27th March 2006, 2:13 AM
Well ABF, the thing is, I really don't care if I'm reading from a screen or from paper. That's really a preference thing that I don't have. The feel of paper and the joy of turning the page... don't exist to me. Paper is dry, and dries out my hands.
There is the issue of those larger hard disks. WILL they be releasing bigger capacity disks? And, more importantly, will the systems even be able to support it if we decide to buy our own high capacity disks? What are the limitations of the file system the companies will be using?
I have no qualms about having my data on the medium of a hard disk as opposed to a snazzy disk specifically for the game, with custom artwork even :D. The issue is space. I want to have ALL my games available at all times. If I don't have an online connection, I lose access to the games. I'm not going to be in a situation where I delete a few games to make room for more. That's too unstable. I like knowing my game is right there, waiting for me to play it. As I said, they can easily store that I have "bought it already", but the issue is, well, will I always have access to it, even unto the unmaking of the world? If MS decides the XBox was a waste of cash and just closes down their servers, I can't ever download those games again. Suddenly, whether or not I can play a game depends on the future viability of a company. 3rd party companies will be storing their games on their own servers, for example, and they are much more likely to fail than a behemoth like Nintendo. If I manage to get that one gem they make before they fail, but delete it later to make room for something else, then they shut down the server, BOOM, that's $50 down the drain and I'll never get that game again, or at least not until I manage to find some ancient chinese talisman shop, online, that has that available for download as "warez".
Further, while my online connection is fine, what of others? It's all well and good for them to visit a friend and borrow their connection for a game download, but a redownload? That spring break when they decide to play about 10 or so games? Do they have to "plan out" their entertainment? I'm a horder, a miser, when it comes to my stuff. I want it always there. As such, we need the storage space to let us always have it.
Basically, what I'm saying is this Star Trek vision of having all our holodeck programs accessible from a master list in the ship network is great, but our storage capacity needs to make a few giant leaps. That's a ways off. It's approaching, I think in the form of nanotubules, but capacity isn't yet as so very high as I DEMAND it to be. That's why these systems aren't the self enclosed "Phantom" yet. I'm pretty sure, for this generation, and likely the one after it, we'll still be buying the majority of our games on good old fasioned hard to stock and nearly outdated media.
By the way, PC games are already being sold in the form of pure downloads, some of them. It hasn't yet taken over though.
There is the issue of those larger hard disks. WILL they be releasing bigger capacity disks? And, more importantly, will the systems even be able to support it if we decide to buy our own high capacity disks? What are the limitations of the file system the companies will be using?
I have no qualms about having my data on the medium of a hard disk as opposed to a snazzy disk specifically for the game, with custom artwork even :D. The issue is space. I want to have ALL my games available at all times. If I don't have an online connection, I lose access to the games. I'm not going to be in a situation where I delete a few games to make room for more. That's too unstable. I like knowing my game is right there, waiting for me to play it. As I said, they can easily store that I have "bought it already", but the issue is, well, will I always have access to it, even unto the unmaking of the world? If MS decides the XBox was a waste of cash and just closes down their servers, I can't ever download those games again. Suddenly, whether or not I can play a game depends on the future viability of a company. 3rd party companies will be storing their games on their own servers, for example, and they are much more likely to fail than a behemoth like Nintendo. If I manage to get that one gem they make before they fail, but delete it later to make room for something else, then they shut down the server, BOOM, that's $50 down the drain and I'll never get that game again, or at least not until I manage to find some ancient chinese talisman shop, online, that has that available for download as "warez".
Further, while my online connection is fine, what of others? It's all well and good for them to visit a friend and borrow their connection for a game download, but a redownload? That spring break when they decide to play about 10 or so games? Do they have to "plan out" their entertainment? I'm a horder, a miser, when it comes to my stuff. I want it always there. As such, we need the storage space to let us always have it.
Basically, what I'm saying is this Star Trek vision of having all our holodeck programs accessible from a master list in the ship network is great, but our storage capacity needs to make a few giant leaps. That's a ways off. It's approaching, I think in the form of nanotubules, but capacity isn't yet as so very high as I DEMAND it to be. That's why these systems aren't the self enclosed "Phantom" yet. I'm pretty sure, for this generation, and likely the one after it, we'll still be buying the majority of our games on good old fasioned hard to stock and nearly outdated media.
By the way, PC games are already being sold in the form of pure downloads, some of them. It hasn't yet taken over though.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)