PS4 and physical media

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Source: hdtvuk.tv

There's an interesting discussion thread going on over at Kotaku.com - it's all started because Sony have been muttering about Playstation 4 (sheesh, we haven't even got the PS3 yet) - and apparently Phil Harrison said he'd be amazed if the PS4 had a physical disc drive.

The blog post itself suggests that doesn't bode well for Blu-ray. Well, Playstation isn't the be-all-and-end-all of Blu-ray, but it's quite a big factor.

What the commentary brings out is the issue of physical media vs downloads - and that goes far beyond Playstation or even gaming. It has the potential to affect all types of digital content.

Some of the main points coming out in the comments:

* Who'd want or be able to download 20 Gigs per game? Internet connections are going to have to get a lot faster with higher (or no) limits.

* "Whichever format wins the next-gen DVD war will likely be the last physical format. Downloads are the way everything's going"

* "I'm all for digital content, and the technology will definitely get there someday. But that doesn't necessarily mean that's the right thing to do." (getting rid of physical media)

* "I'd much rather buy a physical product, that has a case and a manual I can touch"

Has physical media had its day? What about the next-next-generation of holographic discs? People have to physically store content somewhere, and back it up too.

I don't think downloads and streaming are going to be the dominant format of content delivery any time soon.
 
That could lead to unheardof levels of piracy by just downloading all the media. Someone could just download a 20 gig game to their hard drive, put it on Limewire and BAM! Piracy, ahoy!

Physical media will be the way, IMO for at least another 5 years.
 
I think they should leave downloads for patches only , lets say if you have a 800 GB hard disk of some sort on you machine (which you will need to store the games on ) , and considering that game quality will increase for PS4 which mean that games will grow larger in size and might hit 40 GB in size , that mean you only 20 ?? How could you have more what happens if there is a virus at least CD, DVD, Blu ray...ect can't be effected by viruses .....
 
samj_13
Physical media will be the way, IMO for at least another 5 years.
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So until before the PS4 comes out then? :sly:

It'll all depend on the evolution of Internet connections. Even on a T1 ([FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1.544 Mbps)[/SIZE][/FONT] line now, a 50gb game would take over 3 days non-stop to download.

Unless the standard Internet connection by the time PS3 comes out is at least [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]10 Mbps, it won't happen.

Another thing. Imagine this situation, GT7 comes out, everybody rushes out to download it the second it comes out. 100 million people simulatiously downloading one thing? The price Sony would have to pay for technology like that I would think would out-weight any advantage you get buy not having to use physical media (Which cost next to nothing anyway).
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Fibre optic cables connections will be coming down even more in price soon.
 
I'm thinking it will be more like this.

Games are released on DVD/Blu-Ray etc etc (whichever format blah blah) and will only contain base code and login information.

The remainder of the game, or portions of the game, won't be "downloaded" all at once, rather, they will be streamed to your PS4. Your local disc may load basic code, a few textures here and there, but most other data will all be streamed to your console, thus, it would make pirating very difficult, however, it would also make playing games impossible without an internet connection.

But, who knows, it's all only speculation after all, even from the CEO, nothing is solid.
 
I don't like it. If you download your games, you will eventually run out of space to store your stuff. I'd much rather have a disc with my game on it, than to have to delete games to make space (which you don't have a backup of!) or upgrading hardrives. I think the gaming industry really needs to avoid the loss of physical drives at all costs.
 

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