We live in a post-disc-drive world, what with all those disc-drive-less laptops, so why does the game system need one?
For years, the video game system has been the place you could expect the DVD or Blu-ray drive, and for many gamers, the two devices were one in the same. If you needed a great Blu-ray player, you could just get yourself the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, or Xbox One, because they all had one, and all did a pretty great job with the media.
But the world we’re living in is changing, and discs are becoming a thing of the past. Even though Blu-rays and DVDs still sell, people are going online to consume their media, and thanks to services like Netflix, Stan, Amazon, and digital movie purchase services like iTunes, you don’t really need the disc drive at all. You can skip it entirely.
And this year, that’s exactly what Microsoft plans to do with a re-release of its Xbox One, the now six year old console from Microsoft. In an upcoming edition of the console, Microsoft will remove the Blu-ray drive from its Xbox One S video game system altogether.
Unsurprisingly, the new edition is called the “Xbox One S All-Digital Edition”, which basically tells you exactly what it is, with no Blu-ray drive to use previous games with, though there is a 1TB drive inside so you have enough space to download games to.
Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass is encouraged here, given it will let you download games directly to your console with a monthly subscription, but of course you can buy games from Microsoft’s Xbox Online marketplace, and you get three to start with, as well: Forza Horizon 3, Minecraft, and Sea of Thieves.
There’s also support for 4K Ultra HD video, though as far as we understand, only for video streaming from Netflix and the like, as the Xbox One X is Microsoft’s only 4K capable gaming system. However you still get HDR support and Dolby Atmos, making it more like the Xbox One S, but just without the 4K Blu-ray disc drive.
In theory, this should be a less expensive option for the Xbox One, though we won’t know in Australia until later this year, with Microsoft not expected to release the Xbox One S Digital Edition until some time in 2019.
