Will all XBOX One games be placed on Blu-ray discs like the PS3 and PS4?

[HDTV1080P]

All the Playstation 3 optical disc based games 100% of the time use Blu-ray discs and the Playstation 4 will do the same. The XBOX One videogame system will play Blu-ray movies with its built in Blu-ray drive. Will the XBOX One videogame system also use Blu-ray discs (BD-ROM’s) for 100% of their games? Technically, if the game is 8.5GB or less it could be placed on a DVD-ROM disc since the XBOX One system copies the game image to the internal hard drive instead of playing the videogames directly from the Blu-ray drive. Hopefully the new XBOX One system will allow external 4TB hard drives to be used since several years in the future a large collection of games is going to take up a lot of hard drive space and 500GB of hard drive storage will not be enough for some users.

I am glad to see Microsoft support Blu-ray now (Hopefully the next Windows system will also). This allows Microsoft to make videogames up to 50GB in size without data compression, and with data compression the games on Blu-ray can even be larger.

Perhaps Nintendo or other videogame systems will start using Blu-ray technology for its games. Now all consumers need is some high quality PC games that use Blu-ray discs.

The following article suggests that the XBOX One games are linked to a single users account which means reselling ones used XBOX One videogames on EBAY would not be allowed, also this would prevent the possibility to rent XBOX One games at the local Blockbuster or Redbox unless Microsoft makes a special rental version.

Quote:

“Games for Microsoft's new Xbox One will be shipped as Blu-ray discs, but won't be required to be in the console disc-drive every time you want to game. Speaking to Wired, Microsoft confirmed that games will install to the 500GB hard drive one time and will run directly off the console.”

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/121182-xbox-one-will-use-blu-ray-discs-for-games-one-time-installation-to-hard-drive

Quotes:

“Microsoft’s Xbox One will change the whole process of playing games by including Blu-ray discs and using a mandatory install system. First off, Microsoft decided to add a new Blu-ray system into their new console, giving developers way more storage space for games than the traditional double layered discs.”

“It sounds good, right? But there is a catch to it. All new purchased games will have a mandatory install, that will be locked to your Xbox Live account. You can install the game only once and only on one account. Yes, you can play the games without having to insert the disc into the console, but if you want to run the game into another console you will have to pay a small fee. This hole system, as inovative it is, bashes the hole used games market.”

http://gotgame.com/2013/05/21/blu-ray-discs-and-mandatory-installs-for-xbox-one-games-confirmed/

[partridge]

I don't think it really matters what the games are on; all they are is a delivery method. The game will be automatically ripped to the Xbox hard drive, leaving you to put the disc away.

It's quite sneaky really, almost like MS have had to accept that the world isn't yet ready for digital downloads so they are using blu-ray instead of the internet. Once the game is on the drive, you don't need the disc it came on.

That's not a bad thing, I do like having games on my PS3 via PS+ and I wouldn't mind the option of installing games to a PS4 but presumably Sony would then have to look at a similar lock out system like MS are having to do.

[HDTV1080P]

Yes there are advantages to copying all the optical discs games to a fast hard drive, however the big disadvantage is that one cannot let a friend borrow a game or if you get tired of a game and want to sell it on EBAY its not possible. In the future all videogames and movies most likely will be licensed like computer software which prevents consumers from transferring ownership or reselling the used product. Streaming movies and downloaded movies are already that way (ownership can not be transfered to another persons account).

[ReverendSlim]

Originally Posted by partridge

I don't think it really matters what the games are on; all they are is a delivery method. The game will be automatically ripped to the Xbox hard drive, leaving you to put the disc away.

It's quite sneaky really, almost like MS have had to accept that the world isn't yet ready for digital downloads so they are using blu-ray instead of the internet. Once the game is on the drive, you don't need the disc it came on.

That's not a bad thing, I do like having games on my PS3 via PS+ and I wouldn't mind the option of installing games to a PS4 but presumably Sony would then have to look at a similar lock out system like MS are having to do.

And since Sony has said that PS4 will install games to the HDD in the background the first time you put the disc in and you'll be able to swap games without swapping discs, the question of how they're handling DRM remains unanswered. Personally, I don't believe Microsoft came up with this idea in a vacuum... I think this is something both Microsoft and Sony had to discuss with developers because of the needs of the new systems. And ultimately, developers/publishers have been beating the used games drum for 3+ years anyway, so I can't imagine them not wanting this. It's also evident that GameStop had conversations with both Microsoft and Sony in advance of all this hullabaloo, since they've stated outright that there will still be used game sales on PS4 and Xbox One.

[HDTV1080P]

So if the Sony PS4 and XBOX One allow the optical disc based games to be copied to the hard drive, then most likely those games will be locked per user account without the option to sell the games or transfer ownership of the games to another person. There goes the used game market unless Microsoft and Sony come up with a way to delete and disable the copied games on the hard drive so that ownership of the game can be transfered to another user.

[partridge]

Do you know what, I had completely missed Sony saying that, is this correct? I thought PS4 games were running from the disc?

[R3P0]

Originally Posted by partridge

Do you know what, I had completely missed Sony saying that, is this correct? I thought PS4 games were running from the disc?

No Sony has always said the Install files will be copied to a HDD in the background They have just not said how much will be copied.

[ReverendSlim]

Originally Posted by R3P0

No Sony has always said the Install files will be copied to a HDD in the background They have just not said how much will be copied.

Well, from the Gamasutra interview with Mark Cerny, it seems like ALL of it.

[Steelmaker]

Originally Posted by partridge

I don't think it really matters what the games are on; all they are is a delivery method. The game will be automatically ripped to the Xbox hard drive, leaving you to put the disc away.

It's quite sneaky really, almost like MS have had to accept that the world isn't yet ready for digital downloads so they are using blu-ray instead of the internet. Once the game is on the drive, you don't need the disc it came on.

That's not a bad thing, I do like having games on my PS3 via PS+ and I wouldn't mind the option of installing games to a PS4 but presumably Sony would then have to look at a similar lock out system like MS are having to do.

But see, that's MS' problem with pretty much the entire design of Xbox One. Users aren't being given any OPTIONS! You can't opt to NOT install your games. You can't opt NOT to have Kinect connected. You can't opt to NOT to be internet connected.

[ReverendSlim]

Originally Posted by Steelmaker

But see, that's MS' problem with pretty much the entire design of Xbox One. Users aren't being given any OPTIONS! You can't opt to NOT install your games. You can't opt NOT to have Kinect connected. You can't opt to NOT to be internet connected.

As far as the installation goes, at a certain point, it becomes necessary. It's a matter of data throughput and seek times, and hard drives will always be faster than optical media for random seeks. When you're talking about sequential data like a movie, not as big a deal... but games don't work that way. That's why there's so much redundancy in current-gen games - because they have to put certain core files on several areas of the disc so that they're accessible for play straight from disc. And that redundancy is horribly inefficient when space is an issue. That's why both PS4 and Xbox One are installing to HDD. You can't expect them to advance CPU, GPU and memory and still rely on slower optical media as the delivery system to the hardware.

[xXI GaMe IXx]

Will we be able to play PS4 games when its not in the drive?

[ReverendSlim]

Originally Posted by xXI GaMe IXx

Will we be able to play PS4 games when its not in the drive?

Ah, that's the burning question, and we simply don't know yet. The inference during the developer interviews at their conference was that you would be able to swap from game to game without changing discs, which logically means you wouldn't have the disc for the other game in the drive. However, you can also infer from their statement that you didn't need to go online that at the very least, you will be able to play a game with the disc in the drive if you're not connected to the internet. I'm hoping that if you ARE connected to the net, you'll be able to have your library on the HDD and jump in and out of games quickly as you get invites, with your current game state suspended so you can come back to it. Seems like both systems are angling for that.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by HDTV1080P

So if the Sony PS4 and XBOX One allow the optical disc based games to be copied to the hard drive, then most likely those games will be locked per user account without the option to sell the games or transfer ownership of the games to another person. There goes the used game market unless Microsoft and Sony come up with a way to delete and disable the copied games on the hard drive so that ownership of the game can be transfered to another user.

At this point there is some info missing.


From the looks of it MS is using a data table that would regularly need updating from the internet. This way if you trade in your game your code will be stopped and the next time you go on-line (or after a set amount of time if you say "ha!HA! I will just not go on-line") it won't allow you to play the game.


That is where a lot of the issue is from since there might be real reasons why a console won't be connected (in a given time) to the internet. It might not be someone trying to continue playing a game he got rid of. MS has also not said how all of this will work and if there will be fees

As for Sony we know even less. The only difference is they have said the PS4 DRM won't affect trading games and a PS4 will never need to be connected to the internet. It could be as simple as even though game data is on the PS4HDD (just like some games this generation that copy all the data to the HDD) the disk is still used to make sure you have the game. But who really knows, maybe they thought of a way where the game is not needed in the player and it does not need to check on the internet that you did not trade the game in.

[HDTV1080P]

That would be ideal if Sony and Microsoft allowed the optical disc games to be sold on EBAY (ownership transfer). The big question is well people that purchase used PS4 and XBOX One games going to be required to pay a activation fee to install the used game they purchased? Consumers will need to wait for further details from Sony and Microsoft.

One way the Sony PS4 or Microsoft XBOX One could verify that a consumer still owns the game on optical disc is to require the consumer to place the optical disc in the Blu-ray drive if an Internet connection does not occur every 24 hours or so. That way consumers without an Internet connection could still play the games. The game consoles that lost Internet connection after 24 hours should prompt the consumer to insert the optical disc that contains the game in order to be able to continue playing the game image from the hard drive.

[ReverendSlim]

Fingers crossed that BOTH systems work that way so we can go back to focusing on how cool the games are (hopefully) going to be.

[HDTV1080P]

“But it elicited the largest applause of the day after Jack Tretton, Sony Computer Entertainment America president, said the new platform would enable playing used, borrowed and older PlayStation 4 titles, allowing discs to be sold or given away after use, and would not require the system to be connected to the Internet in order to continue playing.”

“Microsoft said in a statement last week that it will not mandate any “platform fee” for used games, but will leave to individual publishers the decision to charge players to activate or re-register a pre-owned title.”

- See more at: http://www.twice.com/articletype/news/sony-microsoft-go-toe-toe-console-send-offs/107325#sthash.lcmxNIWE.dpuf

[MerrickG]

Originally Posted by xXI GaMe IXx

Will we be able to play PS4 games when its not in the drive?

I VERY seriously doubt it. How would they stop people from just renting games and copying them to the HD?

Sure pirates do just that, but it wouldnt be that easy

nor should it be.

[Icemage]

Originally Posted by xXI GaMe IXx

Will we be able to play PS4 games when its not in the drive?

If you buy a disc, probably not. If that's a feature you care about, just buy digital?

Also, the question about non-Blu-ray games is silly. All games on both systems will ship on Blu-ray for physical media; there's no reason to use DVD at this point.

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by MerrickG

I VERY seriously doubt it. How would they stop people from just renting games and copying them to the HD?

Sure pirates do just that, but it wouldnt be that easy

nor should it be.

If no Internet connection occurs after 24 hours they would just have a message pop up on the screen that requires one to insert the disc, or the game on the hard drvie will be disabled.

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by Icemage

Also, the question about non-Blu-ray games is silly. All games on both systems will ship on Blu-ray for physical media; there's no reason to use DVD at this point.

The Sony PS3 uses 100% Blu-ray discs for its games and so will the PS4 in theory. However since the XBOX One and new PS4 copy the game image to the hard drive, there is a possibility that some games that are only 8.5GB or less in space(or even larger with lossless data compression) might be placed on a DVD-ROM disc for the XBOX One. Hopefully most games will use 25GB and 50GB Blu-ray discs. With data compression a 50GB Blu-ray disc will even store more GB’s worth of data.

It’s too bad 128GB BDXL drives were not used by Sony and Microsoft. Several years down the road someone might want to make a 128GB size game for the PS4 and XBOX One (BDXL would be perfect for larger size games).