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No discs for PS4

When it comes to disc technology in the next-generation console market, Sony is making a Blu-ray drive standard on both the $499 and $599 versions of its PS3, whereas Microsoft has decided to play it safe by using traditional DVD-9 media with its XBOX 360. While many like to point to a “Blu-ray vs HD DVD” battle in the console arena, one must take into account that no XBOX 360 games will use HD DVD media and the HD DVD drive will be an optional, external USB unit aimed at playing back high-definition movies. Microsoft has also stated that it has no plans to offer an XBOX 360 with an integrated HD DVD drive. With that being said, even though Sony's PlayStation 3 has yet to hit store shelves, Sony is already talking about its successor. Sony's Phil Harrison believes that the PlayStation 4 will forgo discs altogether.

With the rising popularity of using an online marketplace to download games, additional game content, demos and movie trailers, many are questioning the need for physical media in the future. “I’d be amazed if the PlayStation 4 has a physical disc drive,” said Harrison to Wired Magazine. While the market may not be quite to the point where a 100% digital distribution model would be feasible for console gamers, it may be ripe for the picking when the PlayStation 4 is released.

Looking at the PS2, it has been on the market for 6 years. Both NVIDIA and Sony have stated that the PS3 will have a shelf life of 10 years -- that pushes us to 2016 for PS4. Perhaps by 2016, large-scale digital distribution of game and movie content and high-speed Internet connections will be at a point where such a model would be feasible for a home console.

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just predicting the future
By PurdueRy on 8/4/2006 2:30:31 PM , Rating: 3
Allow me to make a few predictions:

1. PS4 will come out around 2011...the normal console cycle. Not 10 years from now

2. They will still use a disc drive

C'mon now Sony...lets get realistic. You can't even build a top of the line computer and have it not be outdated in 4-5 years tops. You REALLY expect the PS3 to hold us to 2016?

As for dropping disc drives for downloadable content. Well, it would work but I don't think any company would go solely for a electronic distribution method. Seems the perfect way to invite rampant game pirating(more than now).

But then again, I wouldn't be surprised if Sony decided to release a solid state hard disk in the PS4 just to make it more expensive




RE: just predicting the future
By michal1980 on 8/4/06, Rating: -1
RE: just predicting the future
By KingViper on 8/4/2006 2:50:57 PM , Rating: 1
Yea, real nice comparison.

"Well, Gas has tripled in price, so we should be happy everything else hasn't gone up in price too"

That completly justifies the cost of the PS3 and everything else in the entire universe.

"Well, I was gonna buy *, but I dont know if I can afford ** right now. What? You should be lucky its not ***, buy it before they decide to inflate the price."

* - Any product besides gas
** - The price of that product
*** - ** x 3


By epsilonparadox on 8/4/2006 2:56:23 PM , Rating: 2
Thanks for the legend. I was getting confused.


RE: just predicting the future
By PurdueRy on 8/4/2006 3:06:09 PM , Rating: 2
That's quite the interesting comparison


RE: just predicting the future
By epsilonparadox on 8/4/2006 2:40:09 PM , Rating: 2
In a closed network for a console, downloadable games will be harder to pirate.


RE: just predicting the future
By Nocturnal on 8/4/2006 10:36:03 PM , Rating: 2
Harder but not unstoppable. There will be people [b]determined[/b] or should I say hellbent on cracking the security on any type of downloadable content and I can only begin to imagine what type of opportunities hackers will have to play with in the future.


RE: just predicting the future
By TheDoc9 on 8/4/2006 4:59:18 PM , Rating: 3
It's just misleading propaganda. What he really means is that the ps4 will be out in 4-6 years, while the ps3 will still see games developed for it for up to 10 years. Much like the Ps1, although there weren't many games developed for it in the end, they just retired it after 10.

And no, there is no way that the infestruture will be available world wide for such a product. These machines will continue to have some form of removable media for at least 20 - 30 years.


By Chernobyl68 on 8/4/2006 6:12:33 PM , Rating: 2
i think the retailers will have a lot to say if they do this. How much of the sales to do you think the PS3 games are, of an average game retailer's income?



RE: just predicting the future
By agent2099 on 8/4/2006 9:46:22 PM , Rating: 2
Well one thing is for sure, there is no way the PS4 is comming out in 2016. No console has that long a lifespan. Unless, of course, Sony gains a monopoly in the market this generation and forces Microsoft and Nintendo out of the console business. THEN you can be assured Sony will milk the PS3 as long as it can.

Knownig that, by say 2011 or 2012, when the PS4 is more likely to come out, there is not a chance the infrastructure will be there to have a console without an optical drive.


By Christopher1 on 8/6/2006 12:39:45 PM , Rating: 1
What about the Atari and the Nintendo Entertainment system? They lasted, in the case of the Atari, for 15 years, and in the case of the NES, 10 years.

Consoles CAN last that long if manufacturers of games are willing to try and push the limits of the machines that they are making their games for. The problem is, that usually the consoles are ALREADY pushed to their limits when the first games come out, because the specifications for the system are known right away.


RE: just predicting the future
By tygrus on 8/6/2006 11:31:35 PM , Rating: 2
Yeah, it's crazy for Sony to plan for a 10year wait until PS4. They should have had a PS2.5 as a 2x speed boost using same tech on smaller fab (eg. 90nm vs ? 180nm or 130nm?) about a year ago. Would play old games the same and allow newer titles to aim higher and better compete with early XBOX2. Microsoft could have released a XBOX1.5 using the same 2x CPU with >2x GPU policy and saved a lot of hassel and maintained higher revenue for less R&D. It would keep them closer to the middle/volume market instead of high$$$/early-adopter technology as the CPU&GPU is at time of release-to-manufacturing (take 6m to 12m before meeting global demand and bring cost down). What's wrong with buying two $350 consoles over 8 years verses one $600 console now, that's uses far out of date technology in 4 years time and must wait another 4-6yrs for update to be released.


RE: just predicting the future
By lationheat465 on 11/26/2006 4:05:16 PM , Rating: 2
If the ps4 doesnt have disks then where will we get the games? if we half to get the games off the internet then I think the ps4 wont be a big hit. I think that because some people might not have a computer.that will make the playstation co. loose money

by:lationheat465


no more selling your used games
By Rage187 on 8/4/2006 2:27:28 PM , Rating: 4
looks like Sony will finally have their way and you will not be able to sell your old games.




By shadowzz on 8/4/2006 2:29:06 PM , Rating: 2
Yep, not surprised here. They will probably have all purchases via the internet, which is nice and convient -- but you if you don't like the title anymore good luck trying to sell it to babbages.


RE: no more selling your used games
By reboos on 8/4/2006 2:59:26 PM , Rating: 2
Sony will probably supplement discs with a mix of memory stick type media and downloadable content. They will probably make the cost per title less for downloadable content to help influence its acceptance. And HD will be in the terabytes by then so no worry on space issues.


By Decaydence on 8/5/2006 1:39:56 AM , Rating: 4
I highly doubt they will reduce the price of titles simply because there is no physical media; they will keep those savings for themselves. There are two examples that prove my point in play currently. Xbox 360 games are on the same physical media as their xbox counterparts and cost more money. Also, game downloading services for the PC charge the same amount for a game as they would if you purchased it in the store.

Out of all the companies in the world, I highly doubt Sony will be the one to pass the savings of new technologies onto its customers.


RE: no more selling your used games
By tuteja1986 on 8/4/2006 9:28:51 PM , Rating: 2
Ahh , they been talking, all last year and this year on how they are going to have supper cool Virtual Console PS1 games for the PSP but i still haven't seen a software or a plan on how they are going to deliver the content.


By mendocinosummit on 8/4/2006 11:34:58 PM , Rating: 2
It will be hacked and will be distributed via torrents or some sort of firmware for torrents for the PS4 console itself.


By DangerIsGo on 8/5/2006 9:17:16 AM , Rating: 2
Well if they are all downloaded to the PS4, then if you want to sell your PS4 with the games, everything is in one bundle, but if your intention is to keep the unit and sell the games individually, your screwed.


Hard drive space
By dagamer34 on 8/4/2006 2:47:20 PM , Rating: 2
So with each HD game using maybe 30GB (being REAL optomistic here), you'd be able to fit around 7 games on a 250GB HD. Oh, and what's this, you can let a friend borrow the game?

Complete BS. It's comments like these that make me wonder why Sony still exists.




RE: Hard drive space
By dagamer34 on 8/4/2006 2:47:59 PM , Rating: 2
can't*

DT needs an edit function. -__-