[Megathread] XBOX Series X (and S)

[Tech614]

Dics rot though, SD will last infinitely longer going forward.

Do you honestly think Sony or MS cares about disc rot which would only be an issue decades down the line? /facepalm Even dreamcast and saturn games take 10 years in poor conditions to rot and those are far more likely to rot then a blueray is.

[Unholyground]

Do you honestly think Sony or MS cares about disc rot which would only be an issue decades down the line? /facepalm Even dreamcast and saturn games take 10 years in poor conditions to rot and those are far more likely to rot then a blueray is.

SD is getting cheaper though that is a fact, in a decade our current SD will still be faster than the fastest blu-ray that is all I am saying, argue all you want but the cost is coming down.

[bloodwulf]

It's pretty awesome that Microsoft is giving people choices. The Series X was the choice for me as it lets me play on my 4K TV with easy HDR support and costs a fraction of what a gaming rig capable of similar things would cost. The only issue I've run into so far is storage. I'm...gonna need a pretty beefy external drive to keep up with my gaming habits.

Dont take what i said as disparaging Microsoft. I respect the hell out of the design of Gamepass and genuinely appreciate having the option to not spend the money on a Series X because they give me the ability to play on the PC.

[Video Games]

Dics rot though, SD will last infinitely longer going forward.

I have never seen disc rot and i have nearly 20 year old xbox and ps2 and gamecube games. I doubt most drives will last that long

[Tech614]

SD is getting cheaper though that is a fact, in a decade our current SD will still be faster than the fastest blu-ray that is all I am saying, argue all you want but the cost is coming down.

Again, speed is irrelevant. The games can't play off bluerays and they can't play off SD Cards, they have to full install to the SSD. There is no reality where flash memory costs them pennies to print like bluerays currently do.

[Unholyground]

Again, speed is irrelevant. The games can't play off bluerays and they can't play off SD Cards, they have to full install to the SSD. There is no reality where flash memory costs them pennies to print like bluerays currently do.

Installing from an SD medium would be exponentially faster though and that is a fact...

[Traveler Voltin]

so why are people whinnying about discs now?

[Tech614]

Installing from an SD medium would be exponentially faster though and that is a fact...

Oh yea dude, I'm sure they're gonna stop printing discs that cost them pennies just so you can install your game 3 minutes faster.

[Jtbrig7390]

Installing from an SD medium would be exponentially faster though and that is a fact...

Yes but speed is irrelevant.

It is dirt ass cheap to print disks, That is why as long as Physical media is around Sony (and maybe MS) will stick to disks. Nintendo went SD because of the switch's size.

Speed does not matter one bit.

[Unholyground]

Yes but speed is irrelevant.

It is dirt ass cheap to print disks, That is why as long as Physical media is around Sony (and maybe MS) will stick to disks. Nintendo went SD because of the switch's size.

Speed does not matter one bit.

It could happen though, you assume it won't but paradigm shifts like that happen all the time.

When the console only 4k Switch comes out guess what it will use for games? The same SD cards.

[kaelleria]

It could happen though, you assume it won't but paradigm shifts like that happen all the time.

When the console only 4k Switch comes out guess what it will use for games? The same SD cards.

Considering the market is going increasingly digital... to the point where the disc version of the PS5 seems to be an afterthought, your argument is kind of moot.

I do not agree with the 2 posters above you like ever, but this is a bad take.

[Edge-]

It could happen though, you assume it won't but paradigm shifts like that happen all the time.

When the console only 4k Switch comes out guess what it will use for games? The same SD cards.

Ok...and? Nintendo already made that choice, that's their strategy with the Switch. Sony/Microsoft don't have that same history of cartridge-based games. They don't have a handheld console where cartridges are more practical than disks. They already have two consoles (well...4 if we count the PS5DE and Series S) that are designed around disks.

And since disks are installed to the hard drive, which is a SSD now and will likely continue being a SSD into next generation, what motive do they have to spend more on a SD card vs. a disk, which will have only negligible benefits for install speeds? Especially when both consoles are increasingly moving towards digital sales (PS5DE being exclusively so)?

[Unholyground]

Ok...and? Nintendo already made that choice, that's their strategy with the Switch. Sony/Microsoft don't have that same history of cartridge-based games. They don't have a handheld console where cartridges are more practical than disks. They already have two consoles (well...4 if we count the PS5DE and Series S) that are designed around disks.

And since disks are installed to the hard drive, which is a SSD now and will likely continue being a SSD into next generation, what motive do they have to spend more on a SD card vs. a disk, which will have only negligible benefits for install speeds? Especially when both consoles are increasingly moving towards digital sales (PS5DE being exclusively so)?

I mean digital is the way to go for sure however even in 10 years the infrastructure still won't be here to fully support it.

[kaelleria]

I mean digital is the way to go for sure however even in 10 years the infrastructure still won't be here to fully support it.

Umm...

All gaming sales

In 2018, a record 83 percent of all computer and video games were sold in digital form, meaning that, once the game is downloaded, it is immediately ready to play. In contrast, only 17 percent of video games were sold in physical form.Jul 24, 2020

Console Sales...

EA said that 52% of its console full game unit sales in the past 12 months were via digital download

For reference, Take Two says its ratio was 55% for FY2020

Sony said that 51% of all games sold on PS4 in FY2020 were digital

In other words. We enter next gen with digital >50%

[Jtbrig7390]

I mean digital is the way to go for sure however even in 10 years the infrastructure still won't be here to fully support it.

70% of games sold are digital, Its why company's like GameStop are suffering.

[Edge-]

I mean digital is the way to go for sure however even in 10 years the infrastructure still won't be here to fully support it.

And if it's not ready for 100% digital, disks will still be the preferred medium for physical releases. Why? Because they're a helluva lot cheaper than SD cards and there's still no reason to use SD cards if they're not limited by size (like the Switch is).

We're already getting close to the digital future anyways. PC has been there for quite some time and consoles are increasingly reaching that point.

[Traveler Voltin]

pure digital is just a middle finger to people who cant get good internet.

[Zeta333]

70% of games sold are digital, Its why company's like GameStop are suffering.

Gamestop is suffering becuase of cancer ass policies and upper management that dont understand the field anymore.

- - - Updated - - -

And if it's not ready for 100% digital, disks will still be the preferred medium for physical releases. Why? Because they're a helluva lot cheaper than SD cards and there's still no reason to use SD cards if they're not limited by size (like the Switch is).

We're already getting close to the digital future anyways. PC has been there for quite some time and consoles are increasingly reaching that point.

Then companies like nintendo need to pull thier head out of thier ass and have an online infrastructure that lasts. I cant play old pokemon games online thanks to nintendo using janky shit for thier services. Ill always buy physical if i have a choice due to nintendo setting an example that we cant always rely on them.

[Zenfoldor]

pure digital is just a middle finger to people who cant get good internet.

Yes they are. So are game streaming only platforms. However, it is not personal, really more about money. As long as a physical bargain bin exists, prices are much harder to control. I don’t think you will get much sympathy on a gaming forum though, I imagine many here have blazing speeds that they consider slow.

I also have terrible Internet and I can relate. However, I still make it work. I downloaded Destiny 2 over a T1 this year, lol. Also, people talk about their ping and give bandwidth numbers. I have a dedicated T1 for WoW. I bet my 1.5mbps has lower latency than most who have gigabit speed as long as they are not closer than I am to the New York datacenter. Edit: or in the beta for Starlink.

[Edge-]

Then companies like nintendo need to pull thier head out of thier ass and have an online infrastructure that lasts. I cant play old pokemon games online thanks to nintendo using janky shit for thier services. Ill always buy physical if i have a choice due to nintendo setting an example that we cant always rely on them.

This would be for the Switch thread, but it's also something that Sony/Microsoft are first doing with this generation and it will likely only last through the start of it rather than through the whole generation (I doubt we'll still see PS4/Xbox One releases in 2024, for example).

But for the sake of the discussion topic, they have a physical solution: SD cards that fit the handheld console. I don't think Nintendo is looking to do away with physical games any time soon.