Will we ever see the return of catridges?

[QUOTE="Rocky32189"][QUOTE="iceswift"]

Basically cartriges pwn discs in every way except costs which is the only thing that matters to the game developers

BubbyJello

How about storage space? Get back to me when there is a cartridge that can hold the 50 GB of data a Blu-Ray disc can hold.

There are cartridges that can hold way more the 50GB.

Yeah, and they probably cost hundreds of dollars while discs cost pennies.

Optical media will remain domanant for the precievable future. The reason being that it's simply much cheaper to produce!

Now something I should point out is that "optical media" doesn't neccessarily have to be in disc form. There is a technology on the horizon called "Holographic Versitile Cards". These could potentially store 30+ GBs of data on a slither of plastic. The advantage these would have over discs is that they don't need to spun up to be used... one factor in a disc's lag. Holographic media can also potentially be accessed several times faster than traditional 2D optical media (ie CDs, DVDs, Blu-Ray, and the rest of the lot).

People forget that cartridges have gotten smaller, cheaper and more useful in recent years. If a cartridge that size can hold that much information for a DS game, im sure cartridges could still be used at some time or another. Its just that CD's have recieved more attention due to theirconvenience during the 32-64 bit era.

I certainly see handhelds continuing to use cartridge based media - and lets not forget that information on a cartridge is accessed immediately, reducing or eliminating loading times, and are far more durable than discs.

Quofan

To be clear, the DS does NOT use carts. It uses cards. What's the difference? Well, cards are much simpler... only containing memory, and nothing else (there's no way to put in, for eample, an extra processor or tilt sensor, as you could with carts)... and thus a bit cheaper to produce.

Actually, in the future I can see systems like Steam (where you just download the game and play it, but only playable on your console) taking over for either discs or cards/carts. Every game will have a unique code (or PIN or whatever you want to call it) and you can't access it other than just playing it on your console.

Steam is already really popular, so I don't see why this won't be the main form of access to games.

No, maybe small cards like SD cards, but not the catridgesas we saw them a decade ago.Thiago26792

like the ds gamecards?

Actually, in the future I can see systems like Steam (where you just download the game and play it, but only playable on your console) taking over for either discs or cards/carts. Every game will have a unique code (or PIN or whatever you want to call it) and you can't access it other than just playing it on your console.

Steam is already really popular, so I don't see why this won't be the main form of access to games.

bob_newman

but wouldnt you have to have an internet connection?

not everyone has an internet connection

[QUOTE="bob_newman"]

Actually, in the future I can see systems like Steam (where you just download the game and play it, but only playable on your console) taking over for either discs or cards/carts. Every game will have a unique code (or PIN or whatever you want to call it) and you can't access it other than just playing it on your console.

Steam is already really popular, so I don't see why this won't be the main form of access to games.

PeterPerson

but wouldnt you have to have an internet connection?

not everyone has an internet connection

Those people need to get with the times. Internet is the new cable TV.

[QUOTE="PeterPerson"][QUOTE="bob_newman"]

Actually, in the future I can see systems like Steam (where you just download the game and play it, but only playable on your console) taking over for either discs or cards/carts. Every game will have a unique code (or PIN or whatever you want to call it) and you can't access it other than just playing it on your console.

Steam is already really popular, so I don't see why this won't be the main form of access to games.

bob_newman

but wouldnt you have to have an internet connection?

not everyone has an internet connection

Those people need to get with the times. Internet is the new cable TV.

yes...

but still... they wouldnt sell as many consoles because people with no or a slow internet connection wouldnt want them.

Is it really that bad of a problem? I don't know anybody who doesn't have internet. My parents have internet (That's a huge deal, by the way).bob_newman

im sure there is people who dont.

Cartidges where the iconic medium for games back in the day. The N64 was the last system to hold on to the classic form of game medium. Now everything uses discs.

But as discs progress with technology, so do things like flash memory. Now days you can buy a 1gig usb flash drive for around 20-30 bucks. SD cards are getting better and cheaper as time goes on, too.

Perhaps in time, say another ten years or so, we'll be slamming catridges into our consoles, just like the old days. Flash memory seems superior to discs any way. Discs can get scratched and disc drives can easily be busted. With a flashdrive system there would be no delicate moving parts that could get missaligned or broken and cartridgesare much more durable than a disc.

I personally think it's only a matter of time before consoles go back to using a cartridge type medium. Heck, I think it's only a matter of time before all storage medium becomes more like flash memory.

Mike1978Smith

.......are you serious?

I wouldn't mind if they made a new disc format, but put the disc inside a plastic cartridge-case (just for the retro look). I really like the look of cartridges for some unknown reason, and the extra size doesn't bother me.

I like to think of my NES/SNES/N64 carts as showpieces. I have a bookshelf of them, and they're always a topic of conversation when people come over.

I still stand by cartridges. They can hold literally terabytes (thousands of gigabytes) of information, so "it doesn't hold as much data as a disc" is no longer an issue. Besides that, they don't require the extreme care that discs have; you don't have to worry about fingerprints, scratches, and you can lay them down on a flat surface for days and they won't get wrecked.HyperMetaDragon

There is still the issue of cost/MB. Yes, you can have a solid state medium that holds tens or even hundreds of GB, but such a drive would cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Also, flash is not impervious to damage. The contacts can corrode if not properly stored.

dought it the reason why the N64 failed imo is because of the cartridgesolidsnakeo

They certainly played a role. Despite having a far lower capacity, carts were still far more expensive than Discs. This made them less profitable in the publishers' eyes.

Right now, disks all the way... cartridges are just too expensive, but we're all heading the downloadable game road as digital distribution matures.

We might see a console next gen where every game will be available for download... if not, we'll just be able to store entire games on a HDD.

[QUOTE="BubbyJello"][QUOTE="Rocky32189"][QUOTE="iceswift"]

Basically cartriges pwn discs in every way except costs which is the only thing that matters to the game developers

Rocky32189

How about storage space? Get back to me when there is a cartridge that can hold the 50 GB of data a Blu-Ray disc can hold.

There are cartridges that can hold way more the 50GB.

Yeah, and they probably cost hundreds of dollars while discs cost pennies.

Exactly, but what iceswift said is still true.

By the way, each CD costs 7cents to produce. I'm wouldn't be suprised if DVD, even Blueray and HDDVD would not cost over 30cents each to produce. The technology to that brought them up is what gives them a price, and the people to pay. But hey, they wouldnt make much money selling 100 Cd's for $10. My point is CD=CheapWolfWatch

Now how much does it cost if they make you download it? $0. If nothing else we will soon see the end of actually owning 'your own copy', instead it will be just bytes you downloaded. And if the service you downloaded from ever disappears you will never get to download the game and play it again (better not lose it). Now force people to redownload the classics for each new console they put out... Maybe more convenient, but it kills the used game market (maybe thats a good thing), but it also kills the idea of ownership. I don't like the way this is going. It is definately not for the customers benefit.

Just to clarify... when I say cartidges, I mean anything "cartridge-like". It could be in the form of cards, sticks, cubes, strips, whatever. Hell, it could even be a crystal for all we know. They don't have to be big, either. Think smaller, like a credit card or something. All I simply mean by cartridge is an object you stick in your system that doesn't require spinning in order to read it.

I just don't see how mechanical drives that are dependant on spinning will remain king forever. Eventually our ability to process data will become far greater than our ability to spin a disc. I just don't think disc will be able to keep up with technology in the long run.

And I'm not talking next gen or something, I'm talking way ahead. Think 10-15 years ahead. Perhaps even 20-30. Will discs reign supreme forever? I don't think so.

As for all games moving to digital downloads, I can't see that happening untill everyone in the world has access to the internet for free, either from their homes or the ability to take their console to a convenient hot spot. Untill that day, developers will still sell their games on hard copies because they will not want to exclude any customer at all.

Nope disc's are better than cartridges in terms of memory and price, so no cartridges are dead and they are never going to be a standard ever again, this statement is just as dumb as saying when will floppies replace the USB's which replaced them. Also the closet thingto a cartridge being using in anext genitem is maybe the cards they use in the DS, thats if Nintendo plan on using them again.

yeah someone was telling me about those, i think it's called a holographic disk, this guy said you can get something stupud like1 terrabite on one disk

infact, i'll think i'll google it now!

yeah someone was telling me about those, i think it's called a holographic disk, this guy said you can get something stupud like1 terrabite on one disk

infact, i'll think i'll google it now!

danathjo

whoops...i was replying to an earlier post on page 1

yeah someone was telling me about those, i think it's called a holographic disk, this guy said you can get something stupud like1 terrabite on one disk

infact, i'll think i'll google it now!

danathjo

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holographic_Versatile_Disc

2.9 terabytes...wow!!

bring on the HVD!!

[QUOTE="boostud"][QUOTE="bob_newman"]

Sadly, it's a lot cheaper to produce discs rather than cartridges.

Why do I say sadly? Because recent studies have found that after 15 or 20 years, discs start to lose data and become worthless (Don't ask me for a Link because my film teacher taught me it, and I don't know where she got it from). That means that in maybe 15 years I won't be able to play any of my Gamecube games:cry:.

Jaysonguy

Yea, maybe if you bury it in your backyard. I'd like to have somebody explain to me how it loses data.

The information on disks degrade over time.

Especially disks you burn yourself.

The real question is how long do they last. The main opinion is "long enough" though no one can really predeict when disks of any kind start to fail. Some do in the first 20 years and others keep on spinning.

That's rubbish. CD's can theoretically last forever, with the data intact.

[QUOTE="Jaysonguy"][QUOTE="boostud"][QUOTE="bob_newman"]

Sadly, it's a lot cheaper to produce discs rather than cartridges.

Why do I say sadly? Because recent studies have found that after 15 or 20 years, discs start to lose data and become worthless (Don't ask me for a Link because my film teacher taught me it, and I don't know where she got it from). That means that in maybe 15 years I won't be able to play any of my Gamecube games:cry:.

mentalabc123

Yea, maybe if you bury it in your backyard. I'd like to have somebody explain to me how it loses data.

The information on disks degrade over time.

Especially disks you burn yourself.

The real question is how long do they last. The main opinion is "long enough" though no one can really predeict when disks of any kind start to fail. Some do in the first 20 years and others keep on spinning.

That's rubbish. CD's can theoretically last forever, with the data intact.

If by rubbish you mean fact then yes, you're right

Totally wrong on the second part of that though

HERE, brush up so you can make backups of all your stuff.

Hopefully not...and people say the CDs will die after 20 years? They will lose data?!

That's why it's pretty damned good to have backup ISOs of your favorite games in your hard-drive or som,ething.

Disclaimer:If you have ISOs for games you don't OWN you are doing something pretty illegal and bad!!! Backups are legal and good only for games you DO own!

Hopefully not...and people say the CDs will die after 20 years? They will lose data?!

That's why it's pretty damned good to have backup ISOs of your favorite games in your hard-drive or som,ething.

Disclaimer:If you have ISOs for games you don't OWN you are doing something pretty illegal and bad!!! Backups are legal and good only for games you DO own!

Androu1

No they aren't

Please don't post information that could potentionally cause others to suffer punishment from the law.

no i dont think so. the advantages discs bring to the table far outweigh the disadvantages. even with the falling prices of memory, its still nowhere near the production cost of a CD, DVD or even blu-ray disc.

i would hope to see a disc technology developed for games rather than other media in the future though. a new disc file system and optimized drives that specialise at seeking data quickly and reading it quickly rather than being good at streaming. imho ninty were onto the right idea with the GC (i dont think they changed the file system though). smaller discs and a faster drive to get data off that disc as quickly as possible. perhaps have an extra cache in the drive to improve things too (like on modern HDDs). if they can do that and still have a fair cunk of memory then that would be great. imho the use of movie standards is starting to come back and bite the industry on its ass.

Uuuuuuuuuuuh.... no.

[QUOTE="Androu1"]

Hopefully not...and people say the CDs will die after 20 years? They will lose data?!

That's why it's pretty damned good to have backup ISOs of your favorite games in your hard-drive or som,ething.

Disclaimer:If you have ISOs for games you don't OWN you are doing something pretty illegal and bad!!! Backups are legal and good only for games you DO own!

Jaysonguy

No they aren't

Please don't post information that could potentionally cause others to suffer punishment from the law.

Actually, I copyright law itself does allow for a copy for backup purposes, so long as it is destroyed should you give away or sell the original. Of course, this provides that the license agreement also allows for such (games, like almost all software, is of course licensed, NOT sold).

http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-digital.html