Rumour: Next-Gen Xbox Won't Have a Disc Drive

189
Richard Walker

According to that good old rumour mill, Microsoft has been telling partners that its next Xbox won't have a disc drive. Apparently, the console could instead be compatible with some form of interchangeable solid-state storage, but discs and other physical media reportedly won't be supported.

Word of a 2013 launch has also been doing the rounds again, making the possibility of an E3 2012 reveal all the more likely if it proves to be true. We can't imagine that the omission of a disc drive for the next-generation Xbox will go down too well though, especially for gamers hoping for backwards compatibility.

Microsoft issued a statement to MCV in response to the rumours, which as you'd expect, sheds no light on them whatsoever. “Xbox 360 has found new ways to extend its lifecycle like introducing the world to controller-free experiences with Kinect and re-inventing the console with a new dashboard and new entertainment content partnerships," reads the statement. "We are always thinking about what is next for our platform and how to continue to defy the lifecycle convention. Beyond that we do not comment on rumours or speculation.”

[Thanks, Hayden]

Comments
189
  • The game chairmen just jumped out of his window, theme park style.
  • If it ain't broken, don't fix it is what I say.
  • Won't happen. Not this gen. [warning]
  • This is silly. How will I backwards compatibility?
  • has the games on demand be a real success?
  • I am all for no disc drive BUT, there goes the bluray player, not that i was really expecting it to be one, just hoping. Lets face it, we all knew that no optical drive was coming sooner or later and also the reports of you wont be able to play used games would be tru. Gamestop...meet GAME !
  • What will happen to the hundreds, probably thousands of pounds that we've spent on games on discs that we'd probably like to play every once in a while even though we have the next-gen console? :/
  • I feel like im getting left behind but I like having PHYSICAL things like CDs not MP3s. Obviously I still buy Arcade games but love retail releases! It already bums me out the lack of manuals in games now-a-days..now there wont even be a DISC? Hope I atleast still get the case...
  • So... No blu-ray compatibility then ? And only one way to purchase games at the price M$ will set ? No thanks, I'll stay with my 360 and maybe switch to ps3/4 if that's really happening.
  • i guess if its stored on a pen drive.
  • Well that's one way to fight the used game market, isn't it? I was really hoping it wouldn't come to this, at least not in the next generation. I want a new XBox console, with backwards compatibility that doesn't have such a high failure rate. I love my 360. It's probably my second favorite console of all time, but the things are just so fragile.
  • Games will probably come on small usb-stick type things. I'm pretty excited, actually.
  • Well we're screwed for backwards compatibility -.-" Again, nice one Micro$oft!
  • This has to be the stupidist idea ever! Like everyone already said the backwards compat issue will be a main point of fury among gamers but another point is the fact when a game is released and there is a high demand for it when everyone jumps on and downloads it will the servers cope? i doubt it! Millions of downloads at once for COD for example will destory the servers espically if the game is XXGb's! also what if the user has a slow connection or no connection to the internet at all? do we all have to buy gold membership to play any games now? so 40quid a year on top of the price of games? also does XBOX want everyone to put their card details into live so they can all get hacked like PS? WORST IDEA EVER! IF THIS IS TRUE THEN WHO EVER THOUGHT OF IT NEEDS TO HEADBUTT THE DESK UNTIL THEY SEE BLOOD!
  • This goes hand in hand with the whole used games fiasco...I won't lose sleep over it though, Microsoft would be losing a lot of money if they did go this/that route
  • yes. nextbox will be cartridge based.
  • No disc drive no sale, I don't care for downloadable media or streaming of any kind. If I can't physicaly own it and know that the right's to it won't change(look at some of these T&C's) I'm not risking it. How about people like me who like owning a game to have displayed on a shelve, what's going to happen to all us who like buying special editions, limited editions, etc with figures,etc. Not to mention all of us who actualy have god knows how much worth of 360 games, why should we not be allowed to play them after spending our hard earned cash on it. You would upgrade your PC and expect not to be able to play your old games now, would you! If you want to make so you can have a larger amount of data per game, make it so you can install mutiple disc with out having to swap between them part way through. I know people are going to say then you can share it or there will be a code to stop you selling, but n there does not have to be all there would have to be is a master disc that you have to use to play it all. If there is no physical media then I will be dropping out of the gaming scene, and finding a new hobby.
  • They damn well better put in a disc drive or I will use my useless discs as frisbees at MS head office.
  • i'll just be sticking with 360 until they stop bringing out the new releases for it, which will be 1-2 years after launch of the new one, meaning i get to still play all the golden oldies & i get a cheaper new xbox :)
  • No disc drive, no blu ray player, no backwards comparability, no purchase!
  • 100% false. It might be possible that 2 sku's release, one without disc drive and one with. But considering the retail market is still huge, it will not happen this generation. (Maybe next generation, because MS wants to force their drm up yer ass)
  • Why is almost everyone taking these rumors as gospel?
  • digital is the wave of the future ppl... no plastic.. no cds.. no dvds.. everything in digital form.. Instead of buying discs... buy harddrives.. the only thing you will need is backup space... i got a 2 TB HD, two 1 TB hds, and 2 500 GB hds... plan on buying another 2TB soon... Backwards compatibility will also be a thing of the past.. when old games are offered in digital form as well... backwards compatibility becomes obsolete... Some sort of system will needed to be put in place so we can dl for free, games we ALREADY own in physical form however... I guess it's time to start registering products... i don't do it now.. but thats a possible way in the future for publishers to keep track of who owns what...
  • There are simply not enough people with decent broadband to make this a viable option. They would be excluding a large portion of their potential market.
  • people, this isnt even solid info, stop worrying and just believe what you want to believe, that way you're not getting stressed about the things you dont like out of everything thats come out of the rumour mill, this is by far the least likely
  • @22 Because even if they are just rumors its the fact that Microsoft has probably already considered this which just frustrates us :P
  • will NEVER happen.
  • I do not see the point of a new gen console. I think we can still bring out more protenal with the 360. If they bring it out. What happens to the 360, Xbox Live and such? Honestly they just brought out the Kinect and also a new slimmer version of the 360. Why worry about another console?
  • Really hope this happens. I have been wanting a solid state console with ten slots so i can just leave my favourite games permanently in the console. Plus no loading times. & backward compatability? Just dig out your old console kids, like we have been doing since our hobby was invented. QQ. I for one welcome our new solid state overlords.
  • Didn't we hear this rumor last year? Why is it being reported again? SND?
  • i also forgot to ask what about us who trade games in when we have finished to help pay for other games? XBOX do you enough know your target audience at all?
  • So from the current rumours we can gather that the xbox next will not let you play 2nd hand games, uses an obsolete engine and processor and also for the princley sum of £40/$60 gives you a digital code rather than a disc. Less of a games console, more of a cash cow. What a puddle of piss.
  • What a load of microshit
  • Im sure that this type of thing will be the future.. But I cant see myself ever without a hardcopy
  • I've got a crazy solution for those of you spitting feathers over what to do with your games when a new console is released. Keep your old console. If you're buying the new one, you're not really losing out but I suppose there's effort involved plugging your old one in.
  • Ima laugh when they show up at E3 with a Blu-ray drive in the next gen... This whole post will be looked at and laughed at...
  • @36 do you not know why this is called rumour genius?
  • If you can only get games through XBL then there's not competitiveness on price. Isn't that a monopoly?
  • This will not happen. Too many people demand backward compatibility. And what about people with no internet connection, or a connection too poor/unreliable for practical downloads/streaming. The only way it could work is if they sold a disc drive accessory and still sold physical copies at stores. But then, what's the point?
  • It's about time. Discs are a thing of the past. Movies, music and games will all be downloadable only eventually. Retailers are just trying to hold it off at this point. Let's just get it done with already.
  • @35 what about all of that arn't loaded and need the cash from the old console to beable to afford the new one,dick
  • I personally prefer a disk drive and I am hopeful for blu ray as well, but if it takes the turn for digital media, they better make deals with internet providers, I personally have unlimited, but virgin throttles after a few GB download during peak times. They had also better reduce prices, if supermarkets can sell brand new games for anything between £25-30, then I better get that saving when you consider they still make profit, and I better save on the cost of the disk, manual, labels, shipping etc You want me to embrace digital media, charge me £20 instead of £40 for a new title
  • What is this shit? We have Steam for this, I'd rather have a physical disc. This is just to do away with pre-owning so we have to dish out full price for everything. This better not be true
  • I'd imagine this is just a rumour. Unless there planning on putting in 50TB hardrives aswell. Pretty sure having to uninstall a game to free hardrive space then reinstalling if you decide you want to play again will take up alot more time then putting in a disc.
  • The more I hear about this next gen xbox the more I loose interest. No pre-owned / rented games & now no dvd / blu ray drive....sounds like a pile of shit to me!
  • So our only option then would be to purchase games at the price that Microsoft sets? Such as the ridiculous Games on Demand prices? No thanks, I'd rather buy a PS4.
  • this could happen as cloud streamming services like onlive are becoming more and more popular which means more more for developers at the end the day
  • How about they ask the gaming community what they want
  • I'm sure they put out these rumours just to see how people would react.
  • That's gonna be expensive as fuck, might as well make the next gen console a laptop
  • If this is the case I don't think I'll buy one. Why would I pay full price for what is effectively a lease for the game? Arcade games and add ons are fine but I won't be paying for full retail game downloads.
  • Not if we want to play DVDs/blurays
  • I refuse to believe this for one second
  • Just use Blu Ray. The product has been improved over the years
  • could always ship the game on usb sticks would mean for each game you could have a usb stick of an appropriate size with it by 2gb or 32gb so smaller games could be cheaper and could keep expanding the size
  • Everyone complaining about Bluray players knows sony makes blurays right.......
  • Welp, this is the exact reason I own a working copy of each console I've ever owned (and obviously all the games too). Don't do this...there is something special and exciting about holding an actual, physical copy of a new game.
  • @55 USB sticks would be cheaper to ship around AND its the way of the future.
  • @14: You're not too smart are you? Who said non-disc media had to be downloads? Yes you make a point but at the same time you completely ignore other ways of media. Look at both Nintendo and Sony, their portables use a form of memory stick. If this rumor is true we could see some form of portable media in the form of a memory stick or usb drive. I'm sure they will still be able to be bought used as well so therefore the used game market will still be there. @51: Again, as i told 14. It doesn't have to be downloads it could be other forms of media such as memory sticks or usb drives. OT: Of course this is just a rumor so everything is speculation. I just wish people were using some common sense here but I guess I can't expect much from x360a lol.
  • For all of us living in the wilderness with slow internet connections this would be a nightmare. Current games go over 10gb - that would take ages to download 2GB arcade games take 3 or 4 hours for me! - I could drive to my nearest GAME (if it still exists) 20 miles away pick up a game and get home before the download had really started. Not to mention it would take up some peoples monthly download limit too quickly. Can't see it happening to be honest.
  • So I'd probably get back to PC gaming :/
  • That's gonna suck when they stop making Xbox 360 games and justine them for next generation Xbox on games on demand.. I'm probably not going to get this I still love my Xbox..
  • if this is true i most likely will just keep my 360, i dont really wanna know how much the prices of games will be. if the only games available are only available from microsoft, then they can set what ever price they want @59 i highly doubt it would be another physical form of media. but like you said its just a rumour, so hopefully it isnt true
  • *just make
  • Is it going to be downloaded games from now on then? What about the people unfortunate enough to not have LIVE? I don't really believe this rumour at all because of that reason.
  • I hate to do it if these rumors are true, but i will jump ship. I've been very unhappy with M$ as of late with the lack of exclusives like PS3 anyways. See and the difference in me and most ppl saying they wont buy the next console is i truly wont!! I just hope everyone follows if M$ takes this dirty route and watch them fall to there knees...
  • Funny. I made a post about no spinning media awhile back in an old Xbox forum. Too bad they deleted the archive. I said the same thing. Makes sense. Less power needed, it will run cooler and be much faster. SSD FTW!
  • @17 agreed. No disc drive no sale. I'll just find a new hobby. Although I doubt MS are stupid enough to remove the disc drive completely.
  • No disks or "physical media" means you download everything, which means I'm completely out. I'm not raping my bandwidth to download a 8-???gb game. So no disks, no cards, no drives to buy, you just download everything... yup, great idea, cause everyone in the world has unlimited high speed internet. Hell, if the next system does have a physical media, and it's not BD (or even HDDVD), I'm out. DVD is antiquated and shouldn't be used for gaming as a format. Just another case of the "anything to do, to spit in the faces of people who buy used, cause we're all thieves and no good" agenda. I'm fine with their decision to go "digital only". Means more money in my pocket, and less in theirs.
  • People need to LRN2READ. This article says that solid state may be an option, but other forms of physical media are off. Where does it say download only? Put down the torches & pitchforks chaps.
  • Getting rid of physical media is a terrible idea, in this age anyway. Let the future download everything. We've all got too much to lose switching to digital only.
  • So we cant even watch dvds without some shitty subscription to netflix or something. What a terrible idea. I also invested alot of time into my tag and the games and will still be trying to finish them off next generation. so if hey want people to move on they should be keeping their customers happy. I dont really fancy switching between an old and new console so if this is true i probably will not bother with the new console.
  • @28 They have maxed the graphical capabilities of the xbox 360, which basically means people want a new one. Personally I think that the current graphics look fine ( have have been playing on a SD tv until recently, and even in standard def, it wasn't that bad).
  • Would this also mean the end of limited edition releases with all the extra goodies?
  • I'll take a PS4, thanks.
  • I love news threads, gamers are always angry at change. Keep your 360 for 360 games. Such limited imagination on so many posters. A flashdrive style physical media would be just fine with me, so would a strickly digital method. Time for change.
  • So, what about people who can't get wireless internet or their connection isn't amazing. Downloading huge games would take forever? I mean the take long enough on my connection.
  • So will it have cartridges then? I wonder if my streetfighter floppy drive for the SNES will work with it then!? /smiley face. What happens if its not connected to the webnets? The way this sounds like its going, I think I'll skip the new eggsbox. At least I can still lend my clothes, car and my body to friends, or sell them on €bay, unlike games for this new system.
  • This is highly unlikely. Nextgen also means bigger/more detailed textures so games are going to be bigger in size. Not everyone in the world has broadband internet so downloading games would take a lifetime. Even if they did, a lot of users have monthly bandwidth caps. Just imagine if you had to download 10gb in one go. It just doesn't sound feasible.
  • This is a rumour, but if it were likely true then Microsoft better not make us pay for Xbox Live services. I rather not pay for a console and then pay even more for a service to be able to do play games on my console considering there is no disc drive and we'd have to download everything. This is the type of crap which makes me think I'd be better off playing board games... I kinda miss playing RISK for 6 hours.
  • Dammit Microsoft, Please CONFIRM of DENY these rumors. Anti-used games, no backwards compatibility, and now NO DISCS! If these changes actually make it into the final product, I might have to switch to PS3. *Shudders *
  • blu-ray discs hold 7gb ish thats wats needed, not completely cutting this out, what about xbox gamers that cant afford the net or decent speed - how they going to get games - think this is going to fail with gamers if true
  • @82 - I think you've been misinformed. Bluray holds 25gb PER layer. A dual layer disc would be 50gb. Even DVD supports just under 9gb dual layer.
  • Wow only way this could not be a other idiotic move by m$ is they work on a better compression algorithm so the games and dlc don't take long to download and don't take much space also there might be a chance at a partnership with steam plus for the games. We all collected over the years is free download of the game if they do some type of code in the product or trade in for download code
  • Stop spreading bullshit rumors.
  • Can't really see this happening. This would force everyone to have Gold Membership and a good internet speed. They will be reducing the target audience instead of increasing it, which to me would be the opposite of their aim. Yes they have previously said they want to go more towards digital downloads, but I really can't see this as a total replacement. Plus, I'm hoping they take the dive into blu ray discs so I can free up some space and get rid of PS3 :P
  • This is one of the worst excuses for a "story" I've ever seen. You simply say "According to that good old rumor mill" and never once give any idea at all of where this got started. If anyone on this site had any journalistic integrity at all you should be ashamed of yourselves for even thinking about posting this,all in a attempt to get web traffic.
  • to be completely honest I wasn't expecting to hear this ever.. atleast not until a new console came around where it would be like a little box you put on top of your tv and order games directly through it.. but I mean, PC will NEVER get rid of the disc tray, so why would xbox make such a bad decision, I really don't see them doing this.
  • Not sure why a lot of people want the next Xbox to use Blu-ray, it wont be long before PS3 games are to big to fit on a single Blu-ray.Seems daft to tie a next gen console to what will be a old format , they made that made mistake with the 360 and DVD
  • Story straight from the IGN website
  • Soooo... so far the rumors on the next xbox are: -Not being able to played used games because of a license that ties the game to your system. -No disc drive, eliminating backwards compatibility. MS can't honestly think these are going to go over well with their fanbase. The no disc drive alone will make me NEVER buy it and here's why: No disc drive means that I have to download games to my HDD when I "buy" them. I put buy in quotes because with digital media, you don't own anything more than a license to use said media file. MS (and any other company that sells digital media) has the right to take your shit away if they want. Violate something in the TOS and they can "kill" your downloaded file. That and MS hard drives are WAY overpriced.
  • Dumb idea.
  • What a ridiculous rumour. So the rumoured blu-ray is out, playing dvds is out, playing 360 games is out, play music cds is out etc etc Considering MS want to make the next xbox even more of a media hub why would they strip a huge amount of those abilities out?
  • Why is Microsoft in such a rush to bring out a "Next-Gen Console"? There are plenty of good games to play on the XBox 360 right now and there will be much more of them ,there is so much potential on the current Xbox360 console. Instead of bringing your new idea playing games "without discs" you should put your DAMN ENERGY into much more important things like improving the Graphic, Account Secureness, fixing known problems, technical issues...or some other important things. ENOUGH of all of those facebook ,twitter, Kinect things, i don`t need that shit on my xbox360 all i want is to play high quality games on a high quality console. There are plenty of people who are collecting games like me, i want to see my game disc and the boxart/Gamecover. It is bad enough to bring out "Half finished" games and then bring the other Half back as a DLC. I remember the old good days where i bought Final Fantasy 7 ,i got 9 characters. Look at FF13-2 for example ,they are giving you 2 characters and they bring out the rest of the characters as a DLC which costs extra money. Enough is enough.
  • It's a JUMP to conclusions mat! I would have different conclusions....that you....JUMP to! I love all the comments. *Reads article on unverified rumors* QUICKLY ASSUMES WORLD IS COMING TO END.
  • no physical form? Yeeeeee coz the PSP GO did sooooo well.
  • @83, 9gb is a dual layer dvd. I will be upset if games are dl only: look at the psp go. I'll also be upset if the games are streaming: look at onlive. Bd player, usb sticks and proprietary game cards would be perfect and the more likely solution.
  • It wouldn't surprise me if some of these incredibly stupid rumours were started by Sony. A good portion of Xboxes have never been online (2 people IRL that I know of, still running "Blades" dash.) Companies also support physical goods as well, since promotion will garner alot of sales (those stupid stand ups, posters, product placement in stores really go a long way.)
  • I have yet to buy a Game on demand on I don't plan it. They are overly priced. The only benefit from having this option for me is that I don't need a place to store the games. However, I do enjoy having the games around as a reminder of what I have played and haven't played.
  • Why the hell is everyone caring about blu-ray? It's crap and useless get over it. No discs? I'd stick to my old console thanks, or just play my Sega Mega Drive with cartridges!
  • This rumor is almost the same as the "no used games" rumor, and just as stupid. Anyone who actually believes rumors like deserve to have a console as bad as these rumors claim.
  • Can we focus on getting some god d@mn Kinect games out first?
  • Back when Blu-ray and HD-DVD were fighting, know what Microsoft's stance was? Yes, they had a HD-DVD player, but Microsoft was more interested in Digital Downloads for movies. And the PSP GO failed because it was a bad system to begin with. It's extremely popular in Japan, but here no one wanted it because it was just a "sequel" to the PSP, which DID use disc-based software, yet no one liked it. I'm all for download games and movies if it makes them easier to get as opposed to having to search every game store in the region for an older game. Also.. if they price them reasonably and have sales ala Steam.
  • This is strange idea. If that true then M$ is shitty as ever. Crazy to have big space HDD like PC got giant spaces for one game. PC fine with it but there no way need for next XBOX. Stick to discs. Please M$, Don't made me kick your face!! Otherwise I will stay with my Xbox 360 as well Wii U coming this christmas. :D
  • @94 I agree with you-the 360 is still not fulfilling all its potential-i am playing the majority of my games on my SD tv and on the newer games the graphics are still pretty damn good.I love my collection of games in their cases with their manuals and would be gutted SHOULD a next gen console make them obselete. However we can speculate all we want,it is a rumour-one of many-so until its a definite i'm going to carry on cherishing my expanding collection,making sure my discs are pristine along with said manuals-I suggest all like-minded ppl do the same. Keep on gaming people!!
  • I don't really see this happening, but if it did, I would hope that Microsoft would still make a physical release of games because not everybody lives in areas with the best internet speeds. I have a 1.5MBS connection and it takes me on average 2 days to download 5-6GB of data without using my internet for anything else. It would also be kind of foolish for Microsoft to pass up the Blu-Ray market, considering that was one of the major selling points of the PS3.
  • Physical disk > Digital content
  • @98 they can't be playing any game released invrge past couple of years. The nxe dash update was included on games released after the update I asume the same can be said for the metro update.
  • I seriously doubt this...
  • Personaly I like the idea of games coming on usb stick. U could see special editions coming with cool custom usb drives like my autobot symbol usb stick i keep my tag on
  • @94 If you're going to insult dlc...at least do it correctly. FF7 gave you 9 party members. FFXIII-2 gave you 200+ party members...and you're bitching about dlc that is simply EXTRA for those interested. no achievements, no gun to your head. They were added as silly, cosmetic extras, since in terms of story they make NO sense. Complaining about FFXIII-2 dlc characters is old and still pointless. It's like complaining because they released new outfits for the characters. If you want it, you'll buy it. If not, great. It is not content removed from the game....its simple additional content that makes no sense but some people will find entertaining. Congrats on being a douche and making FFVII fans look bad -_- Besides, you're blaming Microsoft for Squeenix's actions. Double-douche. OT: Digital media IS the future, regardless of how many digital thumbs down you tools give out to people speaking the truth. Will we see it happen next year? Not likely. It's a rumor. I swear you people believe anything you read. If/when Microsoft mentions this idea, THEN you have reason to complain. A rumor from some jackass who's bored doesn't constitute a reason to shit yourselves and start boycotting. This just in: Microsoft has decided that the next gen console will only play movies. That's right, Microsoft is shutting down the gaming industry in favor of pumping out 20 Mortal Kombat sequels a year. You heard it here first. SHITS GOING DOWN!! EVERYONE BOYCOTT NOW!!! /sarcasm -_-
  • @100 how the hell is blu ray useless, Single layer being 25Gb and dual layer being 50Gb, where as DVD dual layer a mere 9Gb. @104 Have you never heard of buying online, no browsing of shops you have the game in it's physical format glory bought to your door step.
  • the disc drive sucks anyway. i say make it like the PS3
  • Hell...I'm beginning to think that all these rumors are created by the x360a staff out of boredom just to see how many of you take rumors seriously.... Shame on you Webb, shame on you. You shouldn't tease teh interweb children.
  • @14 First of all, what about services like Steam? They don't crash every time a big game comes out for people to download. I'm not saying it's impossible, but I doubt they'll institute a system that is going to go down every time a top selling title release. Second, if you have an Xbox you should have Gold as it is. You can't play online otherwise, and if you look at the price yearly, it's very affordable. Stop being cheap. Third, shit happens. There is a chance your house can get robbed, or your credit card can get stolen or abused in any number of ways. Living in fear of someone "hacking" Xbox live is stupid and pointless. Besides, your bank/CC company will reimburse you the money immediately while they investigate. Don't make mountains out of mole hills. I don't know if I like the idea of having no disc drive on a console, but I will wait to see more details.
  • The more I hear about the 720, the more depressed I get. Seriously, I hope these rumors are nothing more than just that. I really do.
  • not sure i like this, for one, if games are download only, where's the competition, microsoft will set a high price (look at the current GoD service, prices are high compared the highstreet) and monopolise everything, destroying the preowned market, resale and lending to makes will be a thing of the past, i love swapping games with friends, it's a part of the joy of gaming i've grown up with. hell, my current broadband speed varies from 512kbps to 5Megs on a very good day, i live in the sticks, so would take hours to download a game, my large library of 360games would become redundant, all in all, there are too many negatives about this for it to be a good thing in my eyes, they'll alienate a percentage of their consumer base, can any company afford to do that this day and age? and besides that, thats a large chunk of highstreet retail gone.....rise in unemployment anyone?
  • Funny, My disc drive is breaking down on my xbox. I am getting a PS3 in may and I like the way they do it. Just putting the disc in the console instead of a disc drive
  • Overpriced games via XBL FTW! Seriously though, crappy broadband limits in the UK and overpricing for digital downloads will kill this fast.
  • Oh, as good as Steam is, it's completely useless if your net goes down. Can't play your games offline.
  • @121 That's not true. I play my games offline all the time. Terraria,half life, Oddworld, Painkiller. You can play games offline. There is an offline mode. Look into it.
  • Good, discs scratch and break too easily
  • Yeah if this does happen I'll just play the other 2 consoles and skip the next gen Xbox.. stupid choice which will do nothing to help them. It'll drive away far more gamers than the costs they'll recoup from it without a doubt.
  • The world's internet infrastructure isn't good enough yet if they're suggesting going all digital/online. Not everyone has the internet. And in that case you'd still have to have Something in a box to get it on peoples' systems. So I am 100% correct when I say this is false.
  • games would have no excuse to not be cheaper then. They say they cost more because of the processing and materials. Without that they should be like 40 bucks then.
  • Truth be told, if all gaming went disc-free, I think I'd have to stop, or at the very least, I'd buy nothing until it was stupid cheap. I just cannot justify spending more than $10 on something that I don't physically own. Sure, it adds up when I buy multiple intangible things, and it saves space, but ehh... It would just be too expensive in the end to live in that kind of world.
  • First I can't use my ME3 save and now this?... In the 3 years I've had an Xbox, Microsoft has screwed me over so many times I can't even remember them all. I am officially done with Xbox.
  • well i personally love the idea of no disc drive. i can see no discs being the future of gaming. i have ran out of room because of my movies & games. so no disc drive would clear that all up. as in my clutter of games & movies. so i can see MS making a system streamed gaming only. no more rods. less space needed for console/device. i think its a great idea! for those that want there discs. just keep your systems. so you can still play your older games too. i knew this was going to happen. theres one company streaming games for pc. so why not have it for consoles too. out of all the rumours. this one i can see happening soon. but not until kinect gets on a roll with devs. like the core games. which is just starting to be intergrated now.
  • Yea and last month the rumors said it was gonna have blu-ray, and before that they said it was gonna have an anti used game system. So basically what I'm saying is "dont believe shit until Microsoft says it themselves."
  • Luckily, this won't happen. Not for the Xbox 3. Quality internet isn't in enough of the world yet, and they're not going to cut out a huge portion of customers by making games download only.
  • I'm calling bullsh*t on this one. This is an idiotic decision and Microsoft knows it. Don't believe everything you read on the internet.
  • @128. Really? A rumor, so now your done with the Xbox? Way to go paranoid! After all... these ARE rumors, and it's really too early to start getting your blood pressure up over possibly nothing. Since Microsoft is SO interested in having a universal, do-it-all multimedia platform... I would be VERY surprised if they were to eliminate the optical disc drive. At the very least, I would expect an external disc drive that could be purchased (as an "option") to play 360 games on disc, as well as DVD's. I question whether they would EVER make a blu-ray disc add-on, seeing they wouldn't do it for our current consoles! It would be interesting if they went to a non-writable USB drive for games, or even just a cartridge port. I still own MANY older consoles that use cartridges, and there IS an advantage: no load times (instant, ready-to-play games)! Lastly... I question whether Microsoft will bother with a new model number/name for the next console. How many complete overhauls have we had to the dashboard... yet the version number for the dashboard is 2.0.something.something? The next Xbox will probably be called 360.1!
  • Boo, if true... I will switch to PS3/4, first time since ps2. I love my xbox 360.
  • I love how people are blaming microsoft for a rumour
  • Whine and complain everyone, but you'll all buy it anyway. Regardless, they're not dumb. They're not going to throw away all the games and everything they've done with the 360. There will be some way to download games to the new console if this turns out to be true.
  • @128 Read the rest of the post. This isn't the first time. I've been putting up with Microsoft and all their various crap (i.e., Live price raise, patch preventing 3rd party software, no ME3 save import, etc.) for a long time now, simply because all my friends play xbox. This isn't what's making me quit, it's just the last straw.
  • Personally I think Micro$oft's marketing department started this rumour to see what the feedback would be like, testing the water so to speak for a cloud, USB stick or games on demand based console. Also highly doubt this will happen this generation but it won't be too long before they drop the disk drive. Oh and to get round the backwards compatability issue, they will kindly re-release all our favourite games on arcade/G.O.D for us to pay for again, don't beleive me? Fine, well I say Devil May Cry hd collection, Resident Evil 4, Halo 1 & 2, Black & metal gear solid collection back lol
  • It is a damn rumor people, get that blaming shit out of here. All you kids do is complain about everything, but we all know come time for the new release you will ALL be standing in line for it. That is the way we all are, we may not like it but we sure as shit are going to buy it. Personally, the no disc drive will NOT bother me at all. I will still be able to play all of my old games VIA Games on Demand, Arcade games will still be there, and the new games will be purchased from the comfort of my couch. How much more convenient can you get? I don't have to leave the house. I didn't see you all making this big of a deal when Netflix turned the Movie industry into a no-physical copy business. The movie industry is all digital copies now. If you are going to bitch, be consistent.
  • i feel sorry for all the ppl who live in the boonies and have no opportunity to get high speed internet service if this is true
  • I think they should be put on little SSD's , do you realise how fast you can read from them? and also discs get damaged way too easily. but it should have a disc drive too for backward compatibility, it would really annoy me if we weren't able to play our 360 games on it....
  • the end of used video games as we know it.
  • Won't happen. Not yet. The internet is widely used, but not wide enough for a download-only format. If they do make discless gaming it'll flop miserably. I won't buy it. I'm all about having physical copies of my games.
  • That's crap I am not going to be able to afford games without traidins Hope it doesnt happen
  • What the fuck. So what about all the discs? Will we have to re-purchase all of our games? This would mean they would have to put ALL games on GoD.
  • I got the PS2, xBox, and the 360 as soon as I could get my hands on one. But, from what I'm hearing, I'll wait for the nextbox. There's still a lot to do and enjoy with the 360.
  • Well, if this is true, they just lost themselves a sale on their next console!
  • Personally i hate disks. They scratch to easy & are limited. lasers burn out. creates heat and takes up space. 90% that say you won't buy the next one, are lying. You can keep your 360 aswell you know, if you love disks/backwards games that much.(I still play my dreamcast) just hoping it is a physical cartrige/pen drive/memory stick rather than DLC only. & to all you that say M$ will loose money. Think about it. When do M$ ever 'loose money'?
  • So, my Xbox 360 is my primary DVD player (and I have a lot of DVD's). I don't see myself buying a console that I can't watch my DVD's on.
  • No disc drive!? Count me out, no more taking a chance on a game because you can't trade it in if it's rubbish. Note to publishers, a large amount of the new games you 'sell' are because we (remember us the paying public) don't have bottomless wallets and trade our old games in to enable us to get the new ones. How anybody thinks download only is a good thing I don't understand...no competition means no reduction in prices. On the plus side, the length of games will have to increase because who's going to buy a 6-8 hour game at full price that you're then stuck with? I love Xbox but if they go ahead with this and Sony stick with discs I'll be switching, that is all!
  • I hate how everything is going digital. IMO nothing beats going to your local game store and picking up the game you want. What happens if everything is digital and you buy like 40 games, but Microsoft has a huge database malfunction which results in everyone losing their games?
  • @148. Seriously? I can keep my 360? Thank you for permission. How long until it gives up the ghost though, and nothing is available to replace it? Some of us have accepted the 360's failure rate graciously. Showing us some support in return for the support(and cash) we've given them isn't such a bad thing to ask for. MS can do whatever they want, but saying everyone will cave is probably only representative of what YOU know. It doesn't speak for me, thanks.
  • Oh, and another thing. How many copies of games are sold to rental firms like lovefilm, or blockbuster? Will you be able to even rent a game now? HATING THIS!!!
  • I really don't care for this news. I'm not a big fan of digital copies of games. I like physical copies. Maybe that's just the collector in me but dammit it feels good to open a new game!
  • It's amazing what people will believe there's no way. Soild state drives are super expensive and have a rather short life span compared to other storage options. One more reason is that there's no way the next gen consoles will surpass PC tech in that degree. Plus not everyone wants digital copies of their software, so i think the Blu-ray drive is safe to say it's going to be in the next Xbox or something similar to it.
  • Funny how people are shitting bricks due to RUMORS.
  • Why would Sony and MS want to kill off Gamestop/EB Games when they're willing to cut them in on some of the used games profit? Let's hope to God this isn't the case, because if it is... I may just abandon video games. Please don't let it come to that.
  • no physical media limits those without internet access or really slow or limited internet access. If they sell the games for $30, then it might work. But I don't think it will. If they really do want to continue the lifecycle, I don't see this as being a viable method. It will alienate a lot of their userbase. Unless there's some other method of game delivery that I'm not aware of.
  • this will be just like the "microsoft is working on a bluray addon for the 360" rumor we've been hearing for the last 5 years. all talk but no substance. there is too large of a population that has to worry about data caps, and a portion that doesn't ever connect their device to the internet for microsoft to seriously consider a medialess console right now. we might see an expansion of the games on demand service for retail games, but we definitely won't see a total 100% shift over to digital distribution.
  • @94 "Why is Microsoft in such a rush to bring out a 'Next-Gen Console'?" because we are gaming on 7 year old dinosaur at this point. technology has changed ALOT since the 360 came out, and this maxed out machine is ready for a successor.
  • Besides the infrastructure for broadband not quite there yet, if at all in some places or the majority of people who still want a tangible item. MS is just going to blow their leg off instead of just shooting themselves in the foot. 99% of people totally blow of Games on Demand primarily bc it cant compete price-wise with anyone else by far. If the game sucks how many people are going to want to part with even $20 or $30 nevermind the entire $60 if they can't even return or sell it. 3rd party support will be all for it until reality sets in before there would be a huge exodus from that platform.
  • i rent all my games. this is a big no-mo
  • There are about 50 reasons why this is not going to happen.
  • bad idea, human interaction is gonna be a thing of the past soon. people talking on facebook more then at local pubs or work. machines making jobs easier and reducing employment. weekly shopping home delivered so you dont have to talk to anyone. and now games where you have to just download (for rediculous price i bet) which will stop people going to the store and purchasing it. goodbye great social life, you will be missed
  • people who collect may go elsewhere if you don't give them something physical. and to convince someone to pay 60$ for something that isn't tangible is a stretch.
  • The internet isn't reliable enough just yet to go for this. Maybe a few generations from now, but we're not ready for this yet. I love my physical copies of games. I like being able to look at my collection of games. Such a shame people can't get off their lazy asses to go pick up a game. Convenience my ass. You can tell things are changing though as paper manuals are becoming more and more extinct. It's the beginning of the end. lol And @164 is right on point.
  • i can only say that if it id happen i would never us the console again. if they all did it well i still have my PC bu in all honesty i cant see it, EVER happening there is a balance currently and it works
  • I love the people who think digital downloads are "the way of the future". That statement is very stupid. Just because it is new doesn't mean it is good.
  • Sorry to say, but this kinda goes along with the rumor of not being able to get used games... MICROSOFT PLEASE STOP ALREADY T_T
  • There is also the widely spread rumor that the next xbox will play blu-ray disks. So which is it?
  • This is just ****. I like to open the box, sniff the instruction manual, and display my collection on the shelf. Ffs Microsoft don't try to force the "future" or you'll be shooting yourself in the foot.
  • From now on if something encourages people to be more lazy it should be automatically banned.
  • Unless Microsoft plans on shipping the console with 1 TB hard drives or unlimited cloud storage, I'm going to have to say this rumor is bogus. Microsoft's statement seems to be indicating that they're trying to extend the Xbox 360's lifespan as well.
  • If this happens, then I know I won't be buying the next console. Instead of moving forward to blue ray or another high capacity physical device, they're pushing for more of a digital domain. This would most likely mean the customer is charged not only for the game, but services such as Xbox Live (just to access the digital marketplace) and the cost of the game. It also allows Microsoft to have a monopoly on the console games industry for digital gaming both in being able to charge whatever they desire for the digital game, but also for allowing access to their domain through their marketplace - cause you know they're not going to partner with steam. This puts companies that rely on trading / used games for their main source of profit (Gamestop, Amazon, etc.) and smaller retailers in the realm of extinction; not to mention us lowly gamers who just want to borrow or trade a game from a friend (yes we still have physical, real friends who game with us.) Then we have the aspect of quality: I've downloaded the demo versions of many XBLA games in the past, only to unlock the full version through the games interface. I'd come back to the game later to find I could only access the demo portion and it would ask me to again purchase the game. This is a concern for me with a digital only console: would it work unconditionally? Could they guarantee the game won't mess up technically (not talking about game bugs here, just from the standpoint of will it actually work?) I know I don't want to have to sit on the phone with MS "support" for hours just to get talked down on by a customer service "rep" who is bored to tears with their job. There are tonnes of other reasons as to why this is a bad idea (collector's editions go digital anyone?) But I'm too pissed off that this might be a reality to comment further. Thanks for reading.
  • I havent heard a good rumor yet about Microsoft's next outing. Its so bad youd think Sony was the one putting out these rumors
  • i like physical discs. Steam is great but when i lost my internet for half a year cause i couldnt afford it and had to pay for things like food and rent, i realized steam isnt all that great, You cant play thier games offline at all. So if xbox takes away the disc drive, will the game be on a flash drive? or one of those codes to download the game.
  • Secret Insider Info: Microsoft are bring back the cartridge. Fo' serious.
  • No more new game smell? That's the best part of buying a game!
  • here are a few reasons(if the rumours are true) why they shouldnt do this... 1. its bullshit 2. too god damn expensive 3. its bullshit 4. and its bullshit
  • @171 i have a fetish for sniffing instruction manuals aswell
  • Out of all the stupid rumours I've heard about the next generation over the last year, this one is EASILY the worst and most stupid.
  • @177 there is an argument for that being the better idea tbh, carts never were bad for consoles just lacked the storage space which they dont anymore
  • I just love how these rumours set the gaming world on fire and how gamers across the globe stepp out and say what they think. Well if microsoft is realy going to do that i def can imagine plenty of gamers still will buying their next gen despite what have been writen and said before, but another good portion will def consider other ways or even stepp over to sony,s next gen. Somehow i always get the feeling that they not realy care about us gamers and that we spend thousands of dollars in games and extra equipment and then we can,t use it anymore because they not make their new shiny next gen console backwards competable..? I already seen that future on Sony,s PSP store where now already can buy the newest releases as download like Mass Effect 3. But like someone mentioned it i to like my regular games with disk and booklet and not some download. But in the end they do what they wanna do anyways so we just have to see what of the many rumours we heared actualy is true or not.
  • Maybe not discs, but some kind of other format? At least I would still like to have a disc drive for my current games (if they are even gonna make them compatible..)
  • How long will it take to download every game you buy, this is lame.
  • Me no likey! :(
  • i think/hope that they stay with the physical media because if it goes fully digital it would be bad for people with slow connections and a download cap. like me. :)
  • Crap like this urges me more and more to go back to the 1990's, buy my consoles there and just use those from now on...an all digital console...hell no. They already overcharge for Games on Demand (Halo 3 and other titles at 29.99 even though you can pick them up for 19.99 at Walmart new) and especially if you try to get a game like Oblivion...which is 29.99 on the marketplace, then it's practically ANOTHER 29.99 just to get Shivering Isles when I've seen Game of the Year Edition NEW for 19.99 at Walmart. Nah, nah...screw this. No way it can happen, physical media = win/win on all situations.
  • That seems completely pointless and it sounds really stupid. I really hope that doesn't happen.
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