Digital Foundry views on physical media *spawn

P

PSman1700

Legend
Thanks Audi for breaking John's part where he discussed what he thinks of MS/gamepass users. Awfull, sorry but its what i personally think shouldnt belong on the channel. Thanks for the excellent video otherwise.
If you dont like warring then dont mention any of it/do it yourself.

Seriously, not the place for it man. Edit: ye, seems people agree in the YT comments section.
 
Audi: It's harder to get Xbox physical games than other consoles.
John: Yeah, and it is not good, we have talked about this before, but it is concerning. I wish they would fully support both audiences of course game pass is huge for them but that is not what everybody wants, and it feel like they are not doing the physical media the way they should be
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I wish he had given an example. Is he talking about games from Microsoft, or is he talking about what is coming in from 3rd parties?


All I will say is I am not a subscriber of Gamepass and still would prefer Physical copies of games. Still, I do think that many of the games that are only available digitally are only on the system because of Gamepass. Without digital-only releases, some of these games Xbox owners would not be able to buy at all for the system. Octotpath Traveler, Dragon Quest Builders 2, Dragon Quest XI, AI: The Somnium Files, and The Good Life are there because of Gamepass. FUGA, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Anniversary, Hatsune Miku Logic Paint S, Ender Lilies: Quietus of Knights are there for digital release only. Many of those digital-only releases that are not on Gamepass right now are very likely on the system so they might end up on Gamepass in the future.

How many games are multiplatform but come out on everything except for the Xbox? How many Xbox game releases have Limited Run games done so far? Digital is better than nothing IMO. If you can't get a publisher or developer to commit to a full release of a game, at least see what it will take for them to release digitally. I would encourage Microsoft to at least do that much for their customers. As someone who does not have Gamepass I'm much happier with my Xbox purchase because of its existence. Will I be getting Gamepass anytime soon? No, but I know that I am benefiting from the service. I hoping that did not come across as aggressive or fanboyish.

Audi:I would rather see them set up their own studios in Japan with their Japanese side of business and Create their own studios from that
John: Foreign partnerships like I think the best they ever did was during the early years of 360. You know was forming partnerships with like Mistwalker for instance......I would like to see more of that because the thing, though is like making a Japanese-style game, doesn't
mean it's just for that audience, right because people in the west also enjoy and appreciate those types of experiences.
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I agree with what is said here and the last part in particular. I would say building up partnerships is very important. It will help in figuring out what company would be a good fit for Microsoft, or they might find someone who would like to head up a new studio under Microsoft.

It is too bad that during the 360 generation, instead of trying to win Japan, they should have shifted to trying to sustain a base there and market the games worldwide. Unfortunately, they, for the most part, gave up, which I'm sure not only affected Microsoft but all of the companies in Japan that created games for them that generation.
 
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Dr. Nick said:
I wish he had given an example. Is he talking about games from Microsoft, or is he talking about what is coming in from 3rd parties?


All I will say is I am not a subscriber of Gamepass and still would prefer Physical copies of games. Still, I do think that many of the games that are only available digitally are only on the system because of Gamepass. Without digital-only releases, some of these games Xbox owners would not be able to buy at all for the system. Octotpath Traveler, Dragon Quest Builders 2, Dragon Quest XI, AI: The Somnium Files, and The Good Life are there because of Gamepass. FUGA, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Anniversary, Hatsune Miku Logic Paint S, Ender Lilies: Quietus of Knights are there for digital release only. Many of those digital-only releases that are not on Gamepass right now are very likely on the system so they might end up on Gamepass in the future.

How many games are multiplatform but come out on everything except for the Xbox? How many Xbox game releases have Limited Run games done so far? Digital is better than nothing IMO. If you can't get a publisher or developer to commit to a full release of a game, at least see what it will take for them to release digitally. I would encourage Microsoft to at least do that much for their customers. As someone who does not have Gamepass I'm much happier with my Xbox purchase because of its existence. Will I be getting Gamepass anytime soon? No, but I know that I am benefiting from the service. I hoping that did not come across as aggressive or fanboyish.
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Important to note they are both based in Europe.. so perhaps the physical releases there ARE indeed hard to get over there depending on the game.
 
I haven't watched, but I don't think its wrong to be pro physical media. It's definitely a yelling at clouds thing -- subscriptions are going to win, products are going to get worse, that's how society works. I think it's healthier to just embrace it, but everyone decrying the march of "progress" has the right to their opinion imo.
 
cwjs said:
I haven't watched, but I don't think its wrong to be pro physical media. It's definitely a yelling at clouds thing -- subscriptions are going to win, products are going to get worse, that's how society works. I think it's healthier to just embrace it, but everyone decrying the march of "progress" has the right to their opinion imo.
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Yeah. I love my physical media too, but at least when it comes to games the DVD/cartridge we get is often just a license + some placeholder broken-as-shit incomplete content.

Still, it's a legitimate grievance. Even for digital content there are a variety of models, and not all models work for everyone. The carrousel style Gamepass model definitely does not work for me personally. I can see how it may work for others, but it's unfortunate to see fans of that model jump and attack a stellar forum such as DF because they dared to critique their favorite access model.
 
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Dr. Nick said:
I wish he had given an example. Is he talking about games from Microsoft, or is he talking about what is coming in from 3rd parties?


All I will say is I am not a subscriber of Gamepass and still would prefer Physical copies of games. Still, I do think that many of the games that are only available digitally are only on the system because of Gamepass. Without digital-only releases, some of these games Xbox owners would not be able to buy at all for the system. Octotpath Traveler, Dragon Quest Builders 2, Dragon Quest XI, AI: The Somnium Files, and The Good Life are there because of Gamepass. FUGA, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Anniversary, Hatsune Miku Logic Paint S, Ender Lilies: Quietus of Knights are there for digital release only. Many of those digital-only releases that are not on Gamepass right now are very likely on the system so they might end up on Gamepass in the future.

How many games are multiplatform but come out on everything except for the Xbox? How many Xbox game releases have Limited Run games done so far? Digital is better than nothing IMO. If you can't get a publisher or developer to commit to a full release of a game, at least see what it will take for them to release digitally. I would encourage Microsoft to at least do that much for their customers. As someone who does not have Gamepass I'm much happier with my Xbox purchase because of its existence. Will I be getting Gamepass anytime soon? No, but I know that I am benefiting from the service. I hoping that did not come across as aggressive or fanboyish.


I agree with what is said here and the last part in particular. I would say building up partnerships is very important. It will help in figuring out what company would be a good fit for Microsoft, or they might find someone who would like to head up a new studio under Microsoft.

It is too bad that during the 360 generation, instead of trying to win Japan, they should have shifted to trying to sustain a base there and market the games worldwide. Unfortunately, they, for the most part, gave up, which I'm sure not only affected Microsoft but all of the companies in Japan that created games for them that generation.
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Is it true that the campaign in Halo Infinite is downloaded from the internet once you place the disk in?
 
John's Gamepass users comment did raise my hackles. I got over it instantly and as ever, no one deserves twitter grief.

Not sure John/DF could do an ownership and preservation feature that wouldn't cause me to grind my teeth. I'd agree with issues which surround both but think physical media is a terrible solution as well.

(we have a topic for digital vs physical I'm sure, and don't want to send this thread down that route)
 
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Isn’t one of the issues that John and also Rich have voiced before also that you cannot do anything with an Xbox without an online connection?

This meaning that once Microsoft stops certain services or you don’t have a connection even disc based games can no longer be activated and will no longer play, something which so far hasn’t been the case with Sony.

I think this is where the problem John has with Microsoft’s stance on game ownership and how it is enforced is rooted.
 
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cheapchips said:
John's Gamepass users comment did raise my hackles.
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Its not about physical media vs digital. Its about 'they think were idiots' and something along the lines of 'cheering for their platform/favourite company'. Having an opinion is one thing, but the rest he could have filtered away. Being on a rage/platform warring doesnt seem very professional to me. We cant even do it here on the forums without getting trouble (either by mods or being picked on).

Besides, most PS users (something like 60/70%) get their games digitally. On xbox it was something along these lines aswell if not higher. On PC its all digital.
 
This thread demonstrates how people cannot cope with other people having different views to them. This always utterly phases me because for 30 years I've worked in professional environments which are purposely populated with people holding views so as to create challenge and give perspective to strategy, decisions and direction.

The first post suggesting DF shouldn't air their opinions on their own channel because they disagree with it is an absolutely mindfuck. Just wow.. :runaway:
 
DSoup said:
is an absolutely mindfuck
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Calling for idiots and 'cheering for their platform' isnt all that professional, however you try to twist it. Having an opinion on what kind of platforms or media one likes isnt so much wrong with. But what he was doing doesnt really belong there i think, Audi ended it quickly so theres that.
 
Digital media will always win over physical media in the long run. Its better for the environment and end user. I used to have thousands of dvds and have furniture dedicated to it. That was just dvds not counting vhs that i still hadn't replaced , laser disc, video games and the hd dvds I was buying. Over time vhs tapes dried out and dvds scratched and the media for me was gone.

I will say I listened to a gdc talk a few years ago about how movies and music had it right but video games did not. I believe the guy used Uncle Buck as an example. Just a random 1980s movie but he could find it on multiple streaming services and hte movie was still funny and worth watching. But none of the services for video games have replicated that. I think nintendo may have come the closest but think about it. Imagine if game companies put their full classic line ups on services like game pass or ps now. There are tons of games worth going back to play and there are tons of games worth trying even if they weren't great. I think that is what the gaming industry needs to move towards. On retro pie I can play tens of thousands of games from the start of video games. It should be the same on these platforms
 
I purchased games on Steam in 2003/2004, i still have them today, just click play and its all installled, updated and ready. Many of my physical game purchases from the 6th gen era are still here, but some are scratched, lost or need alot of patching when installed if thats even possible. Consoles are or have moved into that aswell, following the PC. To no surprise.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1485708404718981120
 
PSman1700 said:
Calling for idiots and 'cheering for their platform' isnt all that professional, however you try to twist it. Having an opinion on what kind of platforms or media one likes isnt so much wrong with. But what he was doing doesnt really belong there i think, Audi ended it quickly so theres that.
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I have not listened to the podcast but the quote above was:
Audi: It's harder to get Xbox physical games than other consoles.
John: Yeah, and it is not good, we have talked about this before, but it is concerning. I wish they would fully support both audiences of course game pass is huge for them but that is not what everybody wants, and it feel like they are not doing the physical media the way they should be​

None of which I read as "Calling for idiots and 'cheering for their platform".

What am I missing?
 
This seems relevant to the discussion to explain a few things: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021...-require-an-online-check-in-on-xbox-series-x/

"For Smart Delivery, developers can elect to include both the Xbox One and Xbox Series X versions on a disc to play offline, but in some cases, you'll need to be connected to the Internet to download additional content," a Microsoft representative told Ars Technica.

Disc-based games designed exclusively for the Series X, such as Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition, seem to be the only titles that can be installed and played on a completely offline Series X. For these games, the files on the disc run without the need for an online check-in at any point.

...

On the ResetEra forums, though, a verified "Developer at Xbox" going by OscarK writes that the system "needs to be online one-time during install to download specific config files (separate from actual game patches)."

It's this hidden download of configuration files and "compatibility bits" that necessitates the online check-in for disc-based Xbox One games, according to OscarK. And if that situation seems confusing and poorly presented to you, OscarK would agree.
 
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