PS3, Xbox 360 Successors Will Be 'Primarily Disc-Based'

PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720 rumors have been running wild, and it's possible that both will be unveiled at this year's E3 in June. in fact, one developer is expecting new console launches this year. This is good news for leading games retailer GameStop, according to Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia, because the new systems are "likely to be primarily disc-based."

[donniebaseball]

I agree. People still won't be ready to go all digital. Give it another 10 years, then it might happen.

[Double_O_Revan]

And even then, myself, and I'm sure many others would still prefer some sort of physical copy. I don't believe in all digital. Plus downloading a game at 50GB each would play absolute hell on internet bandwidth.Not to mention cable companies would never stand for that.

[Rush]

First of all he said give it 10 years meaning current broadband restrictions will of most certainly improved.

And secondly, yes am ready for millions of disagrees...

THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO REASON FOR A GAME TO BE 50GB IN SIZE!!

There's about 3 or 4 PS3 games that use the full 50GB file size, not because they needed 50GB of storage simply because they contain next to zero compression.

Look at a massive PC game like Star Wars The Old Republic...

Yes I know it's an MMO but all the content is contained on the discs.

SWTOR features 8 completely different story campaigns each clocking in with over 80 hours of core game play each.

It has 1000s of fully voiced some times in-game scene cutscenes I mean 1000s.

It's more expansive then any console game, it has more content then any console game.

It has graphics that are undeniably better then seen on consoles,(when you force AA) Even without it, it's still a great looking game.

And the entire game size clocks in at 20GB

Am sorry but there is no real world need for 50GB games any time soon. The only reason some PS3 games are 50GB is when you have so much storage you can be extremely lax and sloppy on your compression because it doesn't matter.

[mcstorm]

I have agree with you there but i also think until 90% of the world are on fiber broadband i dont think physical media will disappear for any type of media. I am getting there with my media i have zune pass netflix and all my media is now on my winfows home server but it is still along way before people can drop dvd cd or blueray. He other thing with having games downloading is the size of storage you will need because if each game is 25 to 50 gb a 1b drive will fill up very quick. If anyhing i think once broadband connections are fast enouch gaming may turn thr the cloud but 10 years is a long time amd technology will change again in this time so there my be something even better down the line.

I still think ms will give blueray a miss in there next console and put a deferent format in there like hddvd as the 360 has sold very well with out it and offers more han enough not to have it but i see sony sticking with blueray and putting in a faster drive. But i do wonder if ms and sony will start to make all game have an install as well to help with the load times. I also expect them to offere download versions of the games as well.

[BitbyDeath]

@Rush, there are just too many places that cannot get broadband at all let alone need it improved so even if a game is 1mb it wouldn't matter it will still be unatainable by the masses.

This issue won't be solved in 10 years, it'll likely take at least 50 minimum.

[DragonKnight]

@Rush: PC games use heavy compression and other methods to make size on disc smaller than size on harddrive. That's why the PC game can appear to be small, but once unpacked and installed is easily 20GB or over. As visuals increase in fidelity, so to do the sizes of the games. It's therefore conceivable that games will eventually get bigger than 50GB unless people want to stick with heavy compression methods.

[Ares84HU]

Why won't it be digital download only??

A - Today's internet speeds aren't fast enough. In 10 years time they won't be fast enough because just as internet speeds became faster, game file sizes will grow as well. For example On PS1 a game was about 100-400MB on PS2 a game was 1GB to 5GB on PS3 a game is 5GB to 50GB on PS4 I'd expect a game to be anywhere from 20GB to 150Gb and ten years from now when the PS5 comes around I expect games to reach above the 500GB mark.

B - People will not be willing to spend so much time downloading data and everyone would need hundreds of terabytes of HDD's to store all their games. Right now I got 270 PS3 games....I'd say a good average is 5-6GB...so do the math.

C - Internet providers will never go for this. Even those providers who had unlimited data transfer so far want to limit it in the future just so they can get more money.

D - People like to own physical copies of their games. People actually like to be the owners of stuff they buy.

So, in 10 years time there will be no DD only....but in 20+ years time...maybe.

[Double_O_Revan]

@Rush
Relax. Yes I know games are not 50gb now. I was talking about 10 years from now. But how big do you think they are going to be on the PS4? If we went from high compression to fit on an 8gb dvd to fitting comfortably on a 25gb or even 50gb bluray, then it stands to reason that next gen the average game size will be about 50gb.

And with things going the way they are with cable companies Trying to charge more for higher bandwidth usage and Trying to put caps in, its easy to see why 100% digital will be hard or even impossible. No, I dont believe that the cable companies will succeed in getting the Net Neutrality laws changed, but it is a possibility would have deep impact on the future that games are moving toward.

[darthv72]

we are all still thinking games will be in the sizable format they are now. Raw data on a dvd or bd is in that format because of the medium its on. If we take out the physical medium and look at a digital variant it would be akin to comparing redbook audio on CD's to mp3....etc.

Movies have shown over time that improvements to the compression can mean minimal differences in quality when compared to the physical source. Its no surprise that to alleviate load there are points of redundant data on discs. Points that arent there taking up space in a digital version. Not to mention that we are all basing the quality on the current hardware involved with compressing and decompressing on the fly. That hardware has improved over the years and will continue to do so.

It would not surprise me if MS and Sony have been working on new audio/video/data techniques that would take what amounts to as a 25gb data file in one format and make it into a 2gb file in another with no quality loss. I know that seems strange. Taking a raw 10mb+ audio file and making it into a 192k mp3 was strange at one time too but that is why you need to stop thinking on current conventional means and more digital means.

We have seen companies working to decrease the size of things to the point where instant on and full streaming of high def content could eventually be possible on a watch or over 56k dial up. Technology hit the peak of making everything bigger. Now its all about making things smaller more compact and mobile.

A perfect example is to look at a game cartridge from the n64 and compare that to a game card for the vita. Physical size has been greatly reduced and can be reduced even more with better technology. They are two different formats but the idea is the same. Only so much can be achieved in one format that its time to create a new format that can do more in less space.

[zeddy]

you cant queue up outside a shop at 12am with your friends for a digital download. tradition.

[yesmynameissumo]

Downloading is just a bonus if you have Internet. Consoles will be reliant on physical media for quite some time imo.

[Dante112]

I wonder if they'll both use blu ray.

[Megaman_nerd]

I bet MS is gonna do the same as Nintendo and create their own proprietary high capacity disc for the sake of not giving a single penny to Sony even when going with blu-ray should be cheaper.

[Series_IIa]

@Megaman_nerd

Why would they need to pay Sony? They don't own Blu-Ray...

[WiIIiam]

I'd also be inclined to think MS would create their own disc format just to spite Sony, but that would prevent their console from playing Blu-Ray movies, which are actually a major selling point for the PS3. Most consumers want an all-in-one entertainment device, and a proprietary disc format just doesn't lend itself very well to that ideal.

[Thecraft1989]

Blu ray is owned by numerous of companies, Sony and Panasonic the main creators, but guess what Sony and Philips designed DVD too, does not stop them using it in the xbox.

[Megaman_nerd]

Well they did put quite the fight with the HD-DVD. MS payed studios for HD-DVD exclusivity and they lent a hell of a lot of money to Toshiba and even made an HD-DVD add-on for the Xbox instead of simply going with blu-ray, the obvious winner. I mean, the blu-ray had the most support from manufacturer brands to movie studios. It was: The World vs Toshiba and MS. <_<

Why were MS and Toshiba pushing the HD-DVD so hard when it was so inferior to blu-ray? We'll never know. And not only inferior but they were fighting that battle basically alone.

[topgeareasy]

good I hate DD

[GanjaMan]

So do I, since us british have shit internet speeds, games would takes days to download ;)

[GribbleGrunger]

no shit Sherlock

[GanjaMan]

No shit sherlock

@ above hahaa same time, guess great minds think alike

[GribbleGrunger]

it's not exactly going out on a limb lol

[BitbyDeath]

That should go without saying.
Even the guys who work on Gran Turismo states GT5 is too big for PSN so just imagine what GT6 would be like.

Discs will be around for a long time yet.

[GraveLord]

Thank you captain obvious.

[bobrea]

No surprise here

[3GenGames]

I honestly won't buy near as many games if I don't get a disk, never. Never. I'll treat myself to more NES games than having to basically rent them for full price and get nothing.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

hand held devices are one thing...their portable nature lends themselves to be being digital primarily. Consoles, PC's...even laptops still have an air about them that is stationary. Until Wifi and internet reaches into households on a higher level I doubt companies would abandon physical media 100%.

[Matrix2k]

obviously, no form of entertainment will ever go digital only. Its suicide. Which is why movies, books, ect never do it.

And physical makes up 75+ percent of the revenue for games, books, movies.

[Noticeably_FAT]

Well it's obvious they will be disk based just like this generation. I'm sure they will still offer digital options just like this generation as well.

The fact that not everyone connects their consoles online and that not everyone has internet speeds capable of downloading games are huge factors. The companies wouldn't want to exclude anyone.

I think if anything was learned from the PSPGO it's that people like physical gaming media, despite the popularity of digital music.

[NewVegasTroop]

physical media is the way to go, personally i will not buy the next xbox or playstation if the go digital only, because the digital content you "buy" isnt really yours...

[MrWiggle]

Hopefully :)

[SilentNegotiator]

A certain group keeps trying to convince themselves that compression and internet connections will improve exponentially in the 2/3 years it takes to see the next console (or heck, even 20 years.....no one is anywhere near finishing connecting everyone to the best cables) because they hate a certain type of successful new medium with a high capacity, and these days with much better read speeds.

Well, it looks like we can play upon the improvements that have already happened (improved read speeds of a high capacity disc), or wait for something that will take probably a few decades (installing improved technology to a majority). Hmmm.....tough decision.

Look at hardware for a minute. The Xbox 360 4GB isn't the best selling, but it is still a sizable chunk of 360 sales. You couldn't have 4GB consoles that are DD-based. So....what, are they going to throw away a huge chunk of their success for a pipe dream? No.

Between internet speeds that won't improve for everyone for a long time to come and the necessity of low-bar entry expenses, Disc based (or perhaps some other physical medium) will make sense for generations to come.

[PS3Freak]

I certainly hope so.

[mttrackmaster38]

They better be. I just bought L.A. Noire off the psn store. It was fucking 26gb! It took so damn long to download and it wasn't even worth it. Never again.

[IWentBrokeForGaming]

The fact MS is too high and mighty to just get bluray will keep it out of the loop STILL!

[Derpy]

I certainly hope so, I'm not ready to go all digital yet and the collector side of me will probably never be. While I enjoy to occasional convenience of a digital game, there's something nice about having a physical copy.

[Tyre]

I Agree, but someone in here is deliberately disagreeing with all the comments of people that agree with the article...guess it's one of the Onlivefans Guerilla.