The Xbox Series S is cheaper than the larger Xbox Series X, but that savings comes at a cost. Not only is the console less powerful, it also lacks the ability to use discs. The digital-only model seriously limits where you can buy your games, but a new patent could see that change.
As I spotted it GameRantAnd Microsoft filed a patent It would allow people to verify ownership of a physical game. Once this is done, players will have access to a digital copy of the game. If implemented on current-generation consoles, this would allow Series S owners to purchase and play physical games.
The patent also states that this engine can solve one challenge related to backward compatibility. Series S owners can’t currently port their existing collection of physical games to a console, a problem that Xbox Series X doesn’t share. So by offering this disc-to-digital system, Series S owners can enjoy all their old games digitally, without having to buy them again. a second.
In theory, this type of system might benefit Xbox Series X owners as well. Players may be able to get the benefits of owning a physical disc, rather than a digital license, but without having to switch them every time you want to play a new game.
There are still a few unknowns. My main concern is what kind of small print this process might involve. For example, if you check a disc and convert it to a digital copy, does the digital copy belong to you forever or is it a one-time transaction?
Let’s say, for example, that you have to delete some games to free up storage – a very real possibility with the 512GB S-series SSD. Can you re-download the converted titles again whenever you see fit, or will you have to check again? ? This is something people should know, in case they decide to get rid of their old tablets.
We also need to know if a single disk can be authenticated more than once – because it can make purchasing pre-owned disks a risky endeavor. Microsoft announced plans to crack down on the pre-owned game market in 2013, after all, in the run-up to the Xbox One launch.
Once a game is installed, the Xbox One system is designed to allow gamers to play their games without a disc – but at the cost of being able to freely trade and sell their games without going through Microsoft approved channels. A collective outcry from the fans, and an unofficial phishing comes from PlayStation, means these plans were so quickly canceled. It may have been nine years since this backlash, but players’ attitudes are unlikely to change much.
It’s also not clear if this system will require you to purchase a standalone drive, or if any Xbox console capable of reading a disc can be used to check the game. The Xbox One can read discs from all four generations of Xbox, after all.
Personally, I like this idea, provided Microsoft implements it correctly. I still prefer buying games on disc, which gives better flexibility in terms of where I buy and how much I pay. But I can admit that switching discs can be a bit of a pain, and the option to convert them to digital titles is very attractive.
Games take up the same space on an SSD, no matter how you get them. But this conversion should not harm the functionality of the physical copy in the process. Microsoft has tried it once, and its experience will prove once again that it destroys the goodwill it has accumulated over the past several years.
But for now, this kind of discussion is purely hypothetical. A patent application is not an advertisement for a product, so there is no guarantee that Microsoft will introduce a new type of disk digitization system. We just have to sit tight and see what happens.
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