Why does Xbox One have a Bluray player?

[Silent_Buddha]

And Steam cards are starting to make their way into various retailers for purchasing PC games.

Consoles just happen to be lagging behind PC's by a few years with regards to modern ways of selling games.

I expect DD to become the way the majority of console games are sold at some point during this generation.

Regards,
SB

 

[-tkf-]

well this works for everybody. i'm sure you'd like a 349 ps4 with no blu ray.

it isn't necessarily a fools errand if the benefits of blu ray are negligible to a certain set of the populace. my brother is a pc gamer, and it's just the norm to buy things off steam and download them and not go to the store and buy a dvd, for some years in that arena.

blu ray for movies almost isn't worth mentioning in this age of VOD, at least for me. there are a few who care about that, but again that's why you have two sku's and it's strictly voluntary.

Good you remembered the "at least for me" part, since there is enough examples of others having the need for physical media, and plenty that prefer a non compromise video format for their HT enjoyment.

Consider the cool fact that Microsoft included a Blu-Ray drive with the XBOX 1 before it became a XBOX 180.

It shows that they did both the math and the analysis and concluded that even with a platform that would rely so heavy on the users having a internet connection they would still need a physical media. They didn't even bother to try for a cheaper SKU without a Blu-Ray drive, even though they are $100 over the PS4.

I think it's a given that at some point both Sony and Microsoft should take a chance and release a PS4 and XBOX1 without a Blu-Ray drive. But i think it will take some time, not because it can't be done right now, but because the price for the drive isn't worth developing a new sku for right now. I think it will take a PS4/XBOX1 light combined with a shrink to push in that direction-

 

[warb]

It wouldn't be quite so "all-in-one" without a Bluray player. Lots of people still buy and play DVD/BD.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

That's why it would be nice if there was an SKU with a BRD and an SKU without a BRD. It's no different than the current generation of having multiple SKU's of a product.

I'd be far more inclined to buy a next gen console if it was cheaper due to not including a BRD.

Yes, you could get pedantic about it and start saying without Kinect or without controllers. But those are all intrinsic to the gameplay experiences for each console. The BRD only serves as a means of physical distribution of things you can get digitally anyway. Hence, making it optional would potentially bring in more consumers without affecting the core experience.

Regards,
SB

 

[eastmen]

Don't forget you can get a cheaper system from more than just the savings of the drive. MS would make more per DD sale than physical disc sale. So they could price the system lower than $50 for a driveless system.


Also retailers would love to switch directly to cards.

1) Cards take up much less space. You can fit perhaps 25-50 game cards in the space of a single disc case.

2) Cards cost pennies to make and are worthless until activated vs discs that cost money to produce and have a value assigned to them by the publisher.

3) Due to 1+ 2 stores like target /best buy / walmart / heck even gamestop can fit many more games for holiday rushes and new releases they can also stock more games. In the space target currently keeps their xbox 360 games they could possibly fit the entire xbox 360 library .


I'm not sure why big box stores wouldn't want this over the current set up.

 

[-tkf-]

Don't forget you can get a cheaper system from more than just the savings of the drive. MS would make more per DD sale than physical disc sale. So they could price the system lower than $50 for a driveless system.

Also retailers would love to switch directly to cards.

1) Cards take up much less space. You can fit perhaps 25-50 game cards in the space of a single disc case.

2) Cards cost pennies to make and are worthless until activated vs discs that cost money to produce and have a value assigned to them by the publisher.

3) Due to 1+ 2 stores like target /best buy / walmart / heck even gamestop can fit many more games for holiday rushes and new releases they can also stock more games. In the space target currently keeps their xbox 360 games they could possibly fit the entire xbox 360 library .

I'm not sure why big box stores wouldn't want this over the current set up.

Dejavu?

Tell us why Microsoft included a Blu-Ray drive. As I mentioned above they had every chance not to, but something made them do it.

 

[warb]

They'd have to include a second HDMI-in to accomodate TV and Bluray player, and all the fiddling about with the system that would require.

As it stands, the box should cover everything for most users. Games, TV cable/satellite/a free-to-air box (via HDMI-in), streaming, movies from discs, whatever apps people like to use on their TVs.

 

[RudeCurve]

It wouldn't be quite so "all-in-one" without a Bluray player. Lots of people still buy and play DVD/BD.

+1...personally I don't really like streaming movies from the internet that's why I only buy movies on Blu-ray discs. Reason being I get better video/audio quality and I don't use up my bandwidth cap from pointless "non-downloads".

 

[eastmen]

Dejavu?

Tell us why Microsoft included a Blu-Ray drive. As I mentioned above they had every chance not to, but something made them do it.

Using an optical drive with the original xo rule set would allow users with low net speed to still have the advantages of dd .

You should be able to follow this line of thought there is a hugely popular example .

steam. - I can buy a game at walmart and bring it home / activate it on my pc through steam and not have to wait for the dsownload. You still get all the benfits of dd.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

They'd have to include a second HDMI-in to accomodate TV and Bluray player, and all the fiddling about with the system that would require.

As it stands, the box should cover everything for most users. Games, TV cable/satellite/a free-to-air box (via HDMI-in), streaming, movies from discs, whatever apps people like to use on their TVs.

That's all well and good, but still not a reason there couldn't be a 2nd SKU with a BRD drive for people that will never, ever, use the optical drive. I do not buy BluRays. I do not buy optical disks of any description anymore. I purchase or rent pretty much everything digitially now. Movies, music, games, etc. All digital. Why in the world would I want to pay extra for a machine with something I will never use and has absolutely no impact on the core experience? You don't need the optical drive to play games. It enables nothing in games. You don't need an optical drive to watch HD movies. It's a means of distribution only. One that a lot of people do not need anymore.

So, offer an SKU with a BRD for the current price. Offer an SKU without for a lower price. Everyone is happy. The PS4 and Xbox One would still do EVERYTHING it currently does (games, music, movies, etc.). Just now there's a more affordable version for the millions of people that may not ever use the optical drive.

I get it, some people want a BRD. That's still taken care of.

Let those of us that don't want one have an option for a cheaper console. Unlike silly suggestions of removing Kinect 2.0, removing the BRD does not affect the core experience of the console in any way.

Regards,
SB

 

[warb]

Are these BD drives all that expensive? There'd be some cost to redesigning the box and marketing a second SKU.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

The driveless SKU could also be sold directly over the internet (people who don't want a BRD are going to be adept at shopping online, I'm sure ), so no worries about keeping BnM retail happy either.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Are these BD drives all that expensive? There'd be some cost to redesigning the box and marketing a second SKU.

Leave the box as is, just with a blanking plate over the drive slot. You don't need to market the alternative SKU specifically - describe it as an option in your normal communications and constrict retail channels to something more limited, as appeal will be limited, needing less communication effort - eg, Banner/website ads showing internet only SKU instead of BRD version covered in mainstream adverts.

 

[-tkf-]

Using an optical drive with the original xo rule set would allow users with low net speed to still have the advantages of dd .

You should be able to follow this line of thought there is a hugely popular example .

steam. - I can buy a game at walmart and bring it home / activate it on my pc through steam and not have to wait for the dsownload. You still get all the benfits of dd.

So you ignore the part about why there isn't a sku without BR drive at a cheaper price.

I perfectly understand the arguments for including a BR drive, i used them over the past years when discussing this exact same topic.... Aaaand

Microsoft can still come perfect circle and reintroduce dd via br discs with another 180.

 

[eastmen]

You can't add it once you remove the online requirements unless you want to get sued.

There is no bluray less sku right now because it would confuse the market place at launch and it would be hard to judge demand.

Personaly when they come out with a smaller bluray less xbox one , I will buy it as my upgrade in 2 or 3 years.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I don't think stock management an issue for an online only option. As I say, sell it online. You can ask for only preordered numbers from your manufacturers, and worst case, any unwanted stock can have a drive plugged in and sent out as an original.

 

[eastmen]

I don't think stock management an issue for an online only option. As I say, sell it online. You can ask for only preordered numbers from your manufacturers, and worst case, any unwanted stock can have a drive plugged in and sent out as an original.

its all the way back to assembly line . Building one console at launch is hard enough. Having two different designs and managing them is going to be even tougher.

I mean what would they do have the console the same size and just put a piece of plastic covering the bluray portion ?

They would have to have different moldings for both verisons , they would need to have different mother boards perhaps and different lay outs inside the box too.

Also don't forget what happened at the 360 launch. The hardrive less skew was called the tard pack and the demand was for the other skew .

What if MS made to little off the dd skew or too little of the bluray skew.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I mean what would they do have the console the same size and just put a piece of plastic covering the bluray portion ?

Yes (I already said as much ). Keep it exactly the same except without a BRD drive. There's no need to overcomplicate things at launch. this is a niche product for a niche audience at launch. Give them a compromise, and provide the proper download only design some years later.

What if MS made to little off the dd skew or too little of the bluray skew.

Profits from download games should be higher than from disk games, so the BRD-less option should be no concern from earnings POV. It's just a matter of logistics managing a limited stock and limited advertising campaign that just targets the niche consumer like Silent_Buddha.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Yes (I already said as much ). Keep it exactly the same except without a BRD drive. There's no need to overcomplicate things at launch. this is a niche product for a niche audience at launch. Give them a compromise, and provide the proper download only design some years later.

Profits from download games should be higher than from disk games, so the BRD-less option should be no concern from earnings POV. It's just a matter of logistics managing a limited stock and limited advertising campaign that just targets the niche consumer like Silent_Buddha.

For the console I may be niche at the moment, but I wouldn't be so certain going forward.

All phone and tablet software is DD only. Over half of PC software is now DD only. Music sales have long been predominantly DD as well. Consoles are the one of the few remaining markets (along with possibly video) where physical distribution is still in the majority.

That isn't to say that physical distribution won't still have a significant presence going forward, but I'm going to predict that by the end of this next generation that DD will be the predominant method of game distribution on consoles, both PS4 and Xbox One.

Regards,
SB

 

[Shifty Geezer]

For the console I may be niche at the moment, but I wouldn't be so certain going forward.

"This is a niche product for a niche audience at launch," ... becoming less niche as time progresses, hence my reference to a proper download only SKU later on. IMO there's no need to support a full on remodelled download SKU at launch; just provide the option for those who are savvy and interested enough. Create a smaller download only SKU when the platform is established.

That isn't to say that physical distribution won't still have a significant presence going forward, but I'm going to predict that by the end of this next generation that DD will be the predominant method of game distribution on consoles, both PS4 and Xbox One.

As long as downloads cost as much as twice the price of physical copies, I don't think that'll be true. We'd need to see notable discounting from downloads in line with retail chains. I haven't paid RRP for any game in ages which makes PSN's prices ludicrous.