Imagine an alternative scenerio where all video games for PC still came in physical media

[Labyrinth2 0]

We have video games that already surpass over 100 GB of data and at some point even Bluray disks wouldn't have the capacity to store an entire game into a disk. What do you think would of been next step after Bluray if Digital didn't become the standard?

The 2 alternative scenarios I can think of are USB drives and SD cards since both can store between 1 - 2 TB of data. Or would you think PC games would be in a similar situation with the Nintendo Switch where you have unique cartridges for PC only?

[Tarra Sama]

Have you ever been to a store? Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Micro Center, game stop, uhhh name a store that sells games.

They used to for PC all the time but devs stopped likely because
A. Too much hassle to keep it up to date
B. too much plastic.

[Labyrinth2 0]

Tarra Sama původně napsal:

Have you ever been to a store? Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Micro Center, game stop, uhhh name a store that sells games.

They used to for PC all the time but devs stopped likely because
A. Too much hassle to keep it up to date
B. too much plastic.

Did you read my post? I meant PC games. Sure, There is a tiny section that still does, specifically the Hidden Object Series, but again, its small and limited.

[Ben Lubar]

There were games that didn't fit on one disk long before it became feasible to deliver video games over the internet.

They put those games on multiple disks.

[( ( < < <🤖> > > ) )]

if we didnt have high speed internet usb hard drives would be the go
although we would probably of invested in something better than usb by now
if it was in line for a evolution...

you can also buy arcade style game units for the home
which is like a pc packed with pre loaded games

so variety is everywhere... going backwards has always been a option...

[Ben Lubar]

The medium you get games delivered to you through nowadays (ethernet packets) can only hold about 1500 bytes each.

When you download a game, you're getting sent many, many tiny packages that your computer combines to reproduce the game's files.

It's the same as switching floppies or CDs, except that your computer can go from one packet to the next much faster than you can physically swap a CD with the next one in the case.

There were also games you had to install to a hard drive because reading from a CD was simply too slow and games that required the CD to be there because hard drive space was too expensive to use for the videos the CD contained.

A lot of things have changed in order to make downloading a game over the internet possible. It's not just that they wanted to save on manufacturing costs.

And vice versa, if we were still using physical media to bring games into our homes, the games would likely be less than a small multiple of that media's byte capacity. Game developers wouldn't make you use hundreds of CD-ROMs to run a game because you wouldn't be willing to do that.

The limitations don't exist in a vacuum.

[( ( < < <🤖> > > ) )]

thats interesting....
because i recon a lot of us would of invested in carousel/juke box
style data storage if we went that way.....

install files unpack files play... please insert disc 2... and...

[datCookie]

Ben Lubar původně napsal:

There were games that didn't fit on one disk long before it became feasible to deliver video games over the internet.

They put those games on multiple disks.

Klingon Academy had something like 7 discs if I recall

[Tarra Sama]

Labyrinth2 0 původně napsal:

Tarra Sama původně napsal:

Have you ever been to a store? Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Micro Center, game stop, uhhh name a store that sells games.

They used to for PC all the time but devs stopped likely because
A. Too much hassle to keep it up to date
B. too much plastic.

Did you read my post? I meant PC games. Sure, There is a tiny section that still does, specifically the Hidden Object Series, but again, its small and limited.

yes, but they often did do games on multiple disks like the sims 2 and 3

[Start_Running]

Labyrinth2 0 původně napsal:

We have video games that already surpass over 100 GB of data and at some point even Bluray disks wouldn't have the capacity to store an entire game into a disk. What do you think would of been next step after Bluray if Digital didn't become the standard?

The 2 alternative scenarios I can think of are USB drives and SD cards since both can store between 1 - 2 TB of data. Or would you think PC games would be in a similar situation with the Nintendo Switch where you have unique cartridges for PC only?

I wiouldn't have half the games I have now, not even a qyuarter due to storage issues and well, just not being able to get them locally.

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

A few Final Fantasy games have used multiple discs over the years.

[Start_Running]

cSg|mc-Hotsauce původně napsal:

A few Final Fantasy games have used multiple discs over the years.

:nkCool:

EVery game since 7, with the exception iof tactics I think.

[nullable]

Labyrinth2 0 původně napsal:

We have video games that already surpass over 100 GB of data and at some point even Bluray disks wouldn't have the capacity to store an entire game into a disk. What do you think would of been next step after Bluray if Digital didn't become the standard?

The 2 alternative scenarios I can think of are USB drives and SD cards since both can store between 1 - 2 TB of data. Or would you think PC games would be in a similar situation with the Nintendo Switch where you have unique cartridges for PC only?

Multiple blu-rays? Like multi dvd and multi cd games before them. Physical media is expensive, but optical media is cheaper than USB or SD cards, so that would be most likely I figure, at least for a while.


But twenty years after blu-ray came out? I dunno, maybe USB or SD cards could replace them. But publushers probably wouldn't use 1TB sd cards for 100GB games.

[electronx]

Many games have unnecessary bloat, I suppose it would cause designers to be more aware of asset quality.

I'm playing some really old games and their effects are way more important.

You don't really need videos playing on billboards.
You can mix and match a lot of foliage like tree segments.

That said if people are playing for the pretty, then obviously it's good to have.
The only issue I can actually see is a random cause for massive traffic restrictions, say, during a war. Arguably it's not a priority to play games then, but that could be a curb. You could still enjoy streaming in 360p or 480p.

The alternative alternative is moving to the Moon or Mars.

[wesnef]

datCookie původně napsal:

Ben Lubar původně napsal:

There were games that didn't fit on one disk long before it became feasible to deliver video games over the internet.

They put those games on multiple disks.

Klingon Academy had something like 7 discs if I recall

My first multi-disc game was Ultima 1, back in 1980. Came on two 5.25" floppies. :D
(I also have all four 3.5" discs of Marathon 1, from Bungie in 1994)

edit: ah, my WoW box has four discs, too.
Diablo 2 had 3 (Install, Cinematics, and Play)
Myst 2 had 5
Baldur's Gate had 5
----

But yeah, if we were still getting these huge games only on physical media, I imagine that devs would have kept doing optimization & compression things like they did in the old days. Esp if they had to come on memory sticks as opposed to cheaper optical discs.

[wesnef]

Start_Running původně napsal:

cSg|mc-Hotsauce původně napsal:

A few Final Fantasy games have used multiple discs over the years.

:nkCool:

EVery game since 7, with the exception iof tactics I think.

Looking at my shelf - 12, 13, 13-3, and 15 are all one disc. Of course, 13+ used blu-ray, and 15 was in the "and you just download most of it" era.