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Sony’s plans for its next PlayStation console included the option of making the PS4 an always-connected, download-only machine, but sanity prevailed and the decision has been made to include an optical drive of some sort in the next PlayStation.
The news comes via the Wall Street Journal, which claims the decision was not taken to further adoption of the Blu-ray format, but was made due to the unreliability of internet connections around the world. The fact that some people out there are working within a 10GB per month download limit, or are stuck on a sub-2Mbps connection, or still don’t have broadband at all, means the world still isn’t ready for an all-digital console.
Plus we’ve all got used to having something to play Blu-ray discs with. [WSJ via CVG]
Good choice Sony.. for the first time in a while. Maybe this is a sign that Sony are getting there act together? If they can make another killer competitive console it could keep them afloat through their other c*** ups.
I’d have to agree with this decision – some markets a ready for download only consoles, but on a global basis we’re not quite there yet – I wouldn’t be surprised if we start seeing more day 1 on demand releases though… and potentially have the first major “slim” revision of the next console to be without an optical drive.
I’m keen to switch to digital-only consoles, but for now I can see there’s still a need for physical media too. Vita games are set to all see physical and digital releases on the same day, so it’s looking fairly well for the next Playstation.
Exactly! Let’s hope they adopt the pre-download model that PC games have though – it’s a pain to have to wait several hours to download a game you’d like to play on launch day.
They were trying it with Sorcery actually, so with any luck they’ll offer it with more games.
they will still stop 2nd hand sales (like M$). at least we might be able to buy titles less than RRP. why are the PSN download games always more expensive than buying the physical version?
“why are the PSN download games always more expensive than buying the physical version?”
For PS3 games this is generally true but Sony has started sales on Vita and PSP games which are often £10 under the cheapest store/online retailer. Playstation Plus tends to add a further discount.
However in general the answer is competition. Microsoft’s online store and PSN don’t have any direct competitors since they are the only ones to offer a download service for their respective consoles. Stores have to compete with prices to stay afloat. This is why for a long time stores will have lower prices, simply because they have to.
I think until we all have unlimited 100Mbps+ connections, then this has to be a mandatory requirement. Even 100Mbps would be pushing the lower-levels of useability unless it was possible to begin playing before the entire game had downloaded.
Saying that though, the reason that MS don’t have a high-capacity drive in the XBox is because they’re pushing for streaming/downloading (that and the licensing issue over BR drives with Sony!), but that’s why they’ve been pushing all the various media streaming services so heavily.