Are consoles becoming disposable???

[Atari Creep]

Hey guys. I wanted to post this here rather than my thread in the YouTube community because I wanted to start a conversation and also learn from you kool kats. I am not very up to date on my modern gaming knowledge and may have gotten a few things wrong, so this is why I ask this.

Thanks.

 

STRONG LANGUAGE

 

 

 

[StormSurge]

Here's my thoughts.

While I do fear what happens when you lose the license for a downloadable game (hence why I try to buy physical when possible), I also think the fears are a tad overblown.

Example. I've been in the Xbox ecosystem since 2005 when I bought my 360. I was a huge fan of the Xbox Live Arcade. It started with downloading classic games like Gauntlet, Ms. Pac Man, etc., they eventually released soooo many great new games.

Over the years, I purchased at least 50 games just from the XBLA. Some of those games are no longer able to be purchased, as their licenses expired & weren't renewed by Microsoft.

Let's use Ms. Pac Man as an example. (This is all hypothetical) It's released as a digital only title on the XBLA in 2006, lots of people buy it & in 2010, the license expires & the game is pulled from the store. 

If you've already purchased it, the game is still on your hard drive & you can play it whenever you want. If you haven't purchased it, you're SOL.

Let's say you bought it when it was available but your 360 sh*t the bed or you deleted it by accident or in my case, your hard drive crapped out. Guess what? You can still download it. If you log in to your purchase history on xbox.com, you can see all the games you've purchased & a link to redownload them, even if they are no longer available.

In addition, I like the convenience of seeing a game, pushing a button & after a few minutes of downloading, I'm playing it. I take advantage of a lot of great deals on sales, free games, etc. & those are always digital purchase.

One more thing that kind of validates your point. This one I'm more than okay with. I still have my 360 connected to the same TV as my XBox One X. There's a lot of games I still want to play on my 360, but many of them are becoming backwards compatible with the Xbox One. I would LOVE to be able to dispose of my 360 if the day ever comes when all of the games I want to play are backwards compatible.

I think the disc-less XBox One is a good idea IF it was cheaper than the one with the disc drive. $50 is not worth the savings, IMO. Also, I'm not sure why retailers would want to carry a discless console, considering they won't receive any revenues from digital game purchases. I assume they make good money on selling physical copies, hence why there's lots of "Buy 2, Get One Free" offers at Target.

Sorry for my rambling thoughts @Atari Creep 😀

[Atari Creep]

No dude, thats great. My main worry is when the console is no longer suppirted and the games go bye bye. Again, that will be the new reality to future generations and I am sure they will be whatever about it. Its the going back a number of years latter to enjoy the past that bumms me out. Great response bro, thanks. 

[StormSurge]

Yes, if/when (I'm sure it's inevitable) games go 100% digital with no physical options, it will certainly be a sad day.

[Justin]

Unfortunately I think we're going to see consoles phased out entirely, as we know them. We already have apps for our phones and iPads, Apple TV and Alexa. Eventually most gaming that happens on the television screen will either be powered by one of those devices or by the smart TV itself. The rise of platforms like Google Stadia are an example of this industry shift.

What does that future look like? Think of the results. No physical copies, no resale market, stores such as GameStop will dry up, as will video game departments in other retail locations. It all sounds so boring. I hope this won't be the case. We will always have these classic games and consoles as long as we keep them alive.

[TrekMD]

It'll be interesting to see what happens with Google Stadia as it does represent a shift and it can still be played on a TV like one does with a console.  I wonder if this will pick up or it will flounder.  I suppose, as with consoles, the titles on it will have a lot to do with it.

[Justin]

It's hard to imagine consoles disappearing. I think there will be a lot of resistance to that. VCRs, DVD players and CD players have all but disappeared though, for the most part morphing into a single box in our living room. It will be interesting to see if video games are the next thing to get sucked into that box.

[Atari Creep]

16 minutes ago, Justin said:

It's hard to imagine consoles disappearing. I think there will be a lot of resistance to that. VCRs, DVD players and CD players have all but disappeared though, for the most part morphing into a single box in our living room. It will be interesting to see if video games are the next thing to get sucked into that box.

Yup

[Justin]

BTW @Atari Creep I love your thumbnail for this one, that's a great image lmao 😂

[Atari Creep]

4 minutes ago, Justin said:

BTW @Atari Creep I love your thumbnail for this one, that's a great image lmao 😂

HAHA thanks man. That image of me was left over from a previous videos thumb. It was a I'm frustrated so lets chat video. Figured it kind of fit here too. 

[Atari 5200 Guy]

Like StormSurge I'm in the green corner but since the original XBOX.  I've had good experiences with the consoles and their games.  But it can also be an expensive adventure.  On XBOX 360, in order for any/all profiles on a single to play online each profile (person) has to have a LIVE Gold account.  That's at the very least $5/month or $60/year.  For my wife and I to play certain games on a single console together we had to invest in that.  With XBOX One only one account on the console has to have a Gold account.  That membership is spread to any/all accounts created/moved to the XBOX One.  My wife and I found a loop-hole also.  We were allowed to play a 360 game together with me on an actual 360 and her on an XBOX One playing a 360 game with me having the Gold account.  So that helped.  I do enjoy XBOX's Game Pass.  For a low cost you get to play full versions of games until they are pulled from the program.  A great way to try before you buy.  I try to get physical copies whenever I can as well because I enjoy holding something in my hands where I can study the artwork or manual.  Hell, XBOX One games don't come with manuals at all.  Just the disc in a fancy case.  That's it.

To my eyes the disc-less XBOne is about dumb.  Then again I guess it makes sense to those who don't purchase physical copies for whatever reason...but it leaves your purchases at the mercy of the service provider.  And if they decide to pull the plug your system will most likely be bricked.  With the disc drive it at least could have the chance to still play "new" games for years after the fact.

As for disposable systems I fear that the digital age will make this a common thing.  As I mentioned before, as long as a system maintains a way to use physical copies then it will still have a purpose for years to come long after the digital service, if any, wear out.  It's to be expected.  Look at what happened to the Wii when Nintendo pulled the plug on it's online services for the system.  Lots of games are now lost forever...at least to those that never got to play them.  It's safe to say that a similar thing can happen to any modern console that goes the route of digital only.