In my last article, the idea of discs and their utilization in the future was brought up by an astute reader. Honestly, I had never thought of video games being a downloadable item, forever replacing discs. I guess my many wasted hours watching demos slowly load had forced me to believe that we were forever tied to a physical hard copy of a video game. But what if?
Let’s assume, for the time being, that in the not too distant future, most Americans (and the rest of the world, for that matter) can have access to lightning quick internet. This would drastically reduce the wait time to download a new game. Problem solved.
Wait, not quite. Currently, the only two realistic options for a hard drive are the 60 gb and the 120 gb HDD’s that Microsoft offers. The 120 gb HDD will set you back $150 US. If the average size of a game is around 7.5 gb (I’m assuming 8 gb is the max) you can squeeze 15 or so games, without DLC or demos or anything else, on the largest HDD that Microsoft offers.
So why should we want games without discs? First off, it would make game buying easy as can be (not that it’s terribly hard at the moment). The problem of scratched discs and unplayable games would be a thing of the past. And less clutter (i.e. games, cases, instruction manuals, etc.) laying around is always a plus.
Why would the game developers want discless games? Lower costs, and more control over who, and how the games are purchased. I would be curious to see how much of of my $60 goes towards making the physical game, case, and instruction manual. Ideally, this would lead to lower costs to the consumer. The used game stores would become a thing of the past, since there would be no physical copy of the game to trade in. I’m sure someone somewhere will figure out a way to make a buck or two off of the new process, but not I. I’m not nearly smart enough.
So when will all this happen? My guess is not in the next 2 to 3 years. I’m sure game developers are pushing hard to have it happen sooner, but until many more pepple have ready access to broadband internet, and Microsoft develops a newer, larger HDD, it won’t be feasable. As soon as the technology makes the leap, and it all makes sense, full downloadable games will be here before you know it.
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March 23rd, 2009 at 12:21 pm
Full downloadable games? Making discs a thing of the past?
http://store.steampowered.com/
Being on the cutting edge of technology is why PCs will always be more relevant than consoles.
March 23rd, 2009 at 3:39 pm
Why wouldn’t Microsoft just keep your downloaded games in a queue like Valve does with Steam? I purchased Half Life 2 off of Steam when it came out. I played it and uninstalled it. Recently, I bought Left 4 Dead from Steam. When I logged into Steam, there was my copy of HL2… ready to be re-downloaded and installed. I did just that, no CD, no serial number on a jewel case to find.
If MS did the same you could keep… let’s say, 5 games on the HDD. When you want a different one in you queue, just re-download it from XBL. Seems easy enough to me.
Lastly, why is 120 GB the limit for HDD’s? Is it just because they haven’t put out a larger one yet? I think that if they moved to DLC for full titles that they would start making larger HDD’s for their gaming platforms don’t you think?
Even if they don’t increase HDD size, I think that downloading full games will move into the mainstream way sooner than you predict.
March 23rd, 2009 at 7:00 pm
The problem with disc-less games is that it would put an end to rentals. This would force gamers to buy the games that they otherwise would have just tried out.
March 24th, 2009 at 8:26 am
What about Demos?
April 17th, 2009 at 3:49 am
I read your blog for a long time and must tell you that your articles always prove to be of a high value and quality for readers.
July 2nd, 2009 at 9:44 pm
I see your point, but I believe it is very possible just not with this current xbox. If you notice the hard drive prices are extreme because they are special xbox HDD. If the next xbox would allow any hard drive, or better an external (maybe using firewire for high speed) hard drive, then this will be very possible.
I purchased a 500GB external drive for $140 about a year and a half, two years ago. Now you can probably buy a portable external (smaller than regular) that has higher capacity for less than that.
February 19th, 2010 at 3:34 pm
Very Nice Read! Looking forward to more Bookmarked your site. Was also curious if anybody could point me to some related subject matter. Thanks in advance.
March 4th, 2010 at 9:44 pm
Gamers can play free online games against each other and improve their skills. Free online game is a new platform for people to engage with each other for skills improvement and fun.