Next game media after Bluray

So, during their history, games have been distributed on a variety of media: tapes, cartridges, floppy discs, cards, CDs, DVDs, Laser discs, Optical discs, Bluray... now some people say these physical supports are going to become obsolete, gradually being replaced by digital distribution.

What is your opinion on this? Will we have another support after the Bluray? If not, how do you think stores like gamestop will adapt to the change?

Huge, proper PC harddrives filled with nothing but a single game that come in massive, 90's style PC game boxes. It's like a 70 gig harddrive except it contains nothing but the game, no need for an opperating system with this new method. In order to swap games you gotta unscrew your PC, unplug your old hard drive and replace it with the new one, then screw your PC back up. You'll have to keep swapping like this everytime you want to play another game.

Huge, proper PC harddrives filled with nothing but a single game that come in massive, 90's style PC game boxes. It's like a 70 gig harddrive except it contains nothing but the game, no need for an opperating system with this new method. In order to swap games you gotta unscrew your PC, unplug your old hard drive and replace it with the new one, then screw your PC back up. You'll have to keep swapping like this everytime you want to play another game.

TristanShand

Man blu ray just got here, so did all of the current gen consoles >_>.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy.

So, during their history, games have been distributed on a variety of media: tapes, cartridges, floppy discs, cards, CDs, DVDs, Laser discs, Optical discs, Bluray... now some people say these physical supports are going to become obsolete, gradually being replaced by digital distribution.

What is your opinion on this? Will we have another support after the Bluray? If not, how do you think stores like gamestop will adapt to the change?

This.

Although for the most part DVD still works fine, and very few games would fill up a Blu-Ray as it is, and most of that is uncompressed sound.

Wouldn't surprise me if Nintendo is developing something with all the money they are making lately.

Wouldn't surprise me if Nintendo is developing something with all the money they are making lately.

DoctorStrange79

I think digital distribution won't really be in full force for consoles for another generation or two. It's still a ways off and if I had my way I wouldn't want it to ever make it as the standard way of distributing games. I like having physical copies of my games, not only for the aesthetics of it but also because of the ease of playing games on different consoles without any headache.

Allow me to explain. If I wanted to play a game over at my friend's house that I was currently playing on the same type of console at my house, then I could just easily eject it and drive over and simply place it into my friend's console. You can't easily do that with digital distributed media because, if it's anything like Live Arcade games, it will be licensed to only one console at a time. This especially becomes a pain when you are trying to upgrade your hard drive. You have to re-download all your games that you bought again.

With that being said, I am curious to see what format Microsoft is going to go with for it's next generation console. Going Blu-ray will work against them so perhaps they might opt for continuing the HD DVD format for their games only. Only time will tell.

So, during their history, games have been distributed on a variety of media: tapes, cartridges, floppy discs, cards, CDs, DVDs, Laser discs, Optical discs, Bluray... now some people say these physical supports are going to become obsolete, gradually being replaced by digital distribution.

What is your opinion on this? Will we have another support after the Bluray? If not, how do you think stores like gamestop will adapt to the change?

Black_Knight_00

That's what they said about music CDs once mp3 became the new craze, and yet here we are some years later, and people are still buying CDs by the dozen.

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"]

So, during their history, games have been distributed on a variety of media: tapes, cartridges, floppy discs, cards, CDs, DVDs, Laser discs, Optical discs, Bluray... now some people say these physical supports are going to become obsolete, gradually being replaced by digital distribution.

What is your opinion on this? Will we have another support after the Bluray? If not, how do you think stores like gamestop will adapt to the change?

BladesOfAthena

That's what they said about music CDs once mp3 became the new craze, and yet here we are some years later, and people are still buying CDs by the dozen.

I thought CD sales were constantly going down each year. Even if piracy is being combatted, digital distribution of songs is becoming quite popular. But to have games downloaded in digital format, I doubt that will happen next generation, probably due to the fact our infrastructure can barely send HD cable signals without some loss of signal or scrambling problems. Heck, our games still lag online with broadband.SemiMaster

Well my point was that DD isn't going to replace physical media as the new standard, but that it will serve more as a secondary alternative to it, not render it as obsolete like the OP was asserting.

Why drive to the store when you could sit at home and shop for games? rragnaar

((I did NOT mean for that to rhyme.))

[QUOTE="rragnaar"] Why drive to the store when you could sit at home and shop for games? juradai

((I did NOT mean for that to rhyme.))

I didn't. Captain Bald Dude from UPS just delivered it here to my shop about an hour ago. I sit here at work and order games on Amazon, and let UPS do the hard work.

[QUOTE="SemiMaster"]

I thought CD sales were constantly going down each year. Even if piracy is being combatted, digital distribution of songs is becoming quite popular. But to have games downloaded in digital format, I doubt that will happen next generation, probably due to the fact our infrastructure can barely send HD cable signals without some loss of signal or scrambling problems. Heck, our games still lag online with broadband.BladesOfAthena

Well my point was that DD isn't going to replace physical media as the new standard, but that it will serve more as a secondary alternative to it, not render it as obsolete like the OP was asserting.

[QUOTE="juradai"]

[QUOTE="rragnaar"] Why drive to the store when you could sit at home and shop for games? rragnaar

((I did NOT mean for that to rhyme.))

I didn't. Captain Bald Dude from UPS just delivered it here to my shop about an hour ago. I sit here at work and order games on Amazon, and let UPS do the hard work.

[QUOTE="rragnaar"][QUOTE="juradai"] You didn't drive to a store to buy Persona 4.

((I did NOT mean for that to rhyme.))

juradai

I didn't. Captain Bald Dude from UPS just delivered it here to my shop about an hour ago. I sit here at work and order games on Amazon, and let UPS do the hard work.

Ah, but digital distribution provides near instant gratification. P4 shipped on Monday, I got it today, and I have to wait till I get home to play it. Imagine being able to buy it and download it immediately instead of buying it and waiting for days to play it. The notion is bliss, pure lazy bliss.:P

Ah, but digital distribution provides near instant gratification. P4 shipped on Monday, I got it today, and I have to wait till I get home to play it. Imagine being able to buy it and download it immediately instead of buying it and waiting for days to play it. The notion is bliss, pure lazy bliss.:P

rragnaar

The gift of anticipation.

*struts around in circles*

[QUOTE="rragnaar"]

Ah, but digital distribution provides near instant gratification. P4 shipped on Monday, I got it today, and I have to wait till I get home to play it. Imagine being able to buy it and download it immediately instead of buying it and waiting for days to play it. The notion is bliss, pure lazy bliss.:P

juradai

The gift of anticipation.

*struts around in circles*

*trips Juradai*

Who's strutting now?

*trips Juradai*

Who's strutting now?

rragnaar

[QUOTE="rragnaar"]

*trips Juradai*

Who's strutting now?

juradai

Crap! You win.:evil: Damn those unclosed tags.

Huge, proper PC harddrives filled with nothing but a single game that come in massive, 90's style PC game boxes. It's like a 70 gig harddrive except it contains nothing but the game, no need for an opperating system with this new method. In order to swap games you gotta unscrew your PC, unplug your old hard drive and replace it with the new one, then screw your PC back up. You'll have to keep swapping like this everytime you want to play another game.

TristanShand

I really prefer having a physical format, simply for fear of my HD corrupting and taking my games with it.jekyll

I really prefer having the rights to a digital format, simply for fear of my DVDs getting scratched. When was the last time you had a corrupted HDD? For me, it was in 2001...that's seven years ago...and if my HDD died today, I could just get another one and re-download my Steam games like they were new! And if the "Steam Cloud" idea takes off onto the consoles, even your save games will be backed up! Seriously, of all the excuses for not liking DD, "faulty HDDs" needs to die.

I actually see a scenario more like music: DD is what all the hip kids will use, but there will still be stores selling those shiny discs for those not in the know (or collectors). Physical media's markeshare will slowly get eaten away over time, but it probably won't happen overnight.

Also I doubt Gamestop and Best Buy and such would take kindly to that. Brick and Mortar stores need stuff to sell, and video games are the only thing that keeps increasing in sales even in this recession.SemiMaster

Here's what made me think about this subject: an old Penny Arcade comic strip:

It cracks me up everytime, but it also made me wonder if gamestop's reign of terror really has that bright of a future.

[QUOTE="SemiMaster"] Also I doubt Gamestop and Best Buy and such would take kindly to that. Brick and Mortar stores need stuff to sell, and video games are the only thing that keeps increasing in sales even in this recession.Black_Knight_00

It cracks me up everytime, but it also made me wonder if gamestop's reign of terror really has that bright of a future.

Lobbyists. Trust me.

[QUOTE="SemiMaster"] Also I doubt Gamestop and Best Buy and such would take kindly to that. Brick and Mortar stores need stuff to sell, and video games are the only thing that keeps increasing in sales even in this recession.Black_Knight_00

Here's what made me think about this subject: an old Penny Arcade comic strip:

It cracks me up everytime, but it also made me wonder if gamestop's reign of terror really has that bright of a future.

[QUOTE="BladesOfAthena"][QUOTE="SemiMaster"]

I thought CD sales were constantly going down each year. Even if piracy is being combatted, digital distribution of songs is becoming quite popular. But to have games downloaded in digital format, I doubt that will happen next generation, probably due to the fact our infrastructure can barely send HD cable signals without some loss of signal or scrambling problems. Heck, our games still lag online with broadband.SemiMaster

Well my point was that DD isn't going to replace physical media as the new standard, but that it will serve more as a secondary alternative to it, not render it as obsolete like the OP was asserting.

One big reason why I don't want DD to take over is that it would spell the end of collector's editions. Personally I'm a huge sucker for all the extra goodies that come with the game and since this recent torrent of CEs coming in, I can reason that there is lots of money to be made on those from the developers/publishers standpoint.