancient nes cartridge.
Last edited by NetheRealm on 12/12/2008 8:08:44 AM

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