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The latest version of the Xbox One will look a lot like the last, with a finer form factor than the original Xbox One. But there is a big difference. The new device will not have a disk drive. It is an all-digital console that will rely on games downloaded by users on the Internet. Is this the future of the game?
A man plays video games on his television.
Source of the image: Getty Images.
The transition to digital
When Microsoft announced the Xbox One for the first time, the fans were not very happy. Fans of the new Microsoft console have had some issues, especially regarding digital rights management for physical copies of games. According to the rules provided by Microsoft, game developers could have prevented physical game buyers from installing them multiple times or playing them offline. This meant that consumers would not have been able to resell such games on the secondary market – or even take them to a friend's house to play them or lend them to someone else.
The fans were so angry that Microsoft canceled some of his plans.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "But how are the times changing." These days, the physical game disks – despite the resale and portability benefits mentioned above – give ground to their digital equivalents.In 2018, digital game sales would have jumped 17% of one year on the other in the world. In the UK, 80% of all video game revenue is now digital. "Data-reactid =" 28 "> But how are the times changing Nowadays, physical game discs – despite the resale and portability advantages mentioned above – are losing ground In 2018, digital games sales would have jumped 17% from the rest of the world In the UK, 80% of all video game revenue is now digital.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "In the future, it seems that few people want to buy a video game about a physical object in a store.In this sense, the new fully digital Xbox seems to be a sign of the future – it would not be a big surprise if a disk drive is not even an option the next-generation Xbox, though & nbsp;Sonyof (NYSE: SNE)& nbsp; The next generation of PlayStation would have one. "data-reactid =" 29 "> In the future, it seems, few people will want to buy a video game on a physical object in a store.The all-digital Xbox seems to be a sign of the future. future – it would not be a surprise if a disk drive is not even an option on the next generation of Xbox, although Sonyof (NYSE: SNE) the next generation of PlayStation would have one.
From the moment – but not for long
But if 100% digital consoles may be the solution of the near future, other trends could give the 100% digital Xbox an archaic look in a few years.
Consider that while the new Xbox does not have a disk drive, it still contains many other things that have long defined video game systems. There is heavy equipment in every department where a game may need it. It has a first-rate graphics processing unit (GPU), a lot of RAM and a good dose of this other type of memory – long-term storage – in the form of a hard drive that would have 1 terabyte capacity.
<p class = "canvas-atom-canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "On the other hand, another model for future systems, Alphabetof (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Stadia, has virtually no onboard memory. Indeed, Alphabet bet a different, and arguably much more important, change in the way video games are consumed: Alphabet thinks that cloud gaming, in which the game itself lives on distant servers and is delivered to player via the Internet, is the next big thing in games. "data-reactid =" 34 "> On the other hand, another model for future systems, Alphabetof (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Stadia, has virtually no onboard memory. Indeed, Alphabet bet a different change, and probably much more important, in the way video games are consumed: Alphabet believes that the game in cloud, in which the game lives on distant servers and is delivered to the player via Internet , thing in the games.
While online gaming devices such as Stadia need enough hardware to quickly communicate over the Internet and display impressive images on players' screens, they can rely on remote hardware to improve loading times and perform tasks. Other tasks that would be the responsibility of the traditional players. of each player's machine.
Your mileage with cloud gaming machines will likely vary with the quality of your internet connection. But that is already the case with online multiplayer games, even when they are played on devices capable of handling a game similar to a single player. In short, it seems that cloud gaming devices will be able to do everything that their older (and probably more expensive) storage cousins can do.
The future, for the moment
<p class = "canvas-atom web-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "We are in the very first days of the cloud Several companies are betting a lot, but so far, there are not many ways to play: the owners of the Sony PlayStation can stream games via the Sony PlayStation Plus, and PC owners from game can try NVIDIAGeForce now, but no one seems ready to eliminate the bulk of hardware devices: for the most part, you play a device with local storage like a PlayStation or a gaming PC. sure.& nbsp; For now, there is no reason to expect big consoles with embedded hard drives to disappear. As long as this is true, switching to all-digital seems like a reasonable innovation. "Data-reactid =" 44 "> We are in the early days of the cloud game Many companies are betting a lot, but up to now, owners of the Sony PlayStation can stream games via PlayStation More from Sony, and gaming PC owners can try NVIDIAGeForce now, but no one seems ready to eliminate the bulk of hardware devices: for the most part, you play a device with local storage like a PlayStation or a gaming PC. sure. For now, there is no reason to expect big consoles with embedded hard drives to disappear. As long as this is true, going digital is a reasonable innovation.
But it remains to be seen how long big consoles will remain necessary. Sony and Microsoft are expected to publish new entries in their respective console lines, and these new products will certainly present impressive specifications. But do not be surprised if these next-generation consoles win pesky rivals in the form of low-cost systems, lacking disk drives, but some of the other hardware we've learned to take for granted in games.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = " More from The Motley Fool "data-reactid =" 46 "> More from The Motley Fool
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Suzanne Frey, an executive member of Alphabet, is a board member of The Motley Fool. Teresa Kersten, a LinkedIn employee, a subsidiary of Microsoft, is a board member of The Motley Fool. Stephen Lovely has no position in any of the actions mentioned. Motley Fool owns shares and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Microsoft and NVIDIA. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy."data-reactid =" 54 ">Suzanne Frey, an executive member of Alphabet, is a board member of The Motley Fool. Teresa Kersten, a LinkedIn employee, a subsidiary of Microsoft, is a board member of The Motley Fool. Stephen Lovely has no position in any of the mentioned actions. Motley Fool owns shares and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Microsoft and NVIDIA. Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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