How the PS4 is shaping up to be the next must-own console

[CM Hooe]

Quote: Originally Posted by bkfount

0% chance sure, the DD options are growing, but look at it currently on XBL. MS just added MLB 2K9 for $30..like a week ago. Maybe they'll actually get day and date next gen, but even that would just make it a nice alternative to retail. It's a completely different thing to only go with DD. As for the actual media formats, bluray is cheaper to produce than flash will ever be. By the time new consoles come out, they'll be able to use something like a 16x BD XL drive for cheap. It's a backwards compatible format, will allow over 100GB's on one disc, and the read times would be as fast as a HDD.

Agreed that if digital downloads are going to take off for consoles, Microsoft and Sony both need to do a better job supporting it. I think it will be a slow transition, but it's already happening to an extent and I expect it to continue.

Too early to really say either way on future projections, the research on flash-based memory is very aggressive to the point that Moore's Law is currently being violated in doing so (Moore's Law is the idea that technology capacity doubles every 18 to 24 months, this trend has more than a half-a-century of evidence supporting it). As I said earlier though, I'm of the belief that optical drives are going away.

I also want to know where you got your statistics on a hypothetical 16x Blu-Ray being faster than a platter-based hard disk? I'm finding stats saying it'd only get up to half the data rate of a 5400 RPM hard drive, which would still be damn good for an optical drive, but still not meeting your claim. The capacity of something beyond a DVD - be it a Blu-Ray or flash memory of some kind - is going to become very necessary, however.

It's an interesting topic, certainly, and something that will be interesting to watch unfold.

[DaveDQ]

Quote: Originally Posted by EnigmaNemesis

I can see that point to an extent, but the only thing is, they sell themselves as an "all in one box" too. So HD movie support, via disc based mediums (which Hollywood will never abandon), is a selling point. But I do know there will offer more ways to get games, like a SteamWorks they do now, and plus the cash in on the smaller quick games like the cell phones have, as well as what they offer on PSN/Live Arcade exclusives. And discs will still be cheaper to produce, than any other storage medium they requires more "material" to build.

Quote: Originally Posted by bkfount

0% chance sure, the DD options are growing, but look at it currently on XBL. MS just added MLB 2K9 for $30..like a week ago. Maybe they'll actually get day and date next gen, but even that would just make it a nice alternative to retail. It's a completely different thing to only go with DD. As for the actual media formats, bluray is cheaper to produce than flash will ever be. By the time new consoles come out, they'll be able to use something like a 16x BD XL drive for cheap. It's a backwards compatible format, will allow over 100GB's on one disc, and the read times would be as fast as a HDD.

I am probably reaching there in thinking we won't see discs and their players. I suppose I'm speaking in what I'd like to see. I think though with how technology has driven some retailers to change or step out should serve as a warning for the future. Seeing the option to download the game will most likely be the scenario, as completely removing the hard disc is an abrupt move.

We see in this generation how retailers like GameStop are luring in consumers with preorder perks, if the Xbox live marketplace can do the same I think that will change traffic. I do agree though, there are games that are highly overpriced on the marketplace.