Rumor: Microsoft plans to release a disc-less Xbox One in 2019

[johnhoftb]

https://www.thurrott.com/xbox/192184...elease-in-2019

TL;DR: Title, plus Microsoft is planning a disc-to-digital program as well.

In the wake of the news that Sony will not be attending E3 next year, Microsoft’s hardware plans for 2019 will likely be a huge win for the brand and for gamers. The company is planning to release an updated console next year, but this device will not be in the Scarlett family, according to people familiar with the company’s plans.

The Scarlett devices are Microsoft’s next-gen consoles and are not expected until 2020 but in 2019, the company is planning to release a disc-less console. And if this is making you nervous because you have a large collection of physical discs for your current Xbox, Microsoft has you covered.

In addition to the new console, there will be a ‘disc-to-digital’ program that, as the name states, turns your physical games into digital downloads. The idea is that you can take your disc to a participating retailer (like the Microsoft store) and trade in your disc for a digital download.

The goal with the new console is to lower the price point for the hardware. Currently, it costs about $299 to buy into the Xbox One family of devices, Microsoft is looking to lower that price by possibly as much as $100; the new console price point is expected to be $200 or less.

In addition, the company also has a revised Xbox One S SKU that is targeted for later in the year that focuses solely on cost reduction but does feature a disc-drive for those who still prefer the traditional way to buy your games. Microsoft is moving forward very carefully with this product as it knows that a sizeable portion of its users do prefer to buy physical games and not download them.

As for Scarlett, Microsoft is still trying to decide if that console will include a disc drive but should be making the final decision here shortly.

Under Phil Spencer, Microsoft is investing heavily in its Xbox brand and announced the acquisition of a couple of new gaming studios over the weekend. When you pair this new hardware with the upcoming streaming service the company is developing, the road ahead for Xbox fans is incredibly bright.

With this new Xbox One S ‘slim’, and I don’t know what it’s retail name will be yet, the company is working on finding new ways to lower the cost of entry into the Xbox family without sacrificing the core gaming experience. Don’t be surprised if the company trims up other aspects of the console to help save a few pennies, although I don’t expect storage to be on the chopping block at this time.

As for when the console will become available? I had initially heard in the spring of 2019 was the target as this device is well on its path to production. As for when Microsoft will greenlight the product for retail distribution, that’s still to be determined and even though they could still cancel the device at this time, I do expect it to become available sometime next year.

[glowpipe]

i bought a ps4 for rdr2 and i also bought god of war. It was almost faster for me to download rdr2 than installing the disc of god of war. So i don't really care. Been discless for years now on pc. Guess it sucks for people with slow internet tho

[Coombs]

I haven't bought a physical game in close to 5 years. All of my PS4 games are digital. This was an obvious move.

[Video Games]

'In the wake of the news that Sony will not be attending E3 next year, Microsoft’s hardware plans for 2019 will likely be a huge win for the brand and for gamers'

pfffft. Let me drink more peppermint mocha starbucks to wake up to laugh some more.

[Dug]

Only a matter of time until they all go the way of the floppy disc

[Kathandira]

TL;DR: Title, plus Microsoft is planning a disc-to-digital program as well.

I'm ready for it. I only purchase digital games these days. I've burned out the optical drive on my PS3, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. This leaves me without the ability to play the games I bought. I'm ready to a 100% digital console.

[valax]

So how is this going to impact price of games? (who am I kidding it won't)
Taking away disc burning>boxing>shipping from the production line of a videogame makes it way more profitable for developer houses

[Projectmars]

Didn't they get raked over the coals for something like this back when the XBone was announced?

[Cosmic Janitor]

If they want to use another solid state transport medium, fine my be. If they want to turn this into a download-only machine, then that would be an incredibly hard sell for my taste. Since this seems to be the later it's alread DOA for me, it's essentially the same shit they tried when they launched the suxx-bone and sony fucking them with a monster strap-on because they allowed you to just share games.

They better allow to plug in your own SSDs at that point, because I don't want to constantly download old shit over and over again when I want to go for a ride, but since I doubt they will have the foresight for that.. well I would like to say good luck, but I don't want this anti consumer practice to flourish, so.. kindly go to hell? :P

[Tech614]

Yea, Sony not attending e3 so let's respond with an option for people to trade in their physical games that still hold some value for a digital code that will hold no value once redeemed!

Genius!

- - - Updated - - -

So how is this going to impact price of games? (who am I kidding it won't)
Taking away disc burning>boxing>shipping from the production line of a videogame makes it way more profitable for developer houses

It won't because physical still makes up more then 50% of console sales for games. Even if this magical plan by MS works to adopt some of those to digital they're still the minority in console shares and won't move the needle much at all.

[Faroth]

The day we officially go 100% "you don't own a damn thing you paid for" with games is the day I start working on my backlog.

[Edge-]

Yea, Sony not attending e3 so let's respond with an option for people to trade in their physical games that still hold some value for a digital code that will hold no value once redeemed!

Genius!

Come on, you know as well as anyone that this isn't a response to this. They're likely testing the waters to see how a digital-only console will be received now that there's some time between the initial Xbox One reveal and the console audience has gotten much more accustomed to digital releases.

Makes sense, especially with the rumored cloud version of the next Xbox in the works.

[Tech614]

Makes sense, especially with the rumored cloud version of the next Xbox in the works.

Not really, Phil Spencer literally just said not too long ago he doesn't think cloud gaming is the future but just a niche to fill.

This is them trying to get people to adapt digital, and just like the xbox one launch will fail horribly for them. The people that want to be digital don't need to be nudged, and the people that aren't digital don't want to be nudged. Nothing has really changed in that regard, and people are already relating this to the e3 2013 that's not a good comparison for MS to be having.

[Alopex]

It's too bad I don't trust Microshaft to not rip away permission to access a game that I've bought digitally.

[lokithor]

If they want to use another solid state transport medium, fine my be. If they want to turn this into a download-only machine, then that would be an incredibly hard sell for my taste. Since this seems to be the later it's alread DOA for me, it's essentially the same shit they tried when they launched the suxx-bone and sony fucking them with a monster strap-on because they allowed you to just share games.

They better allow to plug in your own SSDs at that point, because I don't want to constantly download old shit over and over again when I want to go for a ride, but since I doubt they will have the foresight for that.. well I would like to say good luck, but I don't want this anti consumer practice to flourish, so.. kindly go to hell? :P

you already can and have been able to pug in your own SSD's

[Vineri]

This just makes it easier to produce more games as a "service", which I'm not at all interested in.

Hopefully PS5 does not go this route. Or Nintendo.

I generally believe that people still like to trade games, either with their friends, or just to try new games.

It's an odd choice, since Microsoft is not exactly leading the industry. Ah well, XBox is not the system for me then. So sorry Microsoft.


I'd feel bad for anyone who trades their favorite past gen discs in for a digital copy, only to eventually have them taken away when the service is upgraded / discontinued. Or their account gets sanctioned, etc.

[Binaris]

Call me old fashioned but ill stick to physical or not play it. I get a text message a day about someone trying to hack my psn and putting in the wrong password. A digital library is simply asking for gamer identity theft and I would rather not have my belongings be in the ultimate control of customer service.

Funny though they think this is a good idea after the debacle of trying to eliminate game trading when one was announced. It is just a roundabout way of doing the same shit.

[Jtbrig7390]

The day consoles go fully digital is the day ill mainly game on older system.

My spending on the "Current Gen" that is digital will be far far less when what it is now.

[Kathandira]

Funny enough, I was just in the game room at work, and a person in my office was trying to play a game. They aren't a "gamer" but wanted to try out Gran Tourismo. After watching an unnecessarily long intro, the system errored stating that the disk was damaged and the game cannot be played.

+1 to digital games.

[Cosmic Janitor]

you already can and have been able to pug in your own SSD's

It remains to be seen if that will stay so, charging a premium for storage has been one of the core aspects of extra monetization and if you are 100% digital it remains to be seen how they would handle DRM. I won't trust them farther than I can throw 'em and that isn't very far..