Gaming formats in the near future

[zakthedodo]

I know when CD games came out, especially PSX, the games could hold so much more data than carts, that inserting a plastic housing into a system again was obviously a thing of the past.
Loading times were a bore, but worth it.

Now with media devices such as flash drives, Optical media looks to be inferior due to any number of issues, moving parts, scratches, the system drive just wearing out, ect.

Many games can now just be downloaded.

In many ways this can be considered along the lines of music downloads. The convenience is undeniable but the lack in actual quality is debatable.

Will games revert to a thumb drive, SD content, or are we just going to have to accept that purchases will no longer involve a physical item?

I'm sure limited collector editions of big games will be available with all the bells and whistles as for a company, there's a huge markup and money to be made.

Will downloads be enough?
Just curious, as for one.....and I don't know why. When I was very little, the original ATARI 2600 artwork is still my favorite.
Box art has nothing to do with the game itself, but a nice touch is a nice touch.

I think I came close to making a point somewhere in there.

[substantial_snake]

Downloads and streaming will be enough for the general public so we will see them become the dominate form before long. Its pretty much already happened to PC gaming so consoles won't be too far behind.

Since it reduces packaging/shipping costs and gives developers/publishers more control over the product the people in charge have little reason to hold onto selling physical copies of any format. The only thing really standing in the way of this is the widespread adoption of cheap very high speed internet and with google testing laying down fiber-optic internet service in Kansas City I doubt it will be long.

[Cryomancer]

I sorta want a platform to do some kind of flash media format and have little special cases for each. Like the system takes USB sticks for games, and they're shaped like an item from the game or whatever. Would probably inflate the cost though, sadly, but it'd be a fun thing to collect.

[jb143]

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii12/jeremy_burk/data_cube.jpg

[marlowe221]

I think economics play as big a role as anything else in this discussion. Currently, it is dirt cheap to cut CD/DVD/Blu-ray discs in terms of the cost of manufacture - hence lots of disc format games. Currently, download bandwidth is also ridiculously cheap both for the game distributor and the consumer - hence lots of downloadable games.

The minute any of that changes you can bet your ass that the format in which games are delivered will change as well. This is especially true with downloadable games. The various ISPs of the world already feel that they are not gouging their customers (which are, of course, both companies like Steam/Valve and the individual consumer) for quite all they are worth. Here is an article about Comcast's feelings regarding the rise of streaming services like Netflix:

http://money.cnn.com/2010/11/30/technology/netflix_level3_comcast_traffic/index.htm

It's from two years ago. Imagine how Comast and other bandwidth providers feel now...

Point being - the nanosecond that the ISPs make digital delivery of content financially painful we will back to physical media as the primary method of content delivery (for PC that is, physical media still rules the console world).

Just my $0.02.

[Robocop2]

I sorta want a platform to do some kind of flash media format and have little special cases for each. Like the system takes USB sticks for games, and they're shaped like an item from the game or whatever. Would probably inflate the cost though, sadly, but it'd be a fun thing to collect.

I could actually see something like this working. Maybe not quite as elaborate but something akin to the memory cards of old. For example: you buy X gig memory card (likely proprietary) and go to the online store or even I suppose a B&M store, pay the fee and put the game onto the stick. Take it home and play/save to the HDD etc. etc. Multiple cards could obviously be purchased to keep a library of games and prevent any possible loss of the game for the most part.
Company would make money on the game, the mem stick and in this type of scenario the whole certain areas don't have sufficient internet connection speeds/any connectivity at all quandry would be resolved. Flash is pretty cheap and offloading the cost onto consumers alleviates the cost applied to a game for its storage media.

Of course it crushes the used game market but given the current market's hatred of used games that would hardly be a negative in their eyes.

As long as I could keep my games I really don't worry too too much about used since I hardly ever part with my games at least I haven't this current gen.

[Tupin]

I think economics play as big a role as anything else in this discussion. Currently, it is dirt cheap to cut CD/DVD/Blu-ray discs in terms of the cost of manufacture - hence lots of disc format games. Currently, download bandwidth is also ridiculously cheap both for the game distributor and the consumer - hence lots of downloadable games.

The minute any of that changes you can bet your ass that the format in which games are delivered will change as well. This is especially true with downloadable games. The various ISPs of the world already feel that they are not gouging their customers (which are, of course, both companies like Steam/Valve and the individual consumer) for quite all they are worth. Here is an article about Comcast's feelings regarding the rise of streaming services like Netflix:

http://money.cnn.com/2010/11/30/technology/netflix_level3_comcast_traffic/index.htm

It's from two years ago. Imagine how Comast and other bandwidth providers feel now...

Point being - the nanosecond that the ISPs make digital delivery of content financially painful we will back to physical media as the primary method of content delivery (for PC that is, physical media still rules the console world).

Just my $0.02.
This. Until ISPs can agree with the gaming industry, streaming and digital delivery as the only option are years away.

[The 1 2 P]

The only thing really standing in the way of this is the widespread adoption of cheap very high speed internet and with google testing laying down fiber-optic internet service in Kansas City I doubt it will be long.

This is still the biggie, not only because it varies from state to state and class to class(lower class, middle class, etc) but also country to country. I know that whoever makes those decisions to let an entire catalog go digital may just be waiting for the majority in each case to have the required high speed connection but there will always be people who can't connect. I don't see why the government(in this country atleast) can't force all internet service providers to do mandatory upgrades to high speed connections the same way they did mandatory upgrades to television from analog to digital. Maybe there are certain laws or restrictions preventing this.

[Nebagram]

I've recently got fibre-optic broadband (40MB to be precise) and being a collector aside, I really only see buying a game as download only as a last resort option. In fact, I don't own a single game on any system- PC included- that doesn't have a physical copy of some sort.

The major factor for me for downloading games, though, is storing them. I have an ungodly amount of tat I haven't played in years clogging up both my 360 and my PS3, and I can't bring myself to delete any of it just in case I want to go back and play it some day. This includes such classics as numblast on the PS3 and undertow on the 360, so you can see just deep the problem goes. If consoles want to be download only in the future, they'd better ship with hard drives that have a TB suffix.

[Griking]

I sorta want a platform to do some kind of flash media format and have little special cases for each. Like the system takes USB sticks for games, and they're shaped like an item from the game or whatever. Would probably inflate the cost though, sadly, but it'd be a fun thing to collect.


Plus you know that Sony would just make something proprietary and charge 3x for it.

[RP2A03]

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii12/jeremy_burk/data_cube.jpg



Speaking of holographic storage, I am still very disappointed that we never got those holographic discs we were promised a few years ago.

[Gameguy]

If they went back to punch cards it could eliminate piracy, nobody would want to copy hundreds or thousands of cards to play a game for free.

[The 1 2 P]

If they went back to punch cards it could eliminate piracy, nobody would want to copy hundreds or thousands of cards to play a game for free.

I think you are underestimating the boredom of pirates.

[RP2A03]

I think you are underestimating the boredom of pirates.

That and the fact that you could just use a row of flashing LEDs connected to a microcontroller to simulate holes or lack thereof.

[retroman]

need to have a hard copy on my shelf, F this download crap.

[GizzyGames]

My guess would be downloading or some type of flash cards

[stalepie]

I'm happy to just go all digital. I mean, I live in a world where people pay $17 just for a plastic case... http://www.ebay.com/itm/shin-megami-tensei-persona-3-ps-2-Original-Replacement-Case-NO-GAME-INCLUDED-/110760820845?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19c9dc006d

but I get why people like hard copies.

[duffmanth]

I think the next batch of consoles will be a combination of higher storage Blu-ray discs and digital downloads? Sadly, the digital download thing will probably become commonplace after that? It would be cool to have games come on little flash cards, but probably too pricey to manufacture? Like previously mentioned, discs and digital download are the cheapest ways to manufacture and distribute games, so that'll be the norm for a while.

[Dr. BaconStein]

I have mixed feelings towards digital. If you had asked me about it a year or two ago I would've said it's a horrible disgusting practice and takes all ownership away from the customer. After getting my JXD S5110 and trying it for myself I see that it's not so bad, but there is definitely some sense of possession/sentimental value that is lost when there's no physical copy to hold. I can see how any game collector could hate it for that reason alone.

It definitely has its benefits though, mainly the price. Growing up I realize most games just aren't worth their retail value these days. There's no reason to pay $30-$60 for a game I'm only going to play for a few weeks tops and then only return to it every now and then. Unless it's an old game for one of the early consoles (CIB obviously as it's still way too high for just a cart), most of which can be played through in one sitting at any time, so I return to them more often.

There's also some fun to be had in collecting digital-based devices themselves. Most of them are in the $90-$150 range, which, while maybe not as cheap as a clone console, is still much cheaper than your average mainstream game system. I'm definitely interested in systems such as OUYA which, despite their Android-centric technology, remain mostly dedicated to gaming.

What I really don't like though, is cloud gaming. Being able to 'play anything from anywhere' (which is partially false anyway) sounds great on paper, but it's just way too easy to exploit and rip customers off completely. I say down with the cloud, it's an interesting experiment but not the kind of thing I would trust at all long-term, at least not in its current state.

[BlastProcessing402]

need to have a hard copy on my shelf, F this download crap.

+infinity

Downloads might be the future, but they're not MY future. I'll stop gaming before I buy a download only console.