PDA

View Full Version : Why have digital downloads not become standard on xbox and ps3 then


Ogen
03-13-2009, 03:36 PM
I mean like for proper games, not a huge gamer play COD4 a bit and football games and thats about it but anytime I'm tempted to check a game out I just never bother going out to buy it because I'm never that pushed on it but if I could just pay for it over X-Box Live and download it that wouldn't be an isssue. I know Microsoft have some old games you can do it with so why not all games?

jcmoorehead
03-13-2009, 03:45 PM
You get it on the PC somewhat now with Steam and other services but I reckon it'll take a while before consoles truely make that push. To be honest I don't think they'll be standard for quite a long time.

There are however a few games going this way, I believe Burnout Paradise is a Download on PSN as is Warhawk.

Ogen
03-13-2009, 03:46 PM
Yeah but why not surely people would use it as they have with Steam doesn't have to be compulsory just an option. Would surely mean more of a cut in the money from the game for Microsoft/Sony aswell since they wouldn't be giving a retailer a cut.

Vietnamese Crippler
03-13-2009, 04:28 PM
Well, on the 360 side, I'm pretty sure it's all down to the hard drive space. Considering Microsoft fucked up with their hard drive choice, no one (who uses his 360 regularly) has enough space to contain all the digital downloads.

This is also a huge problem with the PS3, partly because of the hard drive space, but because if you're going to be downloading a PS3 game, it'll take 25+ GB and no one has the patience to wait for that.

Also, not all 360s and PS3s are hooked up to broadband internet. So, for the people without a connection, they're fucked.

Xero
03-13-2009, 04:38 PM
I'd imagine within 2 gens they'll do both retail and download for most games to avoid problems for people without high-speed connections or aren't comfortable downloading. It's going to be a long time before a console goes download-only.

Remember that this is still a new concept (mainstream it's only about 6 years old) and XBL and the Playstation store are, for the most part, the first place people are going to learn about downloading full games. They need to be broken in.

Another problem I see is the fact that while hard drive space is ever-expanding, so is the size of the games. If you have a 2TB drive but each game is 100GB+ there are going to be space problems really fast.

Kane Knight
03-13-2009, 04:40 PM
And with more and more broadband companies capping internet traffic, you've got a problem there even for people with a connection. Not to mention people without credit cards or those unwilling to use their cards over the internet (Or at least, Live/PSN). A live points card sort of works, but it's an extra step and doesn't come in prices even with most games. Not to mention the Infrastructure, since Microsoft can't even keep Live up and running during the Holidays. Dunno about PSN, but I never use it.

Funky Fly
03-13-2009, 04:54 PM
The only consoles this sort of thing is viable in are the handhelds. Even then, the current DS models don't have hard disk space and even though the DSI will support it, Nintendo's not exactly good at online. The PSP has a bunch of old PSX and PSP titles for download, but the biggest I've seen was 1.5GB and even then, most titles hover around the 500 - 600MB point.

360 and PS3 titles are fucking huge. I have the 120GB HDD on my 360 and thanks to Rock Band DLC, custom soundtrack music and like 346784657 game saves, a couple of videos and other DLC I have like 85GB free. Add to that the spate of DLC levels for Fable 2, Oblivion, Fallout 3, etc that I plan on getting at some point and I'm probably gonna have a few gigs less. Now if I start d/ling full length games on Live I'd be rather fucked for space in a little bit.

Even the Xbox originals are like 5GB a pop.

Ogen
03-13-2009, 04:57 PM
Doesn't have to be the only option thogh just something for people to use if they wish

Funky Fly
03-13-2009, 05:00 PM
I think my point was that it's more trouble than it's worth to them.

Xero
03-13-2009, 05:06 PM
Doesn't have to be the only option thogh just something for people to use if they wish

The problem with that is that eventually games REQUIRE you to put at least part of it on your hard drive anyway (yeah, I'm looking at you, PS3). So it sort of defeats the purpose of the physical media in the first place.

I thought that was the most ridiculous thing I heard when I first heard about it, and I still think it's stupid. If your main media source can't handle the output either tone it the fuck down or use faster media, don't use this middle-ground which only creates problems in the long run.

Ogen
03-13-2009, 05:09 PM
I think my point was that it's more trouble than it's worth to them.

But they do it with original Xbox games which you say are 5gb I know COD4 took about 6gb to install on my 360 and surely more direct cash for them. Dunno I'll get the Mackem to ask Bill Gates about it.

Funky Fly
03-13-2009, 05:16 PM
The problem with that is that eventually games REQUIRE you to put at least part of it on your hard drive anyway (yeah, I'm looking at you, PS3). So it sort of defeats the purpose of the physical media in the first place.

I thought that was the most ridiculous thing I heard when I first heard about it, and I still think it's stupid. If your main media source can't handle the output either tone it the fuck down or use faster media, don't use this middle-ground which only creates problems in the long run.


Yeah, it's mainly PS3's stupid architetcure that forces things like that though.

http://kotaku.com/5160621/midway-dev-explains-why-ps3-development-is-a-pain-in-the-ass

That should explain it nicely.

Funky Fly
03-13-2009, 05:17 PM
But they do it with original Xbox games which you say are 5gb I know COD4 took about 6gb to install on my 360 and surely more direct cash for them. Dunno I'll get the Mackem to ask Bill Gates about it.

That's a partial install. The entire game would be much bigger.

LoDownM
03-13-2009, 05:46 PM
Well, on the 360 side, I'm pretty sure it's all down to the hard drive space. Considering Microsoft fucked up with their hard drive choice, no one (who uses his 360 regularly) has enough space to contain all the digital downloads.

This is also a huge problem with the PS3, partly because of the hard drive space, but because if you're going to be downloading a PS3 game, it'll take 25+ GB and no one has the patience to wait for that.

Also, not all 360s and PS3s are hooked up to broadband internet. So, for the people without a connection, they're fucked.


This is why.

Kane Knight
03-13-2009, 08:32 PM
But they do it with original Xbox games which you say are 5gb I know COD4 took about 6gb to install on my 360 and surely more direct cash for them. Dunno I'll get the Mackem to ask Bill Gates about it.

Yeah, but they don't actually have that many originals. You're talking about a DD standard, and that's going to lead to problems. Plus, while most titles for XBO are 3-4 GB, most current 360 titles run at 6-7, and with the largest HDD being a 120 GB, that difference can mean a LOT.

Xero
03-13-2009, 08:35 PM
This is obviously not going to happen this gen. The hardware wasn't made for it to the extent we're talking.

Kane Knight
03-13-2009, 09:01 PM
Yeah.

We will see a switch to DD eventually. However, I do have to point out that as long as the largest broadband providers are capping bandwidth, it might make sense for them to not switch over fully. Just streaming an HD movie with Netflix can run as much as ten Gigs. That's not too bad, but you throw in a game, especially one designed for the PS3, and you've eaten up a lot of your bandwidth. Nowhere near half or anything that extreme, but we're talking one movie and one game. So much shit is going to downloadable, something's gonna have to give.

Funky Fly
03-13-2009, 10:37 PM
ISP aren't just capping how much bandwidth you're alloted per month either. They're also putting artificial limits on download speeds *cough*Comcast*cough*.

G
03-13-2009, 11:58 PM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_shaping

Kane Knight
03-14-2009, 08:08 AM
ISP aren't just capping how much bandwidth you're alloted per month either. They're also putting artificial limits on download speeds *cough*Comcast*cough*.

That too, the bastards.