When Microsoft revealed the Xbox One, with its digital mechanisms and 24 hour online authentication, it originally considered removing the optical drive. The consideration was so serious that Phil Spencer revealed that the optical drive was only added at the last second.
In conversation with OXM, Spencer stated, “Obviously, after the announcement and E3, there was some feedback about what people wanted to change. There was a real discussion about whether we should have an optical disc drive in Xbox One or if we could get away with a purely disc-less console, but when you start looking at bandwidth and game size, it does create issues.
“So we decided – which I think was the right decision – to go with the Blu-ray drive and give the people an easy way to install a lot of content. From some of those original thoughts, you saw a lot of us really focusing on the digital ecosystem you see on other devices – thinking of and building around that.”
Of course, many of the digital mechanisms were eventually stripped away for a more traditional console. A disc-less console may arrive yet but it certainly won’t be any time soon. What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments.