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[Clear]

I agree with you. The lesser of three evils is a hell of a hero to pick as your "good guy." On the other hand, as bad a solution as GCC are, at least they're tradable and convey some level of "ownership."

Ever since that one thread, I've been hoping that one good aspect of this AI disaster will be a Silicon Valley-style efficient form of compression and upscaling, allowing for larger games to be stored on smaller disks and carts… just in time for everyone to abandon physical media. -_-

At least they'll take up less hard drive space if it pans out.

The reality is that if you disregard "the sense of ownership" aspect and just look at discs in terms of their functionality as a storage/distribution mechanism, they actually suck.

They are relatively bulky, slow at data transfer, and being pressed media become out-dated in most cases immediately upon release.

Also, the denser they are the more prone they become to decay over time due to chemical reactions between the substrate layer particularly when exposed to sunlight. The truth of the matter is that despite how they were marketed as being more robust than magnetic media, their expected life-span of 10-20 years is actually less than that of magnetic tape which is generally expected to last 10-30 years. I personally have 40 year old floppy discs that still read perfectly!

 

[Dynasty8]

Wasn't the latest Mario Kart game priced at $90?

Doesn't Nintendo sue everyone and their mothers?

Do you honestly think Nintendo isn't going to eventually go all digital? If any company is looking to speed up that process, it's Nintendo to avoid more piracy.

 

[Komatsu]

Also, the denser they are the more prone they become to decay over time due to chemical reactions between the substrate layer particularly when exposed to sunlight. The truth of the matter is that despite how they were marketed as being more robust than magnetic media, their expected life-span of 10-20 years is actually less than that of magnetic tape which is generally expected to last 10-30 years. I personally have 40 year old floppy discs that still read perfectly!

Though it is true that CD/DVD lifespans aren't fantastic, they are vastly more durable than most people think, particularly so especially if well kept. I have a 1984 Bruce Springsteen CD that is still in pretty decent condition.

 

[Majukun]

eh, no one is the good guy in this industry

Wasn't the latest Mario Kart game priced at $90?

Doesn't Nintendo sue everyone and their mothers?

Do you honestly think Nintendo isn't going to eventually go all digital? If any company is looking to speed up that process, it's Nintendo to avoid more piracy.

while I agree with the sentiment...how is an all digital future avoid piracy exactly?

 

[ハトリス]

They've always been the good guy.