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What if the rumored PS5 with a detachable disc drive...

... allows to swap between two different disc drives, one for PS4 and PS5 games and another one for PS1, PS2, PS3 disks and CD audio / dvd?
Of course the title played from the disc will not have access to features available behind the subscriptions tiers (save state, graphical improvements etc).
It would be cool to use our original disks and could be a way to solve the backward compatibility and preservation issue PS has (at least for PS1 and PS2 games until an official PS3 emulator will be released).

What do you think?

EDIT:
added rumors link
https://www.neogaf.com/threads/tom-...-for-2023-with-detachable-disc-drive.1641649/
 
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NeonGhost

uses 'M$' - What year is it? Not 2002.
GIF by South Park
 
... allows to swap between two different disc drives, one for PS4 and PS5 games and another one for PS1, PS2, PS3 disks and CD audio / dvd movies?
Of course the title played from the disc will not have access to features available behind the subscriptions tiers (save state, graphical improvements etc).
It would be cool to use our original disks and could be a way to solve the backward compatibility and preservation issue PS has (at least for PS1 and PS2 games until an official PS3 emulator will be released).

What do you think?
No money to be done for Sony. DVD, PS2 and PS3 discs would work if PS5 had an emulator to run them. But don't hold your breath.
 

AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
A detachable disc drive alone isn't going to magically run those games.

But more importantly, their subscription service is based around getting people to subscribe monthly for access to old games. This is never gonna happen.
 

UnNamed

Banned
... allows to swap between two different disc drives, one for PS4 and PS5 games and another one for PS1, PS2, PS3 disks and CD audio / dvd movies?
Of course the title played from the disc will not have access to features available behind the subscriptions tiers (save state, graphical improvements etc).
It would be cool to use our original disks and could be a way to solve the backward compatibility and preservation issue PS has (at least for PS1 and PS2 games until an official PS3 emulator will be released).

What do you think?

whynotboth.gif

There was a console with this concept called Laser Active and it wasn't a good idea.
 
No money to be done for Sony. DVD, PS2 and PS3 discs would work if PS5 had an emulator to run them. But don't hold your breath.
No, PS4 and PS5 cannot read DVD nor CD
Yes it can run/read DVD's.

You can play DVDs on the PlayStation 5 standard version, and it supports Ultra HD Blu-ray discs, 4K Blu-ray discs, and PlayStation 4 physical game discs as well.
Source: https://sortatechy.com/can-ps5-play-dvds-and-blu-rays/

CD's you're right, I believe it can't. But notice I didn't mention PS1 nor (audio) CD's.
 
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reksveks

Member
If the PS1/2/3 disc drive is £100gbp, would you buy it?

But more importantly, their subscription service is based around getting people to subscribe monthly for access to old games. This is never gonna happen.

Yeah, I suspect they rather have the recurring revenue for Extra
 
If the PS1/2/3 disc drive is £100gbp, would you buy it?



Yeah, I suspect they rather have the recurring revenue for Extra
It's hard to imagine that every game released on PS1 and PS2, PS3 will be available to their subscritption sevices. An external drive will fix that issue.
 

reksveks

Member
It's hard to imagine that every game released on PS1 and PS2, PS3 will be available to their subscritption sevices. An external drive will fix that issue.
is that for the first bit or the second bit?

Sony directly doesn't care about the library; they care if the library is enough to get users to subscribe to Extra.
 
yeah I agree but this would rise costs to customers wich are not interested in backward compatibility. That's the idead behind two devices.
The cost for a unit doing both would be lower than buying two units. It would also not be cost effective for Sony to produce two different drives when it's possible to build a blu-ray drive that also reads cd's and that'll cost like $2 at most.

It would also not make sense for sony to produce two different models, and stock them both. One size fits all, specially with something this niche is paramount.


There are other reasons Sony isn't interested. Maintaining emulators for all these systems would be cumbersome, piracy would be easy considering PSone and PS2 security systems have long been defeated and pirates know how they work. And they would be doing it with no financial gain.
 

The_Mike

I cry about SonyGaf from my chair in Redmond, WA
No, PS4 and PS5 cannot read DVD nor CD
What the hell are you on about.

They can read cd and dbds perfectly fine. Any hardware that can run blu Ray can read the previous generations of discs.

Not the other way around.

Edit - someone has already called you out.

What made you think they cant read CD's or dvds?
 
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whynotboth.gif

There was a console with this concept called Laser Active and it wasn't a good idea.
not exactly. That devices mixes Sega mega drive and PC engine hardware with those add-ons made from scrath by Pioneer which doesn't have any relations with the other two companies. I don't think we could compare that with a proper device made by Sony for a Sony machine.
 

AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
It's hard to imagine that every game released on PS1 and PS2, PS3 will be available to their subscritption sevices. An external drive will fix that issue.

And they will only ever make a little money on the hardware which can be re-sold again and again in the used market.

That's not where the money lies. They'll resell you old games digitally, mostly as part of subscription services, and that's it.
 

RoboFu

One of the green rats
Sooo… you think Sony is going to manufacture new specific hardware for media they have not manufactured for 30 years?
 
What the hell are you on about.

They can read cd and dbds perfectly fine. Any hardware that can run blu Ray can read the previous generations of discs.

Not the other way around.
absolutely no. DVD and CD are using different laser wave lenght (red spectrum) compared to Blu-ray disk (blue spectrum). So you need two lenses. The PS3 drive has two lenses.
 
If it doesn't provide Sony with a revenue stream, they're not going to do it.
The revenue should comes from selling the disc device itself. If Sony could cover the cost and earn why not? Anyway I understand your point on today's market. I admit it's one of the cons of the idea.
 

RoadHazard

Gold Member
Nope. Absolutely not happening. The PS5 could allow you to run at least PS2 games, but they don't want to. For PS3 they probably don't have a good enough emulator (or they wouldn't be using streaming for PS3 games on PS+). An external disc drive changes none of that.

absolutely no. DVD and CD are using different laser wave lenght (red spectrum) compared to Blu-ray disk (blue spectrum). So you need two lenses. The PS3 drive has two lenses.

This is correct, but the PS5 CAN read DVDs. So it must have a red laser as well? It just can't read CDs, for whatever reason.
 
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that makes no sense. if for some reason you still need a disc drive in 2022 then buy the disc model. if you don't need it then get the digital model.

sony should ditch the disc drive completely next gen. there's no point in discs anymore. they probably will get rid of them because it lets them force everyone to pay whatever price they set in their store. if a game is $80 at launch then that's what you're paying. if you don't want to pay then you can wait for a sale.
 

Moses85

Member
... allows to swap between two different disc drives, one for PS4 and PS5 games and another one for PS1, PS2, PS3 disks and CD audio / dvd movies?
Of course the title played from the disc will not have access to features available behind the subscriptions tiers (save state, graphical improvements etc).
It would be cool to use our original disks and could be a way to solve the backward compatibility and preservation issue PS has (at least for PS1 and PS2 games until an official PS3 emulator will be released).

What do you think?


OP like
Drunk Happy Hour GIF by Saturday Night Live
 

The_Mike

I cry about SonyGaf from my chair in Redmond, WA
absolutely no. DVD and CD are using different laser wave lenght (red spectrum) compared to Blu-ray disk (blue spectrum). So you need two lenses. The PS3 drive has two lenses.
Yeah, but I haven't heard of a dvd or bku Ray drive not supporting elder versions.

Anyway, you'd be an idiot to buy it if it's the case.
 

TrebleShot

Member
This rumour is laughable, there will most definitely not be an SKU that ships with a detachable disc drive, it will be an additional USB C accessory you can buy, not a chance its something that clips onto the PS5 or slim. Bloody 80s type thinking.
 
Yeah, but I haven't heard of a dvd or bku Ray drive not supporting elder versions.

Anyway, you'd be an idiot to buy it if it's the case.
because those devices have a double pickup laser, like the PS3. It' common in the dvd movie reader device space but it's not mandatory to have a retro-compatible device. And itì not common in the console space
Idiot if I'd buy what?
 
Yeah, but I haven't heard of a dvd or bku Ray drive not supporting elder versions.
The Wii DVD drive didn't read normal CD's, also with Bluray drives, Wii U, PS4 and PS5 don't support CD's as well.

It's a cost cutting measure, in the range of mere cents, which is why most drives in the market don't do it, my guess of why they do it on the console front is support and warranties. Granted, a laser to read CD's costs nothing to add, but what if it breaks within warranty? It's probably seem as a useless risk to incur.

They could also cut DVD support I guess (specially seeing they probably still play fees to support DVD video, which is why Wii and Wii U didn't read commercial DVD's, also Xbox 1 need to have a xbox remote to play DVD's arrangement), but for some reason they didn't.
 
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A disc drive reads the disc and that's all. It can't magically make backwards compatibility happen.

The PS5's problem isn't an inability to read PS1, PS2 or PS3 discs. Even if it could read them, it doesn't have the system architecture to run the software on them.

If I had an external Blu-ray drive for my PC it would be able to recognise Blu-rays and read the data on them, but I still wouldn't be able to play Blu-ray movies until I got software that did this for me. It's the software that does the work, not the disc drive.
 

Nankatsu

Gold Member
External hard drive... Reminds me of the old swap magic times for PS2 somehow.
 
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Black_Stride

do not tempt fate do not contrain Wonder Woman's thighs do not do not
Why doesnt the one drive just read everything?
Why have multiple drives especially one to read CDs?

Mate that things is gonna bomb harder than a FIFA PS5 bundle during a World Cup year.


^I hope you got the reference.
 

TLZ

Banned
yeah I agree but this would rise costs to customers wich are not interested in backward compatibility. That's the idead behind two devices.
Then I suggest have a drive that runs PS4/5 games and another more expensive one that runs all from 1-5. I'd buy the latter. I don't want to keep switching drives.
 
Then I suggest have a drive that runs PS4/5 games and another more expensive one that runs all from 1-5. I'd buy the latter. I don't want to keep switching drives.
I agree but you and I are not representative of the entire market.
 

Black_Stride

do not tempt fate do not contrain Wonder Woman's thighs do not do not
I already have answered to a similar reply
So why doesnt this device have two lenses?
Its bound to be cheaper to produce and ship one device with two lenses than two devices with one lens each and one of those devices going unbought till the end of time.
 

DonkeyPunchJr

World’s Biggest Weeb
I think this idea is genius. They could even have an accessory that takes Nintendo or Sega tapes. I bet they could work out a deal to make it happen.

It would be even better if they had a dock that let you connect your own RAM and GPU, then games could automatically take advantage of all the extra horsepower and you would never need to buy a new console.

I also think they should make like a giant tablet that you can connect to the bottom of your TV so they could support DS and 3DS compatibility.
 
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