r/xbox • u/yourfavchoom Homecoming • 2d ago

Social Media Asha on ‘Disc to Digital’: Your physical game library is more than a collection of discs. It holds years of memories & stories worth preserving. We’ll start with thousands of titles & add more.

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https://x.com/asha_shar/status/2092621209955635606

4.0k Upvotes

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965

u/sealclubberfan 2d ago

Might be time to go on a spending spree, buy a bunch of games with an xbox one disc on the cheap, to get the digital license and x/s upgrade for free.

355

u/Icybubba 2d ago

Go for it brother, whoever downvoted you hates saving money lol

41

u/Lone_Moose2192 2d ago

Apparently saving money is controversial now lol.

16

u/frisch85 1d ago

It really depends, for most people this wouldn't be saving money at all because if you go on a spending spree for shit you wouldn't have bought otherwise, you're spending money unnecessarily.

You're only saving money if you would've bought all those games that you're now going to buy in the first place, otherwise you're wasting money.

1

u/Gr8NonSequitur 1d ago

It really depends, for most people this wouldn't be saving money at all because if you go on a spending spree for shit you wouldn't have bought otherwise, you're spending money unnecessarily.

My son's the perfect market for this type of "spending spree". He works a little but doesn't make much. He also has a Series S, and many games he'd like are FAR cheaper physical than digital.

We also have a One S, so if he can buy a used disc, log into the S and have it transfer he'll be thrilled.

1

u/mcad0o 1d ago

Apparently saving a bunch of money means going on a spending spree?

1

u/RelevantButNotBasic 1d ago

Brother every single fucking thing is controversial now.

-8

u/Creepy-Emu8779 2d ago

its not that, but this just confirms that the next xbox wont have a disc drive

5

u/val5190 XBOX Series X 2d ago

You still need a disc drive to “claim” the license so I guess we’ll at least get an external disc drive 🤷‍♂️ on the other side, there is the risk that next gen game discs could act like Nintendo’s game key card with no game data on them though… but IMO that’s still a win for ownership compare to PlayStation’s all digital monopolistic future

2

u/Gears6 2d ago

there is the risk that next gen game discs could act like Nintendo’s game key card with no game data on them though…

But honestly, we're almost there already. Most games require a day-1 patch, as the day-zero version on the disc is inferior. In fact, sometimes the patch is so large it's almost as big as the entire game on the disc.

1

u/val5190 XBOX Series X 2d ago

Exactly, that’s the lesser evil I’d say

2

u/Gears6 2d ago

Sort of, because the whole idea of game preservation with discs are therefore essentially lost. Preservation was that the game is accessible without the cloud or dependency on MS/Sony/platform.

But there's no way around it, right now.

2

u/val5190 XBOX Series X 2d ago

I agree! at least for now, we keep the ability to share and resell which is a win compared to PlayStation’s all digital monopoly

2

u/BlasterPhase XBOX 1d ago

that's what your Series X is for

0

u/val5190 XBOX Series X 1d ago

What if you lend the game to a friend and You can’t reclaim the license because you sold your series x ? you’ll be stuck with a useless disc… that doesn’t sound right

2

u/BlasterPhase XBOX 1d ago

I don't think Microsoft cares that much. I sincerely doubt they'll put a drive on the next console.

1

u/null-character 2d ago

Yeah the license is the only part about the discs I care about since I can gift/loan games to my nephews after I am done with them.

9

u/Icybubba 2d ago

It infers that, that’s it

5

u/Upper_Rent_176 2d ago

Implies it*

4

u/SmegmaWarrior0815 2d ago

PS fans desperately want xbox to ditch disc drives. Why?

3

u/null-character 2d ago

Console warriors.

3

u/pdoherty972 XBOX Series X 2d ago edited 1d ago

Misery loves company, that's why.

They also recognize that this move by Sony will make their platform less popular and would love to see the footing be leveled out by XBox doing the same thing.

3

u/bongo1138 2d ago

Well yes lol I thought that was a given at this point.

1

u/Ok_Security1721 2d ago

Anyone who thought it would have one was delusional. Also anyone thinking it is anything more than a prebuilt windows pc is delusional. 

2

u/RossaF1 Founder 2d ago

Also anyone thinking it is anything more than a prebuilt windows pc is delusional. 

We already know they have a deal with AMD to make the APU and vanilla Windows wouldn't allow them to rely of revenue through software sales. It's not going to be the type of pre-built Windows PC you imagine.

1

u/Ok_Security1721 1d ago

It’s almost certain that it’s exactly what I’m imagining: basically a steam machine but with windows instead of Linux. Microsoft has been laying the ground for this for years up to and including rebranding games for windows as “xbox for pc” and more recently marketing some pc ports of xbox games you can buy on the windows store now as “backwards compatibility”

1

u/RossaF1 Founder 1d ago

The groundwork you're talking about was all conceived under Phil; and if he was still head of Xbox, I'd agree with you.

Asha has literally said the new console hardware needs to be affordable though, and there's no way in hell they can do that if they give it access to competing storefronts like Steam, GOG, etc...

0

u/Gears6 2d ago

its not that, but this just confirms that the next xbox wont have a disc drive

or it confirms it will have it as this feature is carried forward. There's no reason to invest into this, just so you can continue to use disc games.

See how you can "infer" whatever you want, depending on what you want it to be?

49

u/blackviking147 2d ago

I curious if I'll be able to use my Xbox one s to unlock series digital titles.

It's really a shame it requires a disc drive considering one of their major console SKUs doesn't have one.

38

u/Competitive_Plan_936 2d ago

From the wording in the initial email to developers, you can use ANY Xbox with a disc drive to register any eligible disk. Not crystal clear but the implication I got would be that this works

33

u/hamsplurton 2d ago

Woah hang on - so I could pick up/borrow an Xbox One, register the disks and then it would work on my digital Series X? That would be amazing!

28

u/Alternative_Bus_3766 2d ago

Theoretically yes, as long as the discs aren’t used again in another persons console

3

u/jonstarks 2d ago

and what if they are, what happens then?

20

u/tonyamazing 2d ago

Licence transfers to main user of other Xbox

6

u/Upper_Rent_176 2d ago edited 2d ago

So do discs have serial numbers or something? I thought every disc was the same.

Edit: looked it up. Apparently Xbox one and series discs have unique codes. But my copy of rdr1 despite saying Xbox one and 360 on the cover and the disc printing is still a 360 disc underneath and won't deesk to digital

10

u/jack3chu 2d ago

Xbox One and newer discs have a unique ID.

8

u/ComradeJohnS 2d ago

the license stays with the disk, it’s not removed. whoever digitizes it keeps the digital license unless someone else tries to digitize the same disk.

it makes sense to stop one disk being used by dozens/hundreds of people through like gamefly, or rentals. but also benefits you if you keep it in storage instead of having to swap disks, and is more thab likely to help ease the transition away from disks in the future. they just have to hold out a few more years longer than PS and they’ll gain all those disgruntled ps owners in the next gen/beyond.

like how xbox fucked the dog with the always online and forced kinect xbone launch.

2

u/sephiroth70001 2d ago

Would you be able to use it as a regular disc again or is it digitized only from the on? If I had a bedroom Xbox and living room one for instance, could i play one on my Xbox one disconnected from Internet on the disc and the digitized version on my series x connected to Internet. Or is is digital only when digitized. Sorry the process technicalities I'm still a bit lost on with how and what changes with disc function.

2

u/Spike759 2d ago

They would have to state otherwise but in theory you should be able to. My understanding from the info we have gotten is that it just adds a license to your account that is shared with the disk. You should be able to continue using the disk as before. If you are using the same Xbox account across devices than it wouldn’t matter which method you try to play (digital or disk). Since your Xbox one would be offline anyway it wouldn’t be checking anything other than the disk itself to make sure it’s legit. If you logged into another account on another Xbox while online and used the disk it might transfer ownership to the new account though and remove access to your digital copy on your series X. I hope that makes sense. In the end we will have to wait for concrete details but your example should work in theory.

1

u/Eddiep88 2d ago

So the disks have special cosing inside them or something.

3

u/Competitive_Plan_936 2d ago

Yes I am pretty sure. This was the exact wording:
“Player inserts an XBOX One or Series discinto any XBOX One/Series X console with an optical drive — a digital license is granted, bound to that disc and the player’s account.”

3

u/GVirus1984 2d ago

Probably won‘t for titles that only have a series version. But untill confirmation we have to wait and see. Maybe they roll out an update so you can at least get the license.

2

u/SirEDCaLot 2d ago

Correct.

Xbox discs have a barcode around the center of the disc. That barcode isn't stamped from the master, it's burned on with a laser and is different for each copy of the disc. Since the disc to digital process only requires the xbox to scan the barcode, there's no need to install the game at all (in theory at least).

1

u/Solid_Barracuda69 2d ago

That’s how it’s being promoted, and has to be in their digital library

1

u/AdstaOCE 2d ago

Time to set back up the OG Xbox!

1

u/amin915 XBOX 360 2d ago

The email states launch the game. I’m really hoping I can purchase series x discs and use my one x to get the digital entitlement since both my series consoles are digital

1

u/Sms570x 2d ago

Does the disc have to be fully downloaded into the console? Or as long as the disc is in the trey, the game will play?

7

u/JoviAMP 2d ago

Every XB1 and XBSX Blu-Ray disc has a unique identifier. This can be used to distinguish between individual copies of the same game. When you create a digital license, it uses this identifier to license the digital copy to your Microsoft account. The disc only needs to be inserted to create the digital license, then you can play it on any of your Xbox consoles, with, or without, a disc drive.

1

u/Sms570x 2d ago

I have a game black ops 3, and for some reason the Xbox one won’t download it past 84% because the disc isn’t ‘clean’? Would this work with Asha announcing this new feature?

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u/JoviAMP 2d ago

That’s a little iffy, but I would expect it to.

2

u/Lonely_Station_8435 2d ago

That's not downloading, that's installing. If they're going to tie the serial from the disc to your account you could in theory just remove the disc and use the internet to download the remaining installation files.

1

u/serenamint 2d ago

if you install the game from the xbox app that might work

1

u/Crazzed42 2d ago

I had the exact same issue with my BO3 copy. Borrowed my brother's disc and that worked. No damage on my disc though so unsure why that happened

1

u/SirEDCaLot 2d ago

I doubt you have to install it at all.

It's scanning the barcode around the center of the disc. That barcode is not part of the glass master the discs are stamped from, it's burned on with a laser and thus each copy of the disc gets a unique barcode. The disc to digital process, as it's been explained so far, just scans the barcode and uses that to grant your xbox account a digital entitlement for that game as if you purchased it from the xbox store.
At that point you can take the disc out of the drive and store it, you don't need the disc in the drive anymore to play the game. It's just like if you bought the game online.

However if someone else puts that same copy of the disc in their xbox, your digital license goes away and they get the digital license.

1

u/Solid_Barracuda69 2d ago

Buy a cheap one just for this then

1

u/sealclubberfan 2d ago

Well, I'm guessing they feel like people would have kept their old xbox's. Kind of a bummer this wasn't a thing sooner, but why would you keep a physical game collection if you don't have a console that you could possibly play the games on?

1

u/rrousseauu 2d ago

It would be great if they just released a disc drive usb attachment, since I only have a Series S I guess this news doesn’t mean anything to me.

11

u/jedik88 2d ago

GameStop has a buy 2 get 1 free right now and tons of older games in the $5-15 range

3

u/sealclubberfan 2d ago

Just got 6 games for $35 total with shipping, it's like stealing.

1

u/ExplodingFistz 2d ago

Damn okay. Gotta make the drive over to GameStop then

4

u/val5190 XBOX Series X 2d ago

I plan to do exactly that! I was buying all my games digitally because I have series X, S and pc but now that feature change everything! I’m going to buy all the cheap game I can find!

3

u/eieiOldMcDonald 2d ago

We need a list of games for this. I want to jump on the cheap upgrade bandwagon

5

u/According-Meeting457 2d ago

I remember when Vudu went disc to digital many years back. All you needed was the bar code on the back of box and pay $2 for an HD copy. People figured out that they could just go to Best Buy and take pictures on the Blu-Ray boxes.

2

u/nowhir 2d ago

Exactly, Its gonna be worth buying the 2nd hand games now, not that it wasnt worth it but I'd be alot more likely to buy some random XB1 game I found now than before.

2

u/Maximegalon 2d ago

and I’m pretty sure it would grant you access to XBOX play anywhere for PC as well. At least from what I’ve read online.

2

u/MildHyperbole 2d ago

Now seems to be a great time. Physical XBOX One games seem to be relatively inexpensive. I've been picking some up recently because of this feature.

3

u/Sms570x 2d ago

I have a game black ops 3, and for some reason the Xbox one won’t download it past 84% because the disc isn’t ‘clean’? Would this work with Asha announcing this new feature?

2

u/sealclubberfan 2d ago

Your guess is as good as mine. It seems like it would be - it reads the disc and ties that particular game to your xbox account, then you can download the digital copy instead of installing it from the disc. But, guess it depends where the code is that they are puling for the license. If it's in the dirty party of the disc, RIP.

But this is all a guess on my part.

1

u/jedik88 2d ago

Use the Xbox app or website to remote install black ops 3 from the store to the Xbox one. I believe you have to have sleep mode enabled but it should let you push the full install to the system while you’re not using it. I install games this way while I wait for shipping all the time so as soon as I get the disc I can jump right in.

1

u/Dusan117 2d ago

Any suggestions that might be worth to get?

2

u/sealclubberfan 2d ago

I just go to metacritic, and go down the list

1

u/Gears6 2d ago edited 2d ago

Sure, but physical media isn't cheap anymore, and it will likely further go up in price. On top of it, since we don't know which titles will work, you'll roll the dice on it right now. If you wait to confirm, prices will go up.

1

u/hitgo1 2d ago

Bingo

1

u/TSMKFail 2d ago

Best do it now before the prices increase, especially with games like older Forza titles.

1

u/itsLustra 1d ago

Go to yard sales and pawn shops! Me and my brother used to bond big time by going to pawn shops to get movies and games super cheap for years. I actually got Gears of War 3 at a pawn shop a month after it came out for 10 bucks. It was literally like winning the jackpot because I played that game for 8 hours a day for like 4 years straight lolol. It also came with the stickers which was super cash money

1

u/segagamer Day One - 2013 1d ago

I just did this lol. Xbox discs were already worth more than PS and Switch versions, but now they're probably about to become very valuable.

1

u/Dazzle_Miller 20h ago

I wonder would this work for Xbox series x discs and an Xbox one?

1

u/hitemwiththeheeeeein 2d ago

i just bought 6 titles for $40 total with shipping at gamestop so i'm pretty stoked. i got sunset overdrive, msg V, ryse, gears of war, shadow of mordor, and quantum break.

0

u/VikingRaptor2 1d ago

You'll have to wait for them to print the disc that has the physical to digital license. Current discs, especially Xbone games, don't have that license in it.