>> Should Games go back to cartridges?

[Loony BoB]

I don't know, I was buying my own music CDs before I was buying my own video games. I agree that it shouldn't be that hard to keep your CDs (DVDs, BR's, etc) in a safe place, however I can also understand that on occasion, you might drop a disc and have it get scratched and it's pretty gutting. Of course, I've personally had more problems with games in cartridges than I have with games on discs. I don't know why - maybe it's because when they're in cartridges you assume they're better off, maybe it's because the parts can move within each other, maybe it's something else, but cartridges were never invincible. Neither are CD's. Everything has a downside for someone out there, so yeah.

[Yeargdribble]

Um... thanks Michael Atkinson. Seriously, games are not mostly targeted at children. Most big title games are M rated these days.

These formats are LESS suited for movies and CDs honestly. If you're playing a game for 100+ hours then you're less likely to be changing the disc. You're constantly changing CDs and DVDs.

This is still irrelevant though. You still should take care of your things rather than whine an industry not making something up to the standard of abuse you throw at it. Some things are fragile. You learn to not be careless with them.

Your whole argument revolves around you being irresponsible and thinking that's okay. Please tell me you're not an adult.

[Loony BoB]

Let's not get snarky, Yeargdribble. I think it's pretty clear that he shares his games with his younger siblings, as he's said on numerous occasions. If I were in black orb's shoes, I'd be telling my siblings that the next time a CD of mine gets scratched, they won't be shared anymore until the CD is replaced (ie, a new one paid for).

[black orb]

Of course, I've personally had more problems with games in cartridges than I have with games on discs. I don't know why - maybe it's because when they're in cartridges you assume they're better off, maybe it's because the parts can move within each other, maybe it's something else, but cartridges were never invincible. Neither are CD's. Everything has a downside for someone out there, so yeah.

>>> You had more problems with cartridges? thats weird. I remember having some of my SNES games being thrown into water, dirt, dropped from the second floor, getting burnt, etc. and still worked fine..

Please tell me you're not an adult.

>>> Want to know my age? go and see my profile..

[Yeargdribble]

Oooh... so you're more of one of those, "well, back in my day" types.

So you're 3 years older than me and have trouble taking care of discs?

[black orb]

>>> Does age has something to do with this??..

[Yeargdribble]

Well if you were 15 then I might write off your responsibility as having something to do with your age, but at 30 you have no excuse to be so sadly irresponsible that you can't keep discs from getting scratched.

[black orb]

>>> Ok I get it, lets get back on topic please?..

[Jessweeee♪]

While I don't think it's serious enough of an issue to stop using discs or change how they're made, sometimes they get jacked up even if you're very responsible about them.

My brother's 360 has chewed a couple of his games and you can just ♪TJ Gaga♪ about the time his PS2 shattered FFXII into pieces D:

EDIT:

And the time it screeched and scratched up Guitar Hero D:

[Slothy]

>>> So now I have to teach my younger siblings responsibility because of the ineptitude of the gaming industry?

Might I suggest that if you can't trust your younger siblings to treat your stuff properly that you don't let them use it? I have an eight year old brother in law who isn't allowed to so much as touch a game case on the rare occasion he's here visiting. At his age I had no trouble treating my CD's and things properly, but I know he doesn't. Hence, if he wants to play one of my games I change the disc for him. He knows those are the rules and he's fine with it.

If you know you can't trust your siblings not to scratch your stuff but keep letting them use it then you can't really complain.

and i dont really care if the games get more expensive..

Please don't tell me you can't remember the days when we paid twice what we do now for games, because those days sucked really bad. And looking at Newegg's prices for USB flash drives, I think we'd be even worse off price wise at the moment if you had to factor in game development costs on top of those. Granted prices might fall quickly, but I'm not sure I'd trust companies to lower prices as things got cheaper if they magically got to charge $100+ again and have people actually accept that.

[black orb]

>>> This is a pretty good argument too (found at that other place)..

I'd gladly pay a little more fore each game if both the durability increased and the console became less likely to need repair. The cost of the console would also go down because it would need less hardware. The BR drive is what made the PS3 so expensive at launch. The 360's disc drive is notorious for scratching games if made before 2007. Why not use a flash card?

Also, have you noticed how cheap high-capacity drives are becoming? Yeah, they may retail for 10-20 bucks, but that's not what they cost to produce. The raw materials needed to make a flash card (a small circuit board, memory die, and plastic, copper) cost pennies--definitely under $5 each to produce. I wasn't suggesting we all go spend hundreds of dollars on a flash drive for each game.

[Bolivar]

Man I can't believe this is still going on and people are actually arguing about durability!!!

Going back to cartridges is a fun thought, hell I'd welcome it with open arms, but it's not practical by any means.

I'd gladly pay a little more fore each game if both the durability increased and the console became less likely to need repair. The cost of the console would also go down because it would need less hardware. The BR drive is what made the PS3 so expensive at launch. The 360's disc drive is notorious for scratching games if made before 2007. Why not use a flash card?

Also, have you noticed how cheap high-capacity drives are becoming? Yeah, they may retail for 10-20 bucks, but that's not what they cost to produce. The raw materials needed to make a flash card (a small circuit board, memory die, and plastic, copper) cost pennies--definitely under $5 each to produce. I wasn't suggesting we all go spend hundreds of dollars on a flash drive for each game.

That argument's wrong for many reasons. First of all, no one should reasonably expect their console to eat discs. The fact that 360's have done this is completely unexcusable. I never heard of PS2's doing this, but I know they really weren't well put together at first either.

Second, I'm glad I got a PS3 with a Blu Ray drive. If you were a conscious shopper, you could easily find a PS3 for a reasonable price even in its first year. I know because I bought my 60GB refurbished for $300, what the console is selling for now without backwards compatibility and linux. How much do 50GB flash drives cost, btw?


Games should be cheaper (at least by now) anyway and I wouldn't want to pay more when my discs going back to the ps1 era still work fine. I can say truthfully right now I've never had a disc get scratched up since I got my first Playstation.

[NorthernChaosGod]

I've never had a disc damaged enough to even affect gameplay or playback, but some have gotten some minor scratches over time. Blu-Ray discs are supposed to be a lot less durable than your average CD/DVD, and I'm pretty sure a scratch on a higher capacity disc would be more damaging than on a lower capacity disc.

I'm not saying it's a serious issue, because all my discs are either in use or in their cases, but it can be an issue. It's not like we're robots and never drop anything.

Isn't the PS2 notorious for disc read errors because the laser comes out of alignment or isn't as strong as it was supposed to be? I can't really recall any sort of issue similar to that with a cartridge based console.

[Yeargdribble]

Yeah, I think long before we should start complaining about the durability of the media itself we should worry about the durability of consoles. 360s are an absolute joke. I don't care if they give me a warranty, it's still hassle for me to get it replaced if it goes bad. That's certainly something you can pin on manufacture when, with great care and reasonable use, a device can simply stop functioning well within its lifespan.


I don't want to pay more for a more durable game. What's worse is I fear that as we approach digital distribution we won't see any cut in the price even though production cost will be cut significantly. I think the standard price would easily shift up another $10 is the next 5 years regardless of distribution.

What's worse is that the first parties will control the market. No, big sales at Best Buy. No used games. Look at the PSN Store; specifically look at PSP games. Rarely is there fluctuation. I have the feeling that there will be equally little bend as we see $60 games hit these mediums.


Sure Steam is fantastic and I trust that Valve will always keep that reasonable, that's one company. At best we'll see multi-plat games drop a bit in pricing wars, but for all of the GoWs, Uncharteds, Halos and the like, the first parties are gonna wanna keep the price at full premium far longer than what than what might happen on a retail shelf.

[Shiny]

I would never want to go back to the days of blowing in a cartridge. Disks are easier to compartmentalize. I can fit two sometimes three disks into one case. Far easier that way.