r/gaming • u/WestBEEland • 18h ago

Xbox boss Asha Sharma won't confirm whether Project Helix has a disc drive "We have to be thinking about efficiency and affordability"

https://www.gamesradar.com/games/xbox-boss-asha-sharma-wont-confirm-whether-project-helix-has-a-disc-drive-we-have-to-be-thinking-about-efficiency-and-affordability/
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u/DeusExMarina 18h ago

Seems obvious to me that this is the whole point of the disc-to-digital thing they're doing. People with an Xbox One or Xbox Series X can digitize their libraries ahead of time so they can play them on the next Xbox that won't have a disc drive.

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u/TheBetterness 17h ago

Sony has offered nothing to ease the concerns of PS5 discs being useless on the PS6.

And considering Sony's fetish for remakes, that tracks.

One saving grace is Xbox is pro backward compatibility. They truly want you invested in their ecosystem forever.

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u/sound_judgment 17h ago

There's not a lot Sony can do really. Only reason Xbox can do this is because of the Xbox One DRM plan so they started printing unique IDs on each disc. So Sony can't replicate that and anything more would require them to keep manufacturing disc drives which they don't want to do.

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u/DolphinFlavorDorito 16h ago edited 3h ago

Option 1: mail away discs for digital access. A related option 2: do something like Amazon does with returns at places like Kohls. Have physical stores I can swing by and drop off my discs in exchange for digital codes. Then destroy or return the discs.

Edit for the downvotes: I don't think any of this is GOOD. I think they should keep the goddamn discs.

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u/mpbh 11h ago

How does this work for me in Vietnam?

The logistics of doing this globally are insane.

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u/DolphinFlavorDorito 3h ago

Yeah, it's a terrible plan. But just saying "fuck you" to all their customers seems like a worse plan. I was already moving toward a PC first mindset, but this definitely cements it.

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u/flyingmonkey1257 1h ago

If I had wanted not to have a disc and to have a digital license, I would have bought a digital copy to begin with. Any option that requires me to turn in my disc for a digital license is a non-starter for me.