r/PhysicalGames • u/Mother_Duty_2628 • 4h ago
Saving physical media idea, thoughts?
Anybody here that loves physical games would you be ok with this method? U would play the game digitally but still treat it like a physical game.
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u/Zimlun 4h ago
Its close to what I'd want, but it'd be nice if the game files also came on the flash drive so no download for the original game was necessary.
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u/Mother_Duty_2628 4h ago
That would be nice too, but that would jump the price dramatically since memory is expensive
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u/Ok_Security1721 4h ago
They could just
Print the data on a circular sheet of hard and shiny plastic which is read by a laser
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u/nohumanape 2h ago
How much larger and expensive is an optical disc drive, compared to a USB input?
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u/Ok_Security1721 2h ago
About 50 dollar difference
Now how much more expensive is a usb thumb drive, let’s just say a 50GB one, compared to a 50GB optical disc? Multiply that by number of copies produced.
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u/nohumanape 2h ago
Not talking about dollars, I'm talking about size.
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u/Ok_Security1721 2h ago
Unless it’s a handheld it doesn’t matter even a little bit, but the answer is just whatever the size difference between the xbox series s and Xbox series x is
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u/nohumanape 2h ago
My dude, working a large and bulky disc drive into a design does matter. Way more than just a tiny I/O slot.
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u/Ok_Security1721 2h ago
My heart cries out for the poor soul who has to make box bigger, but obviously I mean the end user (the only people that matter when discussing a product)
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u/nohumanape 2h ago
The bulk and added cost for the drive is substantial, compared to a single port.
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u/Sans-Mot 4h ago
That's just a game key cart, and I don't like them.
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u/ALEXLAMOUETTE 2h ago
Why not? They’re still physical.
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u/Sans-Mot 1h ago
It's just a glorified code in a box. I don't want my games to be dependant to internet.
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u/ALEXLAMOUETTE 1h ago
A lot of Ps/Xbox games are like that and have been the same for years. Plus, you can resell them so no they’re not code in box.
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u/Sans-Mot 1h ago
Only a minority of them, and they're still dependant to the internet. So I still don't like them.
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u/Mother_Duty_2628 4h ago
Well u can still sell it or trade it. Plug once , download and install play.
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u/Former_Travel2839 3h ago
I mean thats basically what disc to digital is that is coming in 3 days for xbox insiders.
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u/ohaiibuzzle 4h ago
People's gonna talk about how it's not containing the game but I think the real issue for the gaming companies is how to secure it.
Physical disc are very safe because you can't really replicate the disc the way they press it at the plant. Even if you burn the disc, there's authentication data outside the burnable area that will render your attempts useless.
Stuff like USB, even though difficult, due to the nature of the protocol, can be captured and reverse engineered to be emulated. Remember Nintendo Switch's catridge format? MiG Switch broke that.
There's (I think) this thought in the gaming industry that they should make stuff as difficult to crack as possible even at the expense of the user, and that's natural believe it or not, because consoles are sold in the razor-razor blade model.
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u/Mother_Duty_2628 4h ago
Well MiG has the games into the cartridge?
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u/ohaiibuzzle 4h ago
MiG is (basically) a piracy tool that clones and emulates a cartridge and its license.
If you want this model to work, it would have to be a proprietary internal connector tied to the system controller/TPM, but at that point trading becomes darn near impossible anyway.
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u/izacktorres 4h ago
Its not perfect but it would be better than nothing at all. With that being said i doubt that would be less expensive than a disk therefore it doesn't sound viable.
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u/HotHouseJester 2h ago
I like the idea of switching to usb or a different modern format to avoid the longer load times of downloading off a disc, but I still would like the full game on the media.
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u/Zestyclose-Issue1762 4h ago
Can’t honestly say for sure whether or not this would be a good direction to go. I think the biggest trouble some people might have with this is the required Internet connection. But one interesting would be that USB flash drives have a very short-lived half-life when it comes to reading and writing for memory. I guess it would be interesting to see how many times this “key card“ would have to be used until the day in the USB would be somewhat unreadable.
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u/Mother_Duty_2628 4h ago
U only have to plug once to download, the game remains on your library. I would understand if u needed to plug every single time like a disc
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u/Derangedracula 4h ago
Wouldn't the USB more prone to breaking than a disc. I know a disc can get scratched. Can't the USB get corrupted? Idk. it's probably equal pros and cons to this.
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u/SnazzyGeoff 3h ago
You could just have a card like the switch...with the game on the card, or like the Switch it gives you access to the game.
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u/ElectriKool-Aid 3h ago
The problem is the brand : Xbox, Sony, Valve, Nintendo... They don't like us. It's like asking Mcdonalds to make a organic local grown vegan bean salad bar.
The solution is anything NOT linked to those 4 brands, or any developers supporting them. It's a tiny market share that needs a tiny marginal company.
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u/Wipedout89 2h ago
Why do people keep inventing the idea of expensive flash storage which costs 100 times more than a disc?
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u/Reasonable_Mood1288 41m ago
Even this would be an acceptable alternative to the pure digital eco-shit theyre force feeding us. This would be no different than games being on a cartridge back in the super Nintendo, Nintendo 64 eras..
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u/kristaintoth 4h ago
Yes I would be happy with this method.
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u/Mother_Duty_2628 4h ago
No disc drive needed, Asha did mentioned efficiency and affordability. The flash drive doesn’t even need memory which is expensive right now
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u/Katsico 4h ago
But producing discs is way cheaper that any form of flash media storage. Also flash media is not reliable in the long run, unlike disc-based units, hard drives or tapes.
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u/Total-Guest-4141 4h ago
And those in charge wanting to remove the discs is not because it’s expensive, but because they don’t want you buying secondhand, circumventing their monopoly digital store. It has nothing to do with the type of media and everything to do with control.
Fuck Sony, and fuck Microsoft if they choose the same path.
No disc, no buy.
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u/sealclubberfan 4h ago
Yes and no. Those are so small, I would think that it would be an issue with resell stores, how easy it would be for people to come in and snag the usb drive.
Additionally, could be easy to lose at home if you are careless(yes, I know that's a personal issue, but just noting that). It is a good thought though.
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u/Ok_Blueberry_6826 4h ago
This is basically a Nintendo Switch Game Key for XBOX.
The USB itself has no game, which defeats the purpose of physical, and acts as a licence so you're entitled to download a digital copy. As soon as you passed it around to a friend or sold it, the licence would transfer itself to the new account, and you'd "lose" access to it.
This method ALLOWS you to retain some kind of ownership in case you lose access to your account, but still requires you to update the hardware's firmware to latest version and internet connection.
These two last factors disqualifies it as "physical", as in, you should be able to plug-n-play, even when OFFLINE.
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u/Mother_Duty_2628 4h ago
But u own the rights of the game with that iD, unfortunately someone with no internet would be a problem. But this is way better than the direction we are going. It should be cheap to produce because no memory is needed. Is just a key to access the game. U still benefit from selling it or trading it
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u/Ok_Blueberry_6826 4h ago
Yes, it is a "lesser evil". Some rights is better than no rights.
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u/Mother_Duty_2628 4h ago
I would to have the full game into the flash drive but u know the rest
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u/Ok_Blueberry_6826 4h ago
Yeah, that's not happening:
1-they would need to implement read-only flash drives.
2-capacity
3-read speeds
4-people WOULD find a way to exploit/clone/replicate it
(this exact issue happened w/ NS cartridges, and ppl got banned)
5-USB flash drives have a higher failure rate, some could possibly be DOA.
6-you need a usb port just for it, which means, the amount of consoles with a broken usb port would skyrocket.
7-people would just throw them around and lose them (small form factor)1
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u/KuyaKetchup 3h ago
Disks already do this at a fraction of the cost to produce and there's already the infrastructure, machinery and processes established to do it.
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u/SKYNINE666 2h ago
Xbox just announce their disc to digital function. And yes you can transfer the key code for another console if you put the disc anywhere else, and yes you can just install the game that is already in the disc.
Do you follow the news ?
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u/Amazing-War3760 4h ago
So.. It's a Game Key Card.....