Would You Like a Return to a Type of Cartridge?

[Flojomojo]

It doesn't evoke the imagination and emotion of a real cartridge though.

I'm sure some of our forebears felt that way about leaded gasoline, too.

[PlaysWithWolves]

I never got into any sort of loot crates, but I thought Indiebox's printed business-card USB games were at least neat in theory for something small and cartridge-like.

 

 

Durability may be a different matter.

[Video]

I never got into any sort of loot crates, but I thought Indiebox's printed business-card USB games were at least neat in theory for something small and cartridge-like.

 

indiebox31.jpg

 

Durability may be a different matter.

 

Neat, never saw those. Do they have any protection from being deleted? That's another physical media thing, typically you can't erase them (through normal means)

[PlaysWithWolves]

Neat, never saw those. Do they have any protection from being deleted? That's another physical media thing, typically you can't erase them (through normal means)

 

AFAIK, you'd set it to read-only mode.

[Video]

The closest analog I have is four 360 memory cards, each with a game in them (they were sold that way) one is geometry wars, one is worms, something, and the other two I don't remember. Microsoft axed the memory card ports on the s and e series 360's though so I can't use them now.

 

This is before their online stuff started so it was a way to buy games without giving your credit card info, plus I just thought they were neat.

[Tanooki]

I had one of those before of those usb card flip devices as I at one time had Steamworld Dig in that set which had the card, burlap sack, metal sign and some other fluff. It was a nice little device. I don't recall if it was locked or not, probably was, but it's long gone so I can't check it.

[juansolo]

Personally I'd love a return to carts. Discs aren't fast enough to run games from anymore (hence the Xbone and PS4 install EVERYTHING to HDD) and downloads are still impractical for a lot of people with current internet infrastructure. Cheap memory is now prevalent, and a small form factor memory based storage system for games would be perfect for consoles. I'd love to see HDDs dropped completely in consoles. Go back to flash storage for the OS. Games on a cart would force producers to release games that were at least playable also, rather than broken games needing giant day one patches. Save games to a re-writable section of the cart, hell yes.

 

It'll never happen for many reasons: It costs more than the no physical media option of downloads, it wouldn't support 'games as a service' where they drip feed content to a game to milk the player base, people are lazy so downloading games will eventually take over, broken games are the norm now that need patching on release, etc, etc. The list goes on as to why we're where we are and why it'll not change now sadly.

Edited July 8, 2018 by juansolo

[Keatah]

Downloading has already taken over IMHO. And I don't ever see a return to sufficient in-house testing, the extra profits made by eliminating that department are too enticing.

[80s_Atari_Guy]

Downloading on PC, has taken over. But on console, at least over here, it's only around 35%. Physical media, will always be the main buying choice for console. While downloading, will be limited to those with fast internet, and unlimited data.

I see a PS5, and Xbox Two, both with optical drives - because both Sony and MS see retail not going away for a long time.

 

 

Back to the topic, Would you like to see a return to cartridge ? Yes, I would.

[Osgeld]

Games on a cart would force producers to release games that were at least playable also,

 

 

yea GFL with that, it didnt even stop them back in the day where carts were the only option.

 

I hate this logic, the notion of a perfect game was darn near impossible when it was 8 bits and 128 bytes of ram, when you could print an entire games worth of source code on like 2 sheets of paper. Combined with the fact there's games from the NES + era that contained game bugs, to the point of the game completely breaking, do you really think EA and UBISOFT are going to give a single squat after they have your money?

 

Least with online they have no excuse to not fix their garbage

Edited July 8, 2018 by Osgeld

[Video]

I don't know. Xbox is already a strictly download only console (the disc is just a key to get a game online) so I could see them axing physical of any kind next generation. I see playstations next console being more like Xbox one, discs as a key type thing, maybe the generation after that, they too would ax physical.

 

Unless something happens, Xbox one is likely my last Microsoft console, and I'll have to wait and see with sony, but ps4 or 5 will likely be their last console I get. Internet is just to unreliable everywhere I've lived to be a viable option.

 

If I'm going the online only route, no need for a console at all, as a decent computer will get me all the same stuff, as well as a much more stuff from cheap to free. The reason for a console is to differentiate from a computer, though the way their going, they won't do that much longer anyways. Heck, they won't be much different from the typical Android (I assume) set top box I've already had for years.

[Flojomojo]

Ubisoft boss: PS5 is the last console as we know it, and everything will be streaming after that

 

Compared to that, downloads don't seem so bad, right?

 

Not that consumers have any more rights with cartridges than they do with streaming. They're locked out of what's inside either way. I'm not sure that being able to trade boxes with a little media on it is really that much better.

 

Agreed that consoles = computers.

[Tanooki]

I have to admit I loathe the idea, but I can see it already being tested by Capcom over in Japan to much early success. Look up their latest Japanese only (so far?) Resident Evil release. The game plays off their own kind of like cloud server so nothing really gets installed to the console at all other than like a bootstrap loader (like say netflix fires up movies, and other streaming services.) Capcom got to where despite having a PS4/Pro quality experience is going on, the amount of data being transmitted to you and the upload back to keep you synced up is like running an 1080P HD Netflix feed going I read. They're test bedding this also on the Switch and have found because they're dodging the Switch hardware limits they can pop out a game running on their end beyond the system capabilities if that wasn't a bs story. I'm not an RE fan so I didn't read into to verify it if that part is wrong.

 

I can't support a setup like that, especially when many ISPs in the US are f'ing greedy and set obscenely low data caps. I lucked out that mine while at 1TB doesn't get enforced unless you ram well over it consistently though it does seem to depend on the corporate mood swings of theirs too. Ubisofts boss not all that long ago rattled on how we'd have download only systems and the PS4 generation isn't this, it's not even a majority share, so I just wonder if this is a hot pile of garbage or the deflection point where they can start feeding zero deals, zero data to keep, and put out mediocre hardware that supports streaming more than the game as the beefiest won't be needed with streaming.

[Video]

Japan I imagine has awesome internet compared to the average in the US though. Streaming is a harder fail here than downloading. I tried that on my ps4 and it simply doesn't work (and that was on the BEST local internet option) people forget how big the US is, physically. If you live in california, or new york, close to servers, then streaming may be viable, if you don't live there, your just sol.

[Newsdee]

 

which outrun?

 

there have been tons of versions released on cartridges, disc, etc.

 

later

-1

I meant the one on the PSN store, Outrun Online Arcade. I think it was a port of an older PS2 game though.

[Tanooki]

Japanese internet on the whole is pretty much gigabit level tech being normal, while most of the US is lucky to see 50megabit or better, usually less to far less depending on the age of lines and rural level of the place the homes are located. That's why they can make these great claims of killing media when you can download a multi-GB sized games in a matter of minutes or so instead of lots of hours or worse.

[christo930]

Downloading has already taken over IMHO. And I don't ever see a return to sufficient in-house testing, the extra profits made by eliminating that department are too enticing.

 

This is a side effect of going digital. In the old days, once a game was committed to cartridge or Disc, that was it. There was no changing it. This forced them to release the game when it was done.

 

I am hoping they really trash the whole industry. At the rate they are going, it's probably not that far off....

[Austin]

I am hoping they really trash the whole industry. At the rate they are going, it's probably not that far off....

Measured in units of Switch carts, how far exactly is your head up your ass?

[Keatah]

This is a side effect of going digital. In the old days, once a game was committed to cartridge or Disc, that was it. There was no changing it. This forced them to release the game when it was done.

 

I am hoping they really trash the whole industry. At the rate they are going, it's probably not that far off....

Absolutely! Can't wait for that day.

 

You know.. Back in the day, when games were released on updatable floppy disks, or released as shareware on BBSes, developers did their absolute best to make them bug free. On occasion there'd be a .1 revision - but that would include new levels or some enhancement. And we WANTED things that way! But today, the shit they sell today..Pffaagghhh!

Edited July 11, 2018 by Keatah

[keepdreamin]

 

This is a side effect of going digital. In the old days, once a game was committed to cartridge or Disc, that was it. There was no changing it. This forced them to release the game when it was done.

 

I am hoping they really trash the whole industry. At the rate they are going, it's probably not that far off...

 

Good grief, do some of you people live outside of reality? This is that Coleco Chameleon "guarantee games won't need patches" pipe dream fairy tale again. Well, guess what. Games that were released 20 years ago on cart weren't bug free either.

 

You might as well ask a car maker to only release vehicles that will be guaranteed never to have a recall issued.

 

Game development has become exponentially more complex. Studios don't spend enough on in house testing? That's a complete fabrication, which makes me think anyone stating as such hasn't completed a modern game in the last 10 years. Watch the credit roll, and look for the Tester/QA section. All those people are being paid a wage by the studio simply to test the game, and that process still goes on even after the retail release.

Edited July 13, 2018 by keepdreamin

[Keatah]

I rarely saw updates to cartridges or even my Apple II disks. Even in 1996 there were only a few patches to the already 2+ years old Doom game.

 

It's not my problem that games have become too complex for their own good. If patching and updating moderns games is a way of life, so be it. I'll be happy to buy them once several revisions have passed.

[keepdreamin]

I rarely saw updates to cartridges or even my Apple II disks. Even in 1996 there were only a few patches to the already 2+ years old Doom game.

 

 

and people in the 1940's rarely had to deal with traffic cameras and HOV lanes, yet the future kept coming.

[Keatah]

Downloading on PC, has taken over. But on console, at least over here, it's only around 35%. Physical media, will always be the main buying choice for console. While downloading, will be limited to those with fast internet, and unlimited data.

I see a PS5, and Xbox Two, both with optical drives - because both Sony and MS see retail not going away for a long time.

 

 

Back to the topic, Would you like to see a return to cartridge ? Yes, I would.

 

I don't mind a return to cartridge as long as there's no DRM and, like in the 1980's, if you could buy on disk or download, too.

[Keatah]

and people in the 1940's rarely had to deal with traffic cameras and HOV lanes, yet the future kept coming.

 

Drivers shouldn't have to deal with traffic cameras in any era. Just follow the rules of the road and you'll be fine. Far too many people blast trough red lights here. And everytime I see the flash of the camera I let out a whooop!!

[Austin]

Even in 1996 there were only a few patches to the already 2+ years old Doom game.

Actually, DOOM had nine official patches in the first year and a half it was out. That's not counting a couple of other unofficial patches from users that fixed things as well.