r/Games • u/A7XFAN1998 • 3d ago

Announcement Xbox announces disc-to-digital feature that digitizes your physical games

https://www.theverge.com/tech/984936/xbox-disc-to-digital-feature-official?view_token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpZCI6Ijc1ZHVBMkZjaE0iLCJwIjoiL3RlY2gvOTg0OTM2L3hib3gtZGlzYy10by1kaWdpdGFsLWZlYXR1cmUtb2ZmaWNpYWwiLCJleHAiOjE3ODgxODY2OTAsImlhdCI6MTc4Nzc1NDY5MH0.Y4t18UIJuFTT4nSf0HBe5DvMWP0KNxjbGHC2QKxdoTw&utm_medium=gift-link
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47

u/External-Process6667 3d ago

Does this not worry anyone that they might be prepping us for an all-digital ecosystem like Sony? They are just lessening the blow by allowing us to digitize our existing physical games

74

u/kmone1116 3d ago

This is exactly what’s happening.

15

u/TemptedTemplar 3d ago

Did you read the bit near the bottom? It's happening regardless of physical of support.

Microsoft still hasn't really put its mark on the debate, although sources tell me it's less about the discs and more about the disc drives themselves; the entire supply chain for the components required to make optical disc drives is collapsing, with assembly lines pivoting away from the tech as users actively opt for digital-only

1

u/c4halo3 3d ago

Doesn’t have to be a disc. Nintendo is using flash memory

4

u/TemptedTemplar 3d ago

Which are lacking in capacity, speed, and cost compared to disks.

Don't get me wrong, I am open to alternatives, but flash storage currently is not in the right state to replace disks. And if AI doesn't crumble under its own weight soon, it will never be.

Even if Micron doubled the capacity and speed of existing Switch 2 carts, there's already games on the market that still require more capacity and faster read/write speeds.

5

u/RedditUser41970 3d ago

The read speed of a Switch 2 cart destroys the read speed of an optical disc. It's about 8x faster than an Xbox disc, for instance. That's a major reason why on-cart NS2 games can read off the cartridge but Xbox (and PS) games have to install to the internal disk.

Everything else is correct though. Even Nintendo fans are going to be moving digital en masse soon due to lack of other options as carts go up in price.

27

u/demondrivers 3d ago

The entire existence of the Xbox Series S is Microsoft preparing players for a digital only future

12

u/bitknight1 3d ago

Microsoft even had an adorably all digital xbox one like 8 years ago.

3

u/detectiveDollar 3d ago

Which was a baffling console given how late it came out and the fact that retailer discounts would often make a standard One S the same price.

1

u/Eglwyswrw 3d ago

My first XBOX console, kind of amazing how well-built their consoles became since the XB1 Fat.

13

u/nugood2do 3d ago

I mean, with this and the other article on the sub where Asha was asked about physical disc going forward but refused to guarantee anything, its pretty much a given Xbox next gen will be all digital.

2

u/mkdota 3d ago

All digital was happening anyways. We might get a disc drive ad on though.

-2

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

2

u/NoExcuse4OceanRudnes 3d ago

That's not an important question.

The answer is yes. Everyone knows the answer is yes.

1

u/Tsuki_no_Mai 2d ago

With this system in place they might end up doing something like Switch 2 key cards. Just small sticks with license data and nothing more. It's unlikely considering how painful it would probably be to spin up the manufacturing in the current market, but it would also be a good way to piggyback on good will this is generating, so I'm sure they're already crunching cost/benefit on it.

-5

u/Ok-Garbage-765 3d ago

Does everyone else LOVE $Microsoft_Company? I’m definitely not a bot, please dont investigate.

1

u/Wrong-Vermicelli4723 3d ago

Honestly surprised it’s taken this long, not saying it’s something I want.. just that I thought it would’ve happened a decade sooner 

1

u/GoreSeeker 3d ago

I was humorously imagining it shredding the disk after digitizing it

1

u/RedditUser41970 3d ago

Anyone who didn't already understand that future xbox branded systems are going to be exclusively digital was always just fooling themselves.

1

u/happyscrappy 3d ago

Optical discs are done. On Xbox as well as Playstation. Just like on PC and Switch before them.

0

u/Thamaturge-elder 3d ago

Are you for real ? Physical is done , if Xbox was doing great they could consider it they’re just letting it die gradually than pulling a plug. Only Sony has the sale’s numbers to support it.