RUMOR: New PS4 is slated for 2013 holiday relaase; codenamed Orbis

I'll wait for sony/microsoft to release information before I pay any attention.

Quote from godfather927 : This was the biggest bummer of all though...

I thought that the new Xbox would be addressing that by not having an optical media drive? That would make sense, because if there is no physical media, there is no way to sell used games. Because I would certainly like to sell some of me games on Steam (looking at you, MW3).

Quote from Bareborn : I'll wait for sony/microsoft to release information before I pay any attention.

I have pretty much the same attitude but I know it's fun for some to play the rumor game with this kind of stuff. I usually read just a little bit but take it all with a grain of salt.

Quote from Jabbit : I thought that the new Xbox would be addressing that by not having an optical media drive? That would make sense, because if there is no physical media, there is no way to sell used games. Because I would certainly like to sell some of me games on Steam (looking at you, MW3).

I'm not sure, but I thought they would still have an optical media drive on the new xbox to facilitate retail purchases. In either case, it looks like selling a game that you downloaded or bought from the store and then "activated" will not be possible on neither console.

To me, that's a huge disappointment since I sell the vast majority of the games that i bought new after I'm done playing them. This will also essentially kill gamefly, blockbuster and cripple most other video stores like Family Video.

In the end, I'll probably be forced to just buy fewer games in general or do the majority of my gaming on other platforms like PC or maybe even the new Wii (cant believe i just said that.)

Quote from Jabbit : I thought that the new Xbox would be addressing that by not having an optical media drive? That would make sense, because if there is no physical media, there is no way to sell used games. Because I would certainly like to sell some of me games on Steam (looking at you, MW3).

This would actually be kind of cool in that you wouldn't have to worry about physical media but it would also cause me to gauge my game purchases more carefully since I know I wouldn't be able to resell them.

Quote from godfather927 : I'm not sure, but I thought they would still have an optical media drive on the new xbox to facilitate retail purchases. In either case, it looks like selling a game that you downloaded or bought from the store and then "activated" will not be possible on neither console.

I have purchase Fallout:NV, Skyrim, and MW3 all for PC from Gamestop (don't flipout, I get free giftcards). They all had a CD, and I think Skyrim and MW3 both had pretty much nothing on the CD. The CD would just link you to Steam to download it. So there is still a way to have a retail presence with a physical item, but it could just be a code or something that you would enter and redeem the game.

Maybe they should go back to Divx discs?

Quote from Hush7 : This would actually be kind of cool in that you wouldn't have to worry about physical media but it would also cause me to gauge my game purchases more carefully since I know I wouldn't be able to resell them.

That is what I do. I only buy on PC, but I am a bit more careful with what I buy. Either that, or wait for extreme Steam sales.

there's no way there won't be optical media for this next gen of consoles

with the way ISP's are implementing Bandwidth limitations, i can't see them going full on digital yet.

they'd be alienating close to 40% of the united states alone (http://www.broadbandmap.gov/technology) as thats about how much of the USA does not have broadband.
also will they be compressing games even further? Many of the new 360 game now already runs across 2 disks, a PS3 bluray game on average is 10gbs or so (FF13 being a rare exception clocking in at 46 GBs).

Quote from IPT : they'd be alienating close to 40% of the united states alone (http://www.broadbandmap.gov/technology) as thats about how much of the USA does not have broadband.

What is considered Broadband? That site map does not work for me, but when I go to states rank, it shows all states except for West Virginia with 80%+ having 3 mbps. Most states were 99%+

Quote from Curtieson : What is considered Broadband? That site map does not work for me, but when I go to states rank, it shows all states except for West Virginia with 80%+ having 3 mbps. Most states were 99%+

When talking about percentages of coverage, 40% could mean coverage of a geographic area (ignoring population densities) or it could be 40% coverage of the population (ignoring geographic location.) A number as low as 40% seems more like geographic coverage. I can't imagine that 60% of US citizens are still on dial-up.

I don't think that is a viable excuse. Just look at Steam/Origin. If you have a console, you have money for broadband.

Quote from Jabbit : I don't think that is a viable excuse. Just look at Steam/Origin. If you have a console, you have money for broadband.

I dont think its an issue of access. Most people should have broadband by now, but I still think it's gonna be a tough pill to swallow for people who like to purchase and own games on physical media and like having a quick and easy way to buy games. Spending several hours downloading a 30GB file will both be inconvenient and cause cap issues for users with ISPs that have them.

So should we start shorting Gamestop stock?

Quote from Jabbit : I don't think that is a viable excuse. Just look at Steam/Origin. If you have a console, you have money for broadband.

Agreed. Plus, if you are getting the new console, you are going to pay for LIVE and probably going to HAVE to pay for PLUS. MS / Sony would give up selling a console to someone that isn't going to go online in order to get one other person that is "all in" on their eco-system to not buy any used games.

I could see some sort of station you go to at Best Buy and it copies a 10GB file onto a thumbdrive, you take that and it is the initial ~5 hrs of game play...once you plug that into your console and type in your "Purchase" / activation code, you can play the game while the later levels download in the background. Sort of like what they did when the 360 came out.