Xbox Won’t Say If Project Helix Has A Disc Drive, But It’s Not Giving Up On Physical Games Yet
Overview & Key Takeaways
Sony has already confirmed that it's headed toward an all-digital future soon, but what about Xbox and its next-gen console, Project Helix? In a new interview, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma didn't give any concrete answers about whether Project Helix will have a disc drive, instead focusing on the topic of next-gen hardware affordability.
"This next generation, we have to be thinking about efficiency and affordability alongside performance," Sharma said to the BBC. "All of the industry needs to start to innovate on affordability and efficiency. That is something that we have not had to do [previously]. But with the crisis that's currently happening in hardware and components, it is absolutely something all of us need to be thinking about, innovating on, and giving people more choice in terms of how they play their console and how they purchase their console."
On the topic of physical media, Sharma said her focus was on giving players choices for how they purchase their games. "I want to make sure people have a choice. There are stacks of games on everybody's shelves," she said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ANSUtDfr5A
While Sony's pivot to digital has been poorly received so far, Xbox has been laying the groundwork for this shift away from physical games for several years now. Options like Smart Delivery, Play Anywhere, and the recently announced disc-to-digital program has helped make the transition easier while still giving Xbox owners the option to purchase physical games. In comparison, PlayStation owners will be limited to a single storefront run by Sony, one that currently doesn't offer consumer-friendly services like refunds or gifting, as Valve's Steam platform does. It's no wonder that the decision to go digital has been so unpopular and has resulted in a flood of negative comments whenever Sony posts anything online.
Xbox, on the other hand, is primed to win a war of opinion if it offers some form of physical ownership of its games, even if that section of its market only makes up a tiny number of sales. Project Helix is still rumored to be a digital-only console so that Microsoft can cut costs on its production, but according to rumors, it'll be backwards-compatible with older games. Given how the new disc-to-digital program works, it might be worth keeping an Xbox Series X or Xbox One console around so you can bring your physical games with you, in case it doesn't have a disc drive of its own.
Sony has already confirmed that it's headed toward an all-digital future soon, but what about Xbox and its next-gen console, Project Helix? In a new interview, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma didn't give any concrete answers about whether Project Helix will have a disc drive, instead focusing on the topic of next-gen hardware affordability.
"This next generation, we have to be thinking about efficiency and affordability alongside performance," Sharma said to the BBC. "All of the industry needs to start to innovate on affordability and efficiency. That is something that we have not had to do [previously]. But with the crisis that's currently happening in hardware and components, it is absolutely something all of us need to be thinking about, innovating on, and giving people more choice in terms of how they play their console and how they purchase their console."
On the topic of physical media, Sharma said her focus was on giving players choices for how they purchase their games. "I want to make sure people have a choice. There are stacks of games on everybody's shelves," she said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ANSUtDfr5A
While Sony's pivot to digital has been poorly received so far, Xbox has been laying the groundwork for this shift away from physical games for several years now. Options like Smart Delivery, Play Anywhere, and the recently announced disc-to-digital program has helped make the transition easier while still giving Xbox owners the option to purchase physical games. In comparison, PlayStation owners will be limited to a single storefront run by Sony, one that currently doesn't offer consumer-friendly services like refunds or gifting, as Valve's Steam platform does. It's no wonder that the decision to go digital has been so unpopular and has resulted in a flood of negative comments whenever Sony posts anything online.
Xbox, on the other hand, is primed to win a war of opinion if it offers some form of physical ownership of its games, even if that section of its market only makes up a tiny number of sales. Project Helix is still rumored to be a digital-only console so that Microsoft can cut costs on its production, but according to rumors, it'll be backwards-compatible with older games. Given how the new disc-to-digital program works, it might be worth keeping an Xbox Series X or Xbox One console around so you can bring your physical games with you, in case it doesn't have a disc drive of its own.
