Support NeoGAF

[NullPointer]

Not interested in portability myself, but a dedicated digital unit would be great as I'm pretty much 100% digital these days as is. Especially if the unit could be quieter, have more ports, easy HDD expand-ability and just better reliability in general.

Yeah, I'd probably bite.

I just like having less "stuff" like boxes and discs to deal with. And my internet is fine enough for downloads and re-downloads as I change up my library of installed games.

 

[Coxy100]

No fuck digital.

This guy gets it.

Also I swear GAF is a giant echo. The same threads pop up time and time again

 

[nekkid]

I'd LOVE a portable XB1.

Although in the nearer term I could see a portable 360 selling gangbusters. It wouldn't fit MS' strategy, though.

 

[gamz]

No fuck digital.

I know the anti-digital crowd is out there, but it's so fucking convenient. I can't go back to physical.

 

[meirl]

Discless: yes. Fucking LOVE digital. Going 100% digital anyway

Portable: No, Not playing on the Go Anyway.

 

[gamz]

I'd LOVE a portable XB1.

Although in the nearer term I could see a portable 360 selling gangbusters. It wouldn't fit MS' strategy, though.

I wish they would pull a Nintendo and come out with a tiny OG Xbox for the holidays. I think that would be cool as hell.

 

[DagnastyEp]

I've gone over for three straight months, but I stream a ton. They have yet to charge me for the overages but it's coming. At that point I may be forced to bite the bullet and get cable.

Ahh, right on. I don't stream, and hadn't considered they type of usage that would require.

 

[LAM09]

Nope. A disc drive is a must for me.

 

[RoboPlato]

I wouldn't buy one but I am curious to see how well a console like that would do.

 

[birthbystars]

With Comcast enforcing a 1TB data cap every month, nope.

1TB of data a month is nuts. If you reach that, that's seriously impressive (and you should probably stop downloading so much porn).

 

[n0razi]

PS4 has a USB port.. so whats to stop from just using an external drive if necessary? I can already do that with my android phone/tablet. Its the main reason I dont miss it on my laptop, since I can just plug one in for the 1% of the time I need it

 

[SEGAvangelist]

PS4 Slim or PS4 Pro? Sure. Xbox One or Scorpio? No, since I like the UHD drive for movies.

 

[Mohasus]

Nah, digital prices are a joke where I live.

Even during this sale, xbox games are twice the price of a physical copy here.

 

[gamz]

1TB of data a month is nuts. If you reach that, that's seriously impressive (and you should probably stop downloading so much porn).

If you don't have cable and stream Netflix, Amazon, and SlingTV it's very easy to max that out.

 

[BigEmil]

I know the anti-digital crowd is out there, but it's so fucking convenient. I can't go back to physical.

It doesn't beat the convenience of physically owning your games, trading, selling, borrowing, refunding, renting, cheaper prices, majority main game data already inside disc quick install and play just download smaller updates... And then there's also digital crap like them removing the games from the stores you already bought, downloading the whole game plus updates together is especially shit if you have third rate internet like me and with games getting bigger and bigger, refunding is not as convenient as refunding physical games etcetc. The pros of physical highly outweigh the pros of digital

 

[Wedzi]

Sure. As long as its priced right.

This. $99 - $150 would probably be the sweet spot to forgo physical game deals as it stands

 

[Tom Nook Sawyer]

optical drive has to be one of the cheaper components of the hardware, so i doubt they could get the price down that much.

You're forgetting the secondary costs. Optical drives are huge, thus requiring a bigger physical case adding material costs. That also requires more packaging to accommodation the size. All of which adds weight as well, which affects shipping costs.

And then there's the repair costs for drives that break within warranty due to the moving parts

 

[shiyrley]

No way in hell I would show any kind of appreciation for such a machine ever

 

[Unreal Champ]

No

 

[Dr. Worm]

 

[Nameless]

I'm 90ish percent digital on consoles, but I like the option of having a drive for the games I'm not so sure about and instances where a deal on a disc copy is too good to pass up.

 

[D3VI0US]

I'll support any discless console going forward, I just need a larger HDD instead of the disc drive. Something like disc version with 1TB for $500, discless version with 2TB for $550. I was done with physical media as soon as it was an option last gen and I'm glad to, really paid off with back compat on 360. Hopefully Nintendo and Sony can catch up with Virtual Console and at the very least PSone Classics.

 

[AnotherDayAnotherDollar]

Assuming a setup similar to the Switch, how many full-sized games could you play without storage prices going insane? Even if we give it a 64 GB NAND, that would only be enough for one or two major releases. I doubt anyone would be buying hard drives to keep plugged into one.

And if you're playing indie games, why are you looking at console form factors?

Presumably it would use sd/micro sd cards for extra storage and you can get a 64 micro sd for 21.99, 128GB for $44.99 and you can go up if price is not an issue for you. I think prices are similar for SD cards.

I don't think anyone would argue that a portable ps4/xb1 would be a cheap proposition. It would cater to the high end market. How big that market could be is the big question mark though. I'm not even sure if people are still buying high end tablets today.

 

[Like the hat?]

Give me a switch sized portable PS 4 pro and I'll go all digital if I have to.

 

[ViolentP]

I would easily purchase a discless model if it were available.

 

[The Abominable Snowman]

I'd prefer diskless. With MS making some great choices when it comes to the digital wallet, I'd be happy to go diskless. And I'd be comfortable doing the same with Sony because I know they'll follow suit in their arms race to be better for consumers.

 

[Sammy Samusu]

Switch is the future so yeah they will copy Nintendo eventually.

I can see Sony copying NES Classic too.

It's all a matter of time.

 

[playXray]

It doesn't beat the convenience of physically owning your games, trading, selling, borrowing, refunding, renting, cheaper prices, majority main game data already inside disc quick install and play just download smaller updates... And then there's also digital crap like them removing the games from the stores you already bought, downloading the whole game plus updates together is especially shit if you have third rate internet like me and with games getting bigger and bigger, refunding is not as convenient as refunding physical games etcetc. The pros of physical highly outweigh the pros of digital

You listed a whole bunch of things that aren't as convenient as digital. Sure, you may like the ability to drive to a store, trade in a game and bring home a new one - it's a better deal than digital. It's not convenience though.

 

[kunonabi]

If my ps3 still read bluray movies I'd be fine with a discless ps4 as i buy all my post ps3 stuff digitally anyway.

 

[gamz]

It doesn't beat the convenience of physically owning your games, trading, selling, borrowing, refunding, renting, cheaper prices, majority main game data already inside disc quick install and play just download smaller updates... And then there's also digital crap like them removing the games from the stores you already bought, downloading the whole game plus updates together is especially shit if you have third rate internet like me and with games getting bigger and bigger, refunding is not as convenient as refunding physical games etcetc. The pros of physical highly outweigh the pros of digital

That sounds like a pain in the ass. Prefer having my digital library on call. Just click and I'm playing.

 

[ViolentP]

Switch is the future so yeah they will copy Nintendo eventually.

I can see Sony copying NES Classic too.

It's all a matter of time.

Consoles are becoming more complicated. The Switch went the other way and kept things simple. Simplicity however is not the future.

 

[snitsky]

I'd probably be fine getting rid of the disc drive, but I have no desire for a portable, especially if it raises the price.


I mean, honestly, Sony has had a very solid portable on the market for years and it tanked. I don't see why they would be chomping at the bit you try again.

 

[Izuna]

I need the disc drive for Puyo Puyo Tetris, otherwise it can fek off. Make it a USB add-on

But at the same time, if I weren't a student, I'd get use out of the UHD drive

 

[Persona7]

And pay full price for digital titles? No way in hell.

 

[katsubento]

I like discs so no.

Portable PS4? I could see digital being fine. We probably won't see a portable PS4.

And if we did, they wouldn't sell it for cheaper than the base disc model anyways.

 

[sublimit]

Portability is something that i value a lot but not enough to support a digital-only system.I will never buy a system that doesn't support discs or cartridges..

 

[Kill3r7]

Yes but I would need a 20% discount on digital games during first month of release.

 

[Forearm Star]

If I wouldn't have already invested in both, then yeah. I already have a good amount of disc based games and not being able to use them would be a problem. If a "trade for digital" program happened then absolutely, it most likely won't though.

If I didn't own one or the other and they announced a DD only version I'd be for it.

And pay full price for digital titles? No way in hell.

This also! If they could keep the prices between digital and physical competitive that would be a huge plus.

 

[FLAguy954]

I personally wouldn't buy it.

The only way I would recommend it to anyone is if they get to the point that the portability and slim hardware don't come at the cost of more powerful hardware (the Switch made this sacrifice and it shows).

 

[MarmiteBadger]

Current gen I'm hovering around 40% digital. But majority of digital is back catalogue from Xbox360 backwards compatibility and free monthly games with gold. I still like to buy the physical disc because my internet is kind of crap so installing the base game is no problem with physical media.

In the future I would not be surprise if they completely ditch physical copies of games and went all digital. As a portable? Maybe, but I would like to have a certain percentage off of the portable version with purchase of console version.

 

[Deleted member 465307]

I wouldn't be surprised if a digital-only PS4 launches as the Super Slim 1-3 years from now. I guess it depends on retail relationships because Sony could also just shrink things again with the next node shrink if digital-only would raise tensions with retail.

The portable is a whole different issue because you need a lot of different components to drop in price or become a reality if you want it to literally play PS4 games with no changes except resolution. Mobile tech still needs to mature to produce a chip that can run at PS4-levels with a >1 hour battery life, and flash memory's cost needs to drop to be able to support PS4-sized games both on carts and in internal storage. Nintendo did pretty well with their tech in Switch, so even taking into account cutting out all the Joy-Con cost, it's still a few years away before this would be feasible and at a price that people wouldn't laugh at. My guess is this will be reasonably possible around the time of the PS5, which seems a bit late.

Personally, I'd absolutely be down for a digital-only Super Slim if it means it's smaller, quieter, cooler, and using less power. I have a Switch but am not particularly interested in its hybrid aspects, so the portable is not for me.

EDIT: One interesting idea might be to launch the PS5 in two variants: a console variant that targets 4K and a portable variant that does 720p undocked/1080p docked. AMD is advertising Navi as scalable, and perhaps the gap between 4K and 720p/1080p would be enough to make an equivalent portable feasible in 2020.

 

[ornery]

Depends on if ISP's get rid of caps.

No caps, absolutely.

 

[Mobius 1]

All my libraries are digital now. It made me become more discerning about what I purchase since I'm more thoughtful
over what I want to have long-term.

 

[nekkid]

No

The term "gaming discussion" really went over your head, huh.

 

[infinit777]

super slim disk-less: Sure, if theres a physical to digital program... because at this point in the gen that isn't going to fly for a lot of people.

I would happily switch over if i could convert my physical to digital.


Portable: nah, that dream is over for me.

 

[diablos991]

Slim is not really important to me.

I would love a portable console though. Always like being able to game while lounging in various parts of the house or in hotels when on business travel in a boring city.

 

[tearsintherain]

yes, i'd love a digital tablet that had a place to attach a DS4/XBone controller (to keep prices down) and games are stored on SD card.

Unfortunately i think we're still probably 2-3 years away from the innards being reduced down to tablet size, especially factoring in battery life, screen, heat, etc. I am pretty sure though one of the two will come through in the next year or two, it just makes sense given the vast library. We have some small time steam versions too, including nvidia shield, but shrinking it down a bit more and making it more affordable would be great.

 

[Audioboxer]

Nope, never (on discless). I might be forced one day but then I guess I'd seriously considering going back to PC gaming (DRM free options and I trust Valve more than Sony/MS/Nintendo).

The big three have shown with no retailer competition they would price gouge the fuck out of people with their digital prices. Then there is the far more serious issue of digital ownership rights and how they can nuke them. You only own a license bruh.

They aren't nuking my discs.

I'm thankful for every one person rooting for this future with the XB1 there seemed to be 10 people raging at MS to abort that horrendous original XB1 vision.

If they want to experiment with it as an addition to the family, whatever, I know some people will buy it. The day it's the only option on the table is the day I worry about.

 

[KingdomHeartsFan]

Not a chance, not buying my games digitally on console since they are not gonna be supported forever. If I'm going digital its gonna be on PC.

 

[NastyBook]

Only if MS/Sony offer refunds for digital purchases. Otherwise, nope.