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Disc-Free Xbox One S Could Land on May 7 (techcrunch.com)

Posted by msmash on from the up-next dept.

Microsoft is about to launch an even cheaper Xbox One S. In order to cut costs, the company is removing the Blu-ray disc drive altogether. According to leaked marketing images spotted by WinFuture, the console could launch on May 7th for $258 in Germany. From a report: Given that the launch is just a few weeks away and that those marketing images line up perfectly with previous rumors, chances are this is the real deal. As you can see on WinFuture's images, it looks exactly like an Xbox One S without the disc slot. The console is called Xbox One S All Digital and comes with a 1TB hard drive -- most standard Xbox One S consoles currently also feature a 1TB hard drive. Microsoft states clearly that this console is only for digital games. If you already have physical Xbox One games, you wonâ(TM)t be able to insert them in the console.

10 of 105 comments (clear)

  1. Is price of the XBox the biggest problem? by jellomizer · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I thought the sales problem is how the xbox one is lagging in technology. Making it difficult for the next generation of games to come to play.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    1. Re:Is price of the XBox the biggest problem? by UnknowingFool · · Score: 3, Informative

      No, the sales lag stemmed from multiple problems. The announcement of the Xbox One was a PR disaster. From the always-on requirement to the heavy DRM which discouraged used games, MS had to roll back many of "features" of the Xbox One as consumers revolted. At launch, the Xbox One was more expensive and less powered than the PS4. While the differences were arguably not deal breakers, the bad PR had turned many against getting the Xbox One over the PS4.

      Since launch the problem, MS has released the Xbox One X which is more powerful than the PS4 Pro; however, the problem now is the lack of good exclusive games compared to the PS platform. For example, in 2018 one of the most hyped games for the Xbox One was Sea of Thieves which many found to be incomplete, repetitive, and boring for a $60 cost. I can't think of one good Xbox One exclusive in 2018. For the PS4, there was God of War, Spider-man, Days Gone, etc. While there have been good games on the Xbox One, few of them were exclusives like Red Dead Redemption 2 which was on both platforms. Right now there are few reasons to choose the Xbox One over the PS4.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  2. y tho? by LittleNegative · · Score: 2

    Seriously, does anyone even want this? Microsoft already faced huge backlash over trying to make XBox One online only. I thought it was obvious that consumers want at least the ability to play offline. The Disc-free console will be a break when Live is unavailable, which does happen occasionally. I guess this is better only that it's not the only option available.

  3. No disc = no offline gaming? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    For my child, I frequently disable the Xbox network connection, so that annoying advertisements, brainless Youtube videos, intro-freebies, and toxic multiplayer games can't get through. Basically, playing offline greatly reduces all the addictive ADD-inducing garbage that's peddled by the online marketplace.

    Without a network connection, disc-based games still work. Digital download games usually don't work anymore. So removing the optical drive isn't just a cost-saving move, it's another dick move that reduces people's privacy, keeps people always-online, and increases Microsoft's revenue opportunities at your expense.

    1. Re:No disc = no offline gaming? by thegarbz · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Huh? Why would that be? Offline gaming works just fine on other platforms.

  4. You'll own nothing. by kimgkimg · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You'll be able to play your games until MS decides to kill the service, then you'll own nothing. See Zune and Window Phone...

  5. Will you be able to connect a USB blu ray drive? by xack · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Or Will Microsoft not give us this option?

  6. XBONE SAD by cfalcon · · Score: 4, Funny

    Microsoft continues to lead the pack in terms of ludicrous names.

    First we had the Xbox, which made sense. Then we had the Xbox 360, which didn't make much sense. People called it "the 360", so being proper villains, they decided to come up with a name that would make people call their new system "the one", like complete with religious overtones, because that's a good use for whatever part of our meat computers experience religion and awe, some disposable plastic box.

    To accomplish this, they named it the Xbox One, which no one calls it, because there's already an Xbox 1, it's the thing that came before the Xbox 360. It gets labelled "one" in retrospect because that is how numbers work.

    So it's the Xbone. Microsoft fought this because they thought it was some slur, but really, it's just what it's called.

    So then we ended up with the Xbonex and the Xbones.

    And now this one- the "Xbox One S All Digital", which is now the XBONE S.A.D.

  7. 100% Irrelevant in 2019 by nehumanuscrede · · Score: 2

    When you purchase a hard copy ( disc ) of a brand new game, it is likely already useless as the game developers seem to be incapable of launching and shipping a game that actually works right out of the box. ( It's called incompetence )

    You'll put your disc in and your game system will usually tell you that an n gigabyte level patch ( where n is a ridiculously large number ) is necessary before you can actually play the game. It may or may not also require a console firmware update as well.

    The way I see it, owning the physical disc is pretty pointless as it usually contains a broken / buggy version of the game. ( Assuming you even get a physical disc. Some are giving you a pretty box with nothing more than a download link / code inside. Even high $$$ professional software is guilty of this. )

    Additionally, moving to an all digital / download model is pretty much the final nail in the coffin for the secondary / used game markets.
    This will do for consoles what Steam did to PC's.

  8. Re:Why does this generation have optical drives? by Yaztromo · · Score: 2

    I don't understand why the current generation of game consoles even have a optical drive in them.

    The PS4 sells globally, including in regions of the planet that have poor Internet. Most PS4 games are completely and playable on disc; Day 1 updates will contain a lot of fixes and improvements, but if you're not playing online (which you probably won't be if you have crappy internet), then you don't really need them.

    Yaz