Why does Xbox One have a Bluray player?

[-tkf-]

Even on release day games like diablo are selling most of the copies digitially, it's not the price.

Games like Diablo 3 and WOW is inherently online only games there is no one that is going to play those games that doesn't have a internet connection and isn't used to or knows the Blizzard downloader.

And it actually does provide a good example of how the Console world is not the same as the PC world.

 

[AlphaWolf]

Most games on consoles are also becoming online games.

 

[Bigduo209]

It is smaller than the DVD case the disc comes in though, so unless you transport your discs caseless or transfer them to a slim jewel case so you can squeeze them into your bag/glove compartment, an external HDD is smaller (it'll even fit in my pocket).

That's why I said it's convenient for multiple games, but we're talking about the discs and not necessarily the game cases themselves. You can carry can multiple games in a disc folder/binder of some sort, and you don't have to be connected to be some online source to verify and check every time you want to play on someone else's console.

Using DD as a standard means the portability and distribution factor becomes much more user dependent than it needs to. You need a decent connection to download the game in the first place, which may not be possible. Your friends/relatives needs to have a decent connection to do some kind of game digital-sharing/download content, which may not be possible as well.

There's no way to know if every consumer has an external HDD or thumb drive with enough memory to download and carry even one game. Most people are using external drives of varying prices and quality (many HDDs with moving parts and no good shock absorption), so having a large collection of games being on such a fragile device isn't wise. Especially if you don't want to go through the trouble of re-downloading that much data all over again.

Are external drives still a good option for transporting downloadable games? Sure it is, but it creates a whole host of new problems as an all encompassing middle-ground standard for game storage. Disc storage is still flexible in a lot ways that the other 2 options can't cover right now, but it can definitely change in time.

 

[eastmen]

I dunno I have 300/75 from fios. Most of my friends do also. Google and other companies are working on rolling out 1gigabit. Fios is releasing 500mb soon. So it seems like we are quickly approaching a point where 50 gig downloads will take minutes and now hours

 

[Blazkowicz]

I live somewhere downtown, have perfect ADSL : 18/1.2, downloading stuff is no biggy though 50GB would take about a day. But I've been waiting in vain for that fiber, I must be living too much downtown (streets where only one car can go through and narrow sidewalks). It's a big enough town or city to get fiber, but it seems available in the 20th century parts not so much the 16th to 19th century ones. A friend has it in an old area but in immediate proximity to an avenue and a street that was 2-way even 200 years ago I guess. It's probably available on Haussmann era boulevards too.

My ISP isn't really investing either as they became a mobile phone operator and blow tons on cash on that, but that's another problem.

The point I wanted to make is things can be very slow moving, or fast moving depending on your area, even if there's fiber one kilometer away you might no be getting it or it may take years, and even if the fiber is already there in the ground ; there's lack of willingness to spend a few billions to bring them to premises .

And in general we tend to easily forget how it was before having a good connection (lol DSL with 128K upload was much worse). Most people have an internet connection 100x slower than yours and even then, these people are exponentionnally better off than some others.

 

[eastmen]

Today I got 23/12 on my sprint note 2 with lte. Its faster than what cablevision offers. All these companies will have to upgrade their networks and increase speeds or the mobile carriers will eat their lunch.

The only problem with mobile Is the caps. But Softbank buying sprint which bought clear wire can shake that up a bit since their network is finally getting good.

 

[-tkf-]

Most games on consoles are also becoming online games.

Uh? The console version of diablo 3 is going to be offline because so many consoles are offline. If blizzard says and does this there must be a reason right?

 

[-tkf-]

I dunno I have 300/75 from fios. Most of my friends do also. Google and other companies are working on rolling out 1gigabit. Fios is releasing 500mb soon. So it seems like we are quickly approaching a point where 50 gig downloads will take minutes and now hours

The "we" in your post most cover you and your friends. The rest if us are the 99.99%

If you base your discussions on DD, cloud computing, etc on a 300mbit fiber and expect 1 gbit to be the norm I can understand why some of the issues others see isn't in your world.

If I want something faster I will have to sell my house and move. And 300mbit isn't even possible unless I pay an absurdly high price for a commercial price product.

 

[AlphaWolf]

Uh? The console version of diablo 3 is going to be offline because so many consoles are offline. If blizzard says and does this there must be a reason right?

Uh no. The console version of diablo will allow offline play is not the same as being offline.

 

[dobwal]

The "we" in your post most cover you and your friends. The rest if us are the 99.99%

If you base your discussions on DD, cloud computing, etc on a 300mbit fiber and expect 1 gbit to be the norm I can understand why some of the issues others see isn't in your world.

If I want something faster I will have to sell my house and move. And 300mbit isn't even possible unless I pay an absurdly high price for a commercial price product.

And thats what it basically boils down to, bluray is there because there are people who will utilize it. Whether because they favor bluray discs for movie playback, game distribution or simply because of habit.

Seems rather obvious that both Sony and MS favor a one sku policy. Given our current gen was full of multiple skus offered at the same time, maybe Sony and MS found the practice inefficient in terms of cost. Maybe it especially relevant when consoles tend to be the most lossy in terms of BOM.

 

[Rangers]

i dont feel like linking it, but in ea's quarter results announced a few days ago, something like 3/4 of their revenue was digital (meaning across pc, console, and mobile, the vast majority of their revenue was digital rather than disc). although in an interview they did note this quarter had no major disc console release for them

Digital Revenue:
Increased by 17% year-over-year to $378 million, and accounted for 76% of Q1 revenue

also

Digital revenue breakdown for the quarter:

Full game download: 37 million
extra content: 177 million
subs/ads/other: 61 million
mobile/HH: 103 million

Basically "extra content" which I think is DLC and F2P purchases, is much bigger than full game downloads currently. But I bet even that is changing.

Almost all of EA's callouts were digitally related:

EA was the #1 publisher in Western retail markets in calendar year 2013, and the #1 global publisher in the iOS game market in the June quarter.
EA received 116 E3 awards from over 220 industry nominations, including 8 out of 15 awards from the official E3 Game Critics. Battlefield 4™ won a total of 21 awards at E3, including GameSpot’s Best of E3 award, Need for Speed™ Rivals was named Best Racing Game, and NHL® 14 took the honors for Best Sports Game. Titanfall™ from Respawn Entertainment won six major awards, including Best of Show, Best Original Game, Best Console Game, Best PC Game, Best Action Game and Best Online Multiplayer.
The Simpsons™: Tapped Out recorded its highest revenue quarter* in Q1 since launching in August 2012.
EA’s mobile and handheld digital revenue generated $103 million* in the quarter, a 30% year-over-year increase in digital net revenue.
Real Racing™ 3, the #1 racing title on iOS, has generated more than 45 million downloads, and has averaged over 2 million daily active users since launching in March.
The Battlefield 3™ Premium community continues to grow with over 4 million members to date.
FIFA 13 digital net revenue topped $70 million* in the quarter, a 92% increase versus FIFA 12 in Q1 FY 2013.
FIFA Online 3 digital net revenue in grew 88%* in the first quarter compared FIFA Online 2 in the prior year, and was the #1 online sports game in Korea based on revenue and traffic.
EA signs publishing agreement with TenCent for FIFA Online 3 in China, with details to be announced in an upcoming joint press release from EA and TenCent.
EA’s Origin™ platform for downloading digital games has registered over 50 million users, including 22 million mobile users.
Trailing twelve-month non-GAAP digital net revenue was up 28% to a record $1.72 billion*.

I think the digital future is already the norm faster than most of us probably realize.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Does any console support arbitrary copying of games from external storage to consoles?

It's possible, but obviously no clue if Xbox One (or PS4) will support or allow that. I can't see a reason not to for DD which requires online verification in order to run.

Regards,
SB

 

[-tkf-]

i dont feel like linking it, but in ea's quarter results announced a few days ago, something like 3/4 of their revenue was digital (meaning across pc, console, and mobile, the vast majority of their revenue was digital rather than disc). although in an interview they did note this quarter had no major disc console release for them

also

Basically "extra content" which I think is DLC and F2P purchases, is much bigger than full game downloads currently. But I bet even that is changing.

Almost all of EA's callouts were digitally related:

I think the digital future is already the norm faster than most of us probably realize.

Good stuff will dig deeper when I have more time.

It also points at why ea weren't to worried about second hand sales. I bought one game on origin and it's the last ea game I will buy on pc that requires origin. I will have to rely on consoles when it comes to "origin" games.

 

[RudeCurve]

Today I got 23/12 on my sprint note 2 with lte. Its faster than what cablevision offers. All these companies will have to upgrade their networks and increase speeds or the mobile carriers will eat their lunch.

The only problem with mobile Is the caps. But Softbank buying sprint which bought clear wire can shake that up a bit since their network is finally getting good.

You just defeated your own statement....

I was on Clear 4G and recently switched to Comcast Xfinity...no way in hell I'm going back to mobile...

 

[Bigduo209]

i dont feel like linking it, but in ea's quarter results announced a few days ago, something like 3/4 of their revenue was digital (meaning across pc, console, and mobile, the vast majority of their revenue was digital rather than disc). although in an interview they did note this quarter had no major disc console release for them

Spoiler

also



Basically "extra content" which I think is DLC and F2P purchases, is much bigger than full game downloads currently. But I bet even that is changing.

Almost all of EA's callouts were digitally related:



I think the digital future is already the norm faster than most of us probably realize.

But EA is profiting off of small mobile games and additional content based off of the initial game purchase. That is a given since they're working around data restrictions that most people have on mobile, doing piecemeal content, subscription services, and a small minority of consumers downloading full games with no packaging costs. If anything, this just points to the market expanding into different use cases that are equally lucrative. Hardcore gamers still seem to be the number one main spenders through full games and DLC put together.

The digital future depends more on internet infrastructure and laws regarding digital goods/services, the actual services are mostly secondary at this point. Text/E-Books, Photos, Music, and Mobile gaming work well because of smaller data requirements. Movie/TV content and Video games are still too large (and getting larger) to become standard for DD.

I would love to see a tiered distribution strategy for gaming though. Episodic titles and games w/DLC releases on digital first to make the most of the profit, and then release them as a whole package on-disc game months later at $60. Every fairly successful game becomes a GoTY edition with a limited supply based on demand, and anybody that has crappy internet or wants the whole experience in one go will wait to get the game at a later point.

Of course publishers would kill-off physical game stores at the drop of a hat, so that would never happen (more pricing/content control and all).

 

[eastmen]

You just defeated your own statement....

I was on Clear 4G and recently switched to Comcast Xfinity...no way in hell I'm going back to mobile...

caps evolve with time.

THe last few years Verizon with lte has been the fastest network and at&t were behind them slightly. Both companies were able to introduce limited data. however with sprint almost done with their roll out and Dish circling around tmobile they will have a very hard time keeping such limited plans. As we saw in the early 2000s when the networks are close in coverage and ability price and amounts matter.

Few people remember when sprint was the best network out there.

 

[RudeCurve]

The Clear 4G service I had was "unlimited" and didn't have caps but the speed was horrible and inconsistent. This will always be the case when accessed indoors like on a home gaming console.

I actually liked mobile when I used Sprint's unlimited 3G EVDO network back in the day....even at home on my X360. Back then I got fairly consistent 1.8Mbps speed which was fantastic for 3G.

BTW what are the current caps for LTE from the different carriers?

 

[-tkf-]

Uh no. The console version of diablo will allow offline play is not the same as being offline.

Uh Yes, Diablo 3's "single" player game required a connection to the internet since it was (supposedly) server based. You do know this?

Diablo 3 on the consoles does not require an internet connection.

To be fair, maybe i missed something since i read that Blizzard was backtracking on this PC "feature", so please do educate me. They clearly stated to many consoles was offline for it to be a requirement..

 

[AlphaWolf]

I'm saying it has online functionality built into the game and many people will be playing it online with other people. Just like they do on the PC. Online as a feature is going to be a staple in the coming years.

The ability to play offline will be utilized by a small subset of the player base.

 

[Blazkowicz]

A statistics with a sample size of one : I once walked into a house and a guy was playing Diablo III on a desktop PC linked to the TV. It was singleplayer.