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[Zoloft Sonic]

Hell no.

HDD's aren't big enough for me to not-worry about storage.
Digital pricing is still stupid.
I like owning physical media. Call me an anachronism.

 

[george_us]

No cause I still occasionally rent and watch Blu-Rays.

 

[GLAMr]

It's 2017 people, get with the times.

Ya'll still buy physical CD's too?

A physical CD is still the highest fidelity, most robust audio format which is available for mass market consumption. I'm tempted to switch back to CD + DIY rips.

A disc-less PS4 might tempt me for a secondary console in another room IF my OG PS4 could "share" its drive over the network to allow me to install and launch disc games on a non-disc console. Sounds like a good attack vector for hackers though so I doubt Sony (or MS) would go for it.

 

[witchedwiz]

Preferably no.. But..
If software cost 40 or less i might consider..
A discless console exists, it's called pc..
And game there cost a lot less than disc based consoles..

But the drawback..
No portability..
Data cap issue..
Disk space constraint

 

[Kill3r7]

I'm not opposed to it. I would even pay the same price as the disc based console if it came with a lifetime 20% off all new purchases similar to Amazon.

 

[AmyS]

No way, no thanks.

Physical forever (or at least another 10-15 years).

 

[T.Slothrop]

Yeah. I'm totally over physical media. Convenience, space, etc. far outweigh any positives of owning and being able to sell a disc at this point.

 

[lord]

I would love to go digital only on consoles but physical games are far cheaper and I can re sell them. Sony has good sales once in a while but they can't beat all retailers especially since I'm very patient and almost never buy games on launch.

 

[Brashnir]

I already have a PC.

 

[jdmonmou]

The day console makers try to release a disc-less system is the day consoles die.

 

[Blastoise]

I still sell games I don't wan't to keep.

 

[galvatron]

I have a mobile phone, so sure, in theory. As mentioned in OP, price would have to be right since buying and selling games at retail gets me pretty big savings.

 

[Zombie James]

The day console makers try to release a disc-less system is the day consoles die.

Eh, I wouldn't go that far. Digital is the future, it's just a matter of everything falling into place (consumer rights, data caps, storage) to make it viable.

 

[border]

Why would you create an entirely separate SKU just to remove the disc drive? It makes zero sense. The savings you get from removing the drive are like $20.

Who is going to sell this disc-free console? I'm sure retailers will be absolutely thrilled to push a zero-margin product that completely removes them from the sale of software.

 

[mokeyjoe]

For games sure, now that I've got half decent internet anyway. Physical media is really just a delivery mechanism these days, nothing special about it. The prices for digital versions on console seems to be more reasonable now too. At least, for sales and older games. But PS4 is also my Blu-ray player, so then I'd have to buy a Blu Ray player.

 

[TLZ]

Not for me but if I was digital only then definitely I'd like such an option.

 

[Metfanant]

When I can get games cheaper digitally than their physical counterpart on consoles...I'll switch...Until then, Nope...

 

[mokeyjoe]

Have you seen psn prices for (new)games? Buying the physical copy is always cheaper over here. I remember a while back the pro digital crowd argued that digital only was going to be cheaper because they don't need to print discs and what not....yeah.

Digital only may be cheaper, as it's the retail outlets not wanting to be undercut that keeps digital prices higher.

 

[Camper Van Beethoven]

The only benefit to discs is retailers have to compete on prices. The RRP for a game in a shop or console's digital store in the uk is outrageous compared to an online retailer like Amazon.

In an ideal world I'd buy software from retailers and it'd just have a cd code that links to my account. Discs are dated and pointless and only benefit people that trade in, which I've not done for years and years.

 

[AzaK]

It's 2017 people, get with the times.

Ya'll still buy physical CD's too?

You know there's a massive difference right? Music is basically DRM free everywhere, so you buy it, download it and it's yours, for ever. No fucker can take it away even if their servers go down. It doesn't need patching either. Not the case with games.

 

[bomblord1]

I like to own my games.

I like to resell my games.

I like to be able to physically quantify my game collection with a look at my shelf.

No I don't care if it's slightly more expensive my rights are worth a few dollars. No, I don't care if it makes the consoles more expensive as that can easily be offset with the ability to resell my games towards one.

The ONLY reason I use downloads on PC is because I have no other options even physical copies are just discs that install your game to an online store and the licenses and lack of freedom associated with it.

 

[Sarobi]

I wouldn't personally be interested, but this should be an option. The option to buy into a new console at a cheaper price without the disc drive should definitely be a thing.

 

[shouamabane]

Nope.

 

[J_ToSaveTheDay]

Depending on where manufacturing lands in roughly 5 years, and maybe if there's an impending PS5 on the horizon (or maybe already on market), I'd love to see a Switch-style hybrid redo of the PS4 Pro that I can take on the go with me. I'd see it as sort of the modern-day equivalent of the PSone+LCD screen that Sony released at the tail end of the PlayStation 1 era. Of course, I do think that form factor would require elimination of the optical drive, and with such an established physical media audience, I could see that being something of a massive problem not only for consumers, but for marketing the thing as well. And I really doubt it'd ever get approved or worked on, but maybe the dock could have an optical drive that can validate discs and allow the user to download the digital client? Who knows...

Still, after getting my Switch, I am actually kind of lamenting how much I was able to play Zelda (I was able to bring it to work with me and play in downtime!), and having a strong interest in games on my PS4 that I simply can't play at work does feel like a huge bummer. Remote Play is a fine option in theory, but the local ISP options I have available to me just don't make the cut.

 

[kuroshiki]

No way. There is no need for console to remove disc drive.

 

[Zombie James]

You know there's a massive difference right? Music is basically DRM free everywhere, so you buy it, download it and it's yours, for ever. No fucker can take it away even if their servers go down. It doesn't need patching either. Not the case with games.

Music is actually a great example of where digital gaming is and where it needs to go to be successful. In the early days, digital music was low-quality and wrapped in DRM. It absolutely made sense to buy music CDs and encode tracks yourself. Now it's all DRM-free with plenty of lossess options so many of those physical advantages went away.

Gaming needs to go through this same transition where the shackles come off and consumers start benefitting. It's getting there, slowly. Very, very slowly.

 

[Quasar]

A physical CD is still the highest fidelity, most robust audio format which is available for mass market consumption. I'm tempted to switch back to CD + DIY rips.

That's not really true. Well I guess it depends on what you mean by most robust.

 

[Quasar]

Why would you create an entirely separate SKU just to remove the disc drive? It makes zero sense. The savings you get from removing the drive are like $20.

Without the need for a optical drive you could change up the form factor quite a bit which could save more.

Who is going to sell this disc-free console? I'm sure retailers will be absolutely thrilled to push a zero-margin product that completely removes them from the sale of software.

Direct to consumer sales from the manufacturer and amazon I imagine. Maybe B&M stores that don't live on game sales and used games. So target and the like.

 

[FIREKNIGHT2029]

.

 

[kyser73]

I suggested this as an optional form factor in the most recent new PS4 slim thread, and would probably opt for a digital only box for PS5

 

[Wesley-Sigma]

Most likely not.

 

[depward]

Yeah I was all about the PSPgo. Loved its form factor.

I'd be in for this idea.

 

[Zantetsuken]

Absolutely not.

 

[Kremzeek]

No way.

What would I play my Blu-Ray movies on?

Streaming quality is garbage compared to Blu-Ray.

 

[GLAMr]

That's not really true. Well I guess it depends on what you mean by most robust.

What's more robust? I'm genuinely curious.

-Vinyl is highly susceptible to dust buildup, scratching and warping.
-Magnetic tape can be easily destroyed by mould or fungi, plus the data will eventually be corrupted by the earth's magnetic field.
-Platter storage is highly unreliable, and bit rot is a serious risk
-Solid state storage will also die after 10 years or so
-Digital services are an unproven system, plus you have to keep paying fees and comply with their rules/model (my iTunes library is a PITA to access from my Lumia phone).

CDs are not perfect, but if milled and stored correctly they could last over a century. Plus they are cheep and can hold up to a bit of dropping, heat and excessive use. Plus you don't forgo all your consumer rights...

 

[tr00per]

I made a thread about this topic a few weeks ago. Since it's a similar topic I'm going to quote myself

I prefer to buy physical whenever possible. Because I like the disc/box and I like to have a copy in case anything happens to my console. That being said...

I'm sure it's been posted but discs are becoming increasingly less useful. They're basically saving you from a bigger download. You don't get the full version of the game from the disc. I shudder to think of the day when patching servers go down. So I do appreciate that sony and ms have backup solutions at least

I would prefer a console with a disc drive. I would, however be interested to see the design of a modern disc-free console though. Just to satisfy curiosity

 

[mnemonicj]

Yes.

It'd be great if this disc free version would allow for external USB disc-drives.

 

[th4tguy]

Hell yeah

 

[Trailblazer34]

You'll have to either drug me or put Persona 6 as an exclusive on it. No way. No.

 

[deadstar72]

I've gone all digital this gen, so I'd be all over a disc-less ps4 pro and scorpio

 

[geomon]

No. I like to own the things I buy.

 

[Vroadstar]

Nope for me, if ever that day arrives, guess it's time for me to stop playing console games.

 

[antibolo]

That's not gonna happen, it would make the platform confusing to consumers and save very little money. The optical drive on the current consoles is probably like $25 of the BOM.

Another dumb Ars editorial. They should really just stop covering video games, that's obviously not their thing.

 

[MegaManTrigger]

I have yet to buy any console with the CD install bullshit. If they go discless, they're just making my job even easier.

 

[jobrro]

No, and I am 99% digital. Disc drive still comes in handy sometimes if you want to play a Blu-ray in a pinch or if the physical copy is much cheaper and I don't feel I need the convenience of digital. Also don't think having a disc drive/card reader costs that much to add the the console or takes up that much space overall, I mean for Xbox/PS consoles I think dealing with the thermal envelope of the system is mostly what causes them to be larger.

 

[hououinkyouma00]

100% yes.

Give me a PS4pro the size of the Alienware alpha and with a VESA mount so I can just attach it to my tv.

 

[Renekton]

Won't GameStop refuse to sell it?

 

[Boombox On]

Sure, why not.

 

[GiantBreadbug]

Would never, ever even think about it.

Not even close to being a good idea. Even funnier when the biggest selling point would be The Convenience™ contrasted with all of the very VERY bad negatives.

 

[Cowboy Dan]

I only buy my games digital anyways, so yeah I would.