Rumors that the Xbox One might ship without a disc drive were circulating back in 2012, but it seems that it came much closer to becoming a reality than we might have thought. As recently as the middle of 2013, the idea was still being kicked around, according to an interview with Microsoft Studios boss Phil Spencer in the Official Xbox Magazine.
Talks about the possibility of a drive-less console started afresh after E3. “There was a real discussion about whether we should have an optical disc drive in Xbox One or if we could get away with a purely disc-less console, but when you start looking at bandwidth and game size, it does create issues.”
It seems as though potential problems with downloading large games may have played a role in the decision to include a drive in the console, and of course it is also important to remember that there are some gamers who do not have an internet connection.
But another thing to keep in mind is that if games are not delivered on disc, there is obviously a need for additional storage space. This in turn would lead to a price increase, which could lead to reduced sales — so it’s easy to see why Microsoft made the decision it did.
Spencer says: “We decided – which I think was the right decision – to go with the Blu-ray drive and give the people an easy way to install a lot of content.”
Was it the right decision? Would you have preferred to drop the discs and go purely down the route of downloadable content?
