BELOW The Xbox
One S All-Digital
Edition is priced
at an affordable
£199.99, but is
it worth forgoing
physical media?INSIDER DISCUSSION: A DIGITAL-ONLY FUTURE
What we think about
a seemingly inevitable
digital-only future
The world of videogames is changing fast, but are we
prepared for the all-digital singularity?
Sales of physical
games are rapidly
falling and
digital sales are
continuously on
the rise, but what
does that mean for
the future of the industry? The recent
release of Microsoft’s disc-less Xbox
One S console has sparked the debate
once more about a digital-only future,
and the OXM team is here to discuss.
OXM
DISCUSSAdam Personally, I don’t have a problem
with a disc-less console. More options
for players is great. I’m just worried
about an all-digital future where the
legacy of games is threatened.Robin The thing is, almost all games
are essentially tied to the internet now
anyway, right? Between crucial day-
one patches, live service features and
multiplayer, etc. So it feels like, from
a game preservation perspective, wehave already tipped over into that point
of no return.Drew It’s about ownership for me. You
don’t actually own a digital game, you
more or less own a licence to use it as
long as it is available on the store. If
something gets delisted, or if the store
just collapses, it doesn’t matter if you
bought it or not: it’s gone. The only way
I know a game I’ve purchased is ‘safe’
is if it’s sitting on my shelf.016 THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE