Although more and more people are switching from physical media to digital, some still just prefer to buy games the old-fashioned way: discs. However, a new report indicates that may not be possible for the rumored disc-less Xbox One that may be coming next year.
Thurrott is reporting that Microsoft is developing an Xbox One that will take not take physical discs. People who own physical discs would be able to play their games through a disc to digital program. This would be a program where you could take physical copies of your games, give them to a participating retailer, and then trade the disc for a digital download.
The report says that the goal of this new version of the Xbox One is to lower the price point, which currently sits at $299.99. It’s possible that this could be a cheaper alternative to a console, much like how the Nintendo 2DS is cheaper than the 3DS.
It also brings up how this involves Microsoft’s next generation of consoles, which is codenamed Scarlett. The report says, however, that this new Xbox is not a part of the Scarlett project. They also haven’t decided if Scarlett devices (rumor indicates there may be more than one) will support physical media either, but they will reportedly be making that decision soon.
One of the Scarlett machines is allegedly a streaming-only device. The report stated that this Xbox will be cheaper than the other Scarlett Xbox and will stream its games from the cloud. Some of the work will be done locally while the rest will be done in said cloud.
This is all rumor and not confirmed by Microsoft itself. But it does bring an interesting question: how close are we to getting rid of physical media once and for all? If Microsoft takes the plunge, perhaps others will as well, and physical video game discs may go the way of vinyl.
