5 replies to this topic

[Dion]

In this day and era, it's pretty much known that DVDs and Blu-Rays are what games are put on and shipped. With the next gen coming, do you guys see the game scene changing up a bit? Games are getting bigger and bigger while the discs aren't keeping up in technology. It's doubtful that we'll see a new form of media disc with the advent of the next generation, much like we did when the Blu-Ray came out with the PS3. That having been said, I think it's time the gaming world evolved from the whole idea of discs on consoles. Here's why I think games should be moved from discs to cartridge based units;

 

 

Disc Capacity:

 

The largest disc capacity on the market right now is the standard dual layer 50GB Blu-Ray. I'd include the 100 gigs for the triple layer, but they're far too expensive to even consider for use on the gaming market - they'd push games to the 80s and 90s cost range, I'd wager. Games are getting HUGE. Especially PS3 games from renowned developers Naughty Dog, Konami and the likes. Uncharted 3 and Metal Gear Solid 4 barely fit on a 50GB disc and they're both prime examples of excellent software on this generation. They push the boundaries of capacity. You guys all (mostly) saw the insane install times on MGS4. The highly compressed data on the CD had to installed for a whoopin' 10 gigs just to get the game to run! Don't even get me started on Gran Turismo 5. Its install data is an operating system in its own. As you can imagine, this makes discs impractical for the coming generation. Especially when you can have cartridges that can store up to 128 gigs!

 

Load Times in games:

 

For those of you that have a hacked PSP and have used ISOs to play games, you know what I'm talking about. Load times are so much faster when you have solid state memory. Games like BBS and FFVII:CC that take AGES to load on the PSP dont even have load screens when loaded from a memory card. The ability of the system to read instantly from the card rather than having to read the data from the CD after having found it on a specific sector of said disc makes the whole process much easier.

 

Hardware production:

 

Static hardware is always better than moving hardware. With no moving parts when it comes to the game reading aspect of the console, the console is better off and less prone to malfunction. A more efficient console means better sales.

 

Discs can get damaged:

 

Exactly what the bold says. Discs get damaged. I remember the old PS2 era when I would have to polish the shit out of my copy of Star Ocean 3 just to get it to load the Ursa Lava Cave. Frustrating times. With cartridges, you dont have this problem. 

 

Size and portability:

 

This vs This 

 

Imaging how much easier it would be to store all your games. Instead of having piles of games, you could have a tiny sleeve like case to store them. As well, imagine cross play between a powerful gaming handheld and your console. You need simply pop out the cartridge and switch your system and you're good to game on the go. 

 

 

And that would be all. 

 

 

What do you guys think?

[Secret Igshar]

I'm a big proponent of flash memory. It's faster, cheaper, and all around better to use. We have TB flash drives on the market right now. Converting console gaming to something like that is smart. Developers would just need to make their system's cartridges specially shaped so that they wouldn't be so easy to hook up to a computer or something like that. I dunno if the industry will ever go that route since it would look like they've gone BACKWARDS to most people but meh.

[Wynn]

> using physical media at all

 

Steam mustard race reporting in. Everything else is pleb tier.

[Valor]

I'm just going to say that load times and install shit doesn't exist for the xbox. Only the playstation does that, and it still has loading times. There are games that don't feature loading screens as well. The UMD is a pretty crappy thing to have used for the psp, but whatever. Halo 4, which is one of the most beautiful games to have come out recently fits on a DVD. Not even Blu Ray. Loading times are minimal, if they even are noticeable, and there's no reason to install the game.

 

I have never had a malfunction with the CD drives of any of my systems ever. They're more or less designed around the disc being able to spin. The xbox 360 only had hardware malfunctions because of poor ventilation. The PS3 isn't a faulty machine because of its disc drive. Neither are. The Wii isn't. The Wii U isn't. This is a really ridiculous claim.

 

Every piece of hardware can be damaged. I regularly leave my games out on a desk or a chair or anywhere but in their cases (as Iggy will attest to) and I have had no problems with any of my games in -years-.

 

I use a CD case to transport my games. It's tiny and efficient and gets the job done.

 

Cart based gaming is pretty dead. If anything, it's going to go fully digital instead of having any physical media whatsoever. I'm not a proponent of fully digital media (like Steam) because in the wrong hands (read: not Valve's) the potential for you to get fucked over is there. Way too Skynet for me, and I'm not interested in it.

 

I see games staying blu ray for the next generation, as you said, and then eventually evolving into a digital medium. I don't see carts ever actually happening.

[Dexel Hydagara]

Digital medium? Oh fuck no. Consider me out on future gens.

 

Anyways, like Val said, carts are most likely not going to happen. Blu-Ray was the big thing back in the old days (well, old for you guys, recent for me), and now everyone's freaking out over the possibility of everything being digital. I can't imagine most blokes will bother with physical mediums, partly due to cost when you think about it, and partly because of the public's rush to make Skynet-esque situations possible.

[Dion]

I'm just going to say that load times and install shit doesn't exist for the xbox. Only the playstation does that, and it still has loading times. There are games that don't feature loading screens as well. The UMD is a pretty crappy thing to have used for the psp, but whatever. Halo 4, which is one of the most beautiful games to have come out recently fits on a DVD. Not even Blu Ray. Loading times are minimal, if they even are noticeable, and there's no reason to install the game.

 

I have never had a malfunction with the CD drives of any of my systems ever. They're more or less designed around the disc being able to spin. The xbox 360 only had hardware malfunctions because of poor ventilation. The PS3 isn't a faulty machine because of its disc drive. Neither are. The Wii isn't. The Wii U isn't. This is a really ridiculous claim.

 

Every piece of hardware can be damaged. I regularly leave my games out on a desk or a chair or anywhere but in their cases (as Iggy will attest to) and I have had no problems with any of my games in -years-.

 

I use a CD case to transport my games. It's tiny and efficient and gets the job done.

 

Cart based gaming is pretty dead. If anything, it's going to go fully digital instead of having any physical media whatsoever. I'm not a proponent of fully digital media (like Steam) because in the wrong hands (read: not Valve's) the potential for you to get fucked over is there. Way too Skynet for me, and I'm not interested in it.

 

I see games staying blu ray for the next generation, as you said, and then eventually evolving into a digital medium. I don't see carts ever actually happening.

 

 

Note how I pointed towards PSP games for  load time examples. PS3 games usually have very minimal load times. Uncharted series doesn't have a single black screen. There are NO load screens at all in any uncharted game. Also, just to say, load screens do exist on the 360 and to say that they don't is pretty stupid. Assassins Creed series is a testament to this, Many 360 games have the install feature, as well, but its sometimes optional. Which is also the case for the PS3, so idk what you're going on about.

 

And I wasn't talking about the 360 or the PS3 specifically when it came to the CD tray problem or w/e, I was mostly referring to an age old problem I had with my PS2. 80% of the time, my disc tray wouldnt open with the press of the button. But now a days, slots in which you put the CDs are more common than CD trays, so it's not too big of an issue. 

 

I don't know how the 360 reads discs, but my old PS2 used to have a scratching problem. Games would get heavily scratched and stutter often times, something I have talked about in my previous post.

 

 

 

To be honest, I just prefer physical media over just downloading games and shit. Downloading takes time, takes up space on your system and there is always a set amount of games you can possess at a time given drive limitations. I just think that flash memory is one of the ways many of the problems that come with game discs can be fixed.