Why can’t we run our games from the HDD?

Soldato
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We already can when we install and play digital copies of games. I suppose the argument to keep discs are for people that can't download a 100GB game over the internet, or that they don't even have internet in some areas of the world. Having said that, what areas of the world can afford to buy/own consoles and TVs and houses to play them in without an Internet line. I suspect still quite a few places but...should we care? Should we limit progression to be more inclusive worldwide?

Having discs for console manufactures means they have more points of sale in shops so there is that in terms of advertising and awareness bringing more profits but....most people buy online anyway even if it is a disc, so why then not digital?

Space is an issue on hard disks still, despite storage being cheap. Games are huge, and we prefer SSDs for load times which are still costly, although even mechanical HDDs are still faster than reading off of the bluray discs surely, not to mention less taxing on the console with less to go wrong. Also less noise.

The thing that is still frustrating is when the digital version of a game costs £20 more than the disc version. Why!?

EDIT: discs are good for second hand market when recouping money spent on your purchases, but surely the console manufacturers don't care about that.
 
Soldato
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will this ever become a thing? I know it sounds lazy, but it’s a chore having to swap discs all the time.

I know piracy is an issue, but there must surely be a way round it?

All retail XBox One and PS4 games install to the HDD. Disc is kept in for disc check reasons.
 
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Soldato
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Chester
My optical drives have stopped working on both my XB1 and PS4. I am going to take the PS4 apart this weekend and clean it to see if that helps (I still have Blu Rays that I want to watch). I don't really buy XB1 games physical anymore so it's not really an issue for me there. Mostly play Apex Legends or what ever is on Game Pass - so everything is played through the HDD and has been for a while. I am not ready to pay £60 for a digital game so new games are a thing of the past unless I get them through Game Pass. I still buy physical Switch games.
 
Caporegime
Joined
21 Jun 2006
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We already can when we install and play digital copies of games. I suppose the argument to keep discs are for people that can't download a 100GB game over the internet, or that they don't even have internet in some areas of the world. Having said that, what areas of the world can afford to buy/own consoles and TVs and houses to play them in without an Internet line. I suspect still quite a few places but...should we care? Should we limit progression to be more inclusive worldwide?

Having discs for console manufactures means they have more points of sale in shops so there is that in terms of advertising and awareness bringing more profits but....most people buy online anyway even if it is a disc, so why then not digital?

Space is an issue on hard disks still, despite storage being cheap. Games are huge, and we prefer SSDs for load times which are still costly, although even mechanical HDDs are still faster than reading off of the bluray discs surely, not to mention less taxing on the console with less to go wrong. Also less noise.

The thing that is still frustrating is when the digital version of a game costs £20 more than the disc version. Why!?

EDIT: discs are good for second hand market when recouping money spent on your purchases, but surely the console manufacturers don't care about that.

There are rich people that live in very rural areas in India for example. Where they don't even get electricity 24/7. So the discs are needed to verify they still own the game.

All games on the PS4 are installed to the hard drive regardless of digital or disc. So the disc is needed to verify you still own it. I could buy a disc install it then sell it on otherwise.

If we got rid of discs I imagine a lot of people would be unhappy. The solution for you is to buy digital only but that also has drawbacks. If the licensing server is down you can't play games. I sometimes have to restore licenses on my ps4. I've had issues where games wouldn't start as license couldn't be verified. If i had a disc I would have been fine.

Yes the main issue is digital is more expensive. This can be circumvented by sharing your account with someone you trust and know personally. I for example share my PS4 account with a mate. So his PS4 is set as my primary console that means he can access all the games on my account from his own PS4 account as well as use my PSN plus to play online. I can also play online at the same time on my ps4 using my own account.

So we both chip in for games like FIFA I download it to both consoles. He can log into his account and play fifa and i log into my account on my console and play fifa at the same time. We can both play each other online too. Having only paid for 1 copy of the game and 1 online pass. So even if it is £20 more expensive. With it being half price it's cheaper than buying physical. However you cannot sell them on.

If they made digital games cheaper then people who account share would be laughing. They would be paying pennies for every game.
 
Caporegime
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I can't see why they can't use a system that allows you to install once and play that disc as many times as you like until the disc is used in a separate console.

Yes this would mean you need an internet connection to check before playing a new game but given most games have massive day 1 patches to make them playable these days it wouldn't be that much to ask.
 
Soldato
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Somerset
Well MS tried to introduce this, but the internet overreacted and now were stuck with 1st party digital only . Hopefully next gen will bring back always on and digital competition.
 
Soldato
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M28
I can't see why they can't use a system that allows you to install once and play that disc as many times as you like until the disc is used in a separate console.

Yes this would mean you need an internet connection to check before playing a new game but given most games have massive day 1 patches to make them playable these days it wouldn't be that much to ask.
then each disk would have to have a different digital signature and since they are pressed from a master I doubt could happen.
 
Soldato
Joined
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then each disk would have to have a different digital signature and since they are pressed from a master I doubt could happen.
I thought that, then I thought I don't think it would actually be that hard for them to change it so that every disk burnt gets issued with a different signature (+1) from the last one

meh, its a moot point they will never do it anyway.
 
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