2 weeks Ago
With claims that the PlayStation 5 Pro will be the most visually stunning home video game console ever, gamers around the world are salivating. Yet, my own excitement regarding the impending release date recognizes one problem: the PS5 Pro does not have a disc drive. Sony’s decision to go all in on digital gaming will reverberate throughout the industry.
Ultimately, this will give rise to digital only games. While this may be convenient, I find it to be a cause of concern for console gamers for a number of reasons. Digital only games will be available in two forms.
Consumers will either download games from online marketplaces, like the PlayStation Store, or stream games from the cloud, like Xbox Game Pass . With most modern games being graphical showstoppers, the size of these games is a concern. This is due to the Internet bandwidth that will be required.
Some folks simply don’t have access to broadband Internet speeds, so downloading digital games is a tedious process. Furthermore, some people have restrictive data caps , and downloading digital games can effectively chew up massive chunks of allotted data. In addition, slow Internet speeds could lead to slowdowns and janky gameplay.
Suffice to say, anyone that says digital only isn’t a big deal probably lives in an area with robust ISP offerings. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case for everyone. As mentioned above, most modern games are huge.
Unfortunately, this means that every digital game install is going to chew up a considerable amount of storage space on your console. Sony has attempted to mitigate this problem by doubling the PS5 Pro’s storage space with a 2 TB SSD. That said, with modern games averaging 30 to 70 GB (and many being well over 100 GB), your console’s storage is going to run out pretty quickly.
If you don’t mind deleting games from your console after you’ve played them, this is not a huge deal. But if you’re someone like me, who likes to have their entire game library installed and ready to play at any time, you’ll probably want a storage upgrade. This requires gamers to shell out for expensive storage compatible with the console.
For example, in the case of the PS5, you can’t opt for just any SSD – it must be a PCI Gen4 SSD and support read speeds of at least 5500 MB/s. In addition, it also needs a heatsink . You can expect the PS5 Pro to require a high-performance SSD, which is going to translate to a higher a price tag.
I have been a gamer for most of my life. That said, I am also an adult with other responsibilities that limits the free time I have. As a result, it is very rare that I buy a game brand new.
In fact, the last game I bought the day it came out was Fallout 4 almost ten years ago. The upshot to this is that I can take advantage of heavily discounted games secondhand. Sure, digital games can be discounted on online platforms , but I have nabbed significantly better deals when snapping up used copies of games at GameStop, eBay and independent stores .
In fact, I recently picked up a preowned copy of Prey on Xbox for $2. It’s safe to say that with the rise of digital gaming, it will effectively kill the used game market. Say goodbye to trading in games to earn store credit or waiting to pick up cheap used copies.
Instead, publishers and online stores will control the price of games. With digital gaming being embraced by the PS5 Pro, digital copies will be the only option. This creates a serious cause for concern for console gamers.
With games no longer being available on disc, they’ll be robbed of choice. Many people assume that when something is released, it will be available forever. However, that’s not always the case for digital game licenses.
Video games can be “delisted” from online storefronts and will be removed from all platforms, with no option to purchase or download. This happens for a variety of reasons, but it is usually because of legal issues or technical problems. For example, the rights to a game’s soundtrack could expire.
If the publishers cannot or do not want to renegotiate licensing for the soundtrack, the game could get delisted. Alternatively, a game can be delisted due to difficulties porting it to newer technology, or for server issues. Even folks who did buy it could potentially lose access to it.
For example, the Xbox 360 Store was recently shut down, resulting in hundreds of games being delisted . In previous console generations, major titles were almost always given physical releases. This meant that even if a game was delisted, it doesn’t mean the game is lost forever due to physical copies existing in the wild.
But with the rise of digital gaming, the same cannot be said. Many developers do not opt to release their game on physical media, as it is expensive to press and ship. They may pursue digital distribution as a more cost-effective way of making their game available.
However, with the rise of digital gaming, consoles like the PS5 Pro have embraced no disc drives. Therefore, there is no need for physical copies of games. This is concerning because this increases the chance games will be lost to history.
As a result, the preservation of video games as an art form is hindered. When the PS5 Pro is released with no disc drive, it could become a problem for future games that are only ever released in digital format. Sadly, this is happening, not just with games, but across all media.
If games are only released digitally in the future, this means that the hobby of collecting is effectively null and void. With the rise of digital games, publishers won’t produce anything tangible: games will not have box art, manuals or inserts. Unfortunately, there will be no physical artifacts to collect or display.
The PS5 Pro is ushering in an exciting new era of gameplay. The graphics will be unparalleled, promising to be unlike anything we’ve seen before. However, with a lack of a disc drive by default, I can’t help but be concerned about the future of console gaming, as this will almost certainly be the beginning of the end for video games on physical media .
Sure, there will always be limited-run games and special collector editions for those willing to pay a premium, but the days of mass-producing a physical copy of games is most likely in the rearview mirror, and that is a cause for concern with console gamers for all the reasons I’ve outlined above. Image credit: White Sony Dualshock 4 controller for PS4 with online store on television screen by DepositPhotos Our latest tutorials delivered straight to your inbox Ryan is an English & Film Studies teacher. He splits his time between Australia and the United States.
He passes the time on long haul flights by playing retro video games from his youth..
