# Physical media is a “dead body handcuffed to” next-gen – Codies founder



## Ares (Nov 23, 2009)

*Physical media is a “dead body handcuffed to” next-gen – Codies founder*

Codemasters founder David Darling is disappointed by Microsoft’s decision to back down on its original Xbox One licensing policies, which he believes will allow Apple and Google to take over living rooms from traditional consoles.










“It was interesting how the market did pull back with Microsoft. I don’t think Microsoft sold it in the right way – they weren’t strong enough,” the former Codemasters boss said of Microsoft’s plans to pull back from physical media, while speaking with GamesIndustry.

“I don’t think they should have had a physical drive on Xbox One – it’s like having a dead body handcuffed to you. It’s dragging along this dead body and it’s going to slow them down. They’ve let the market pull them back but I think that was a mistake.”

The “mistake”, as Darling sees it, is in letting physical media remain the dominant paradigm, keeping game costs high, and reducing Microsoft’s chances of staying relevant against Apple and Google.

“They’ve given Apple and Google a chance to get into the living room – they’ll come along with new machines and take over the market,” he said.

“Apple has already announced a gaming controller so they’ve got developers starting to think how they can make games for that controller. If they release this new machine with a new App Store then suddenly they’ll have a device in the living room which can steal the market away from Xbox One and PS4.

“It was only a few years ago that people were saying that the iPhone wasn’t a threat to traditional handhelds, but Apple has taken over what you could call the ‘pocket’ market from things like PS Vita and 3DS. The same thing could happen in the home.”

Darling warned that Apple and Google are both dangerous foes; they innovate and move quickly.

“There’s a lot of potential in what those two companies can do in the living room with their technology,” he said, adding, “The price of console games has to drop otherwise they will not be competitive with Apple and Google.”

Physical media is on its way out, Darling added.

“The industry will definitely move in that direction, and I think it will move very quickly. It’s a bit like flipping a coin – at some stage it will just flip.

“It will change in six months and everybody will wonder why it never changed before. There’s no point in distributing physical media when the internet exists.”

Darling isn’t the only one to decry physical media; Assassin’s Creed creator Patrice Désilets said “nobody cares” about it, while Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski warned that the industry will suffer as a result.

Source: VG24/7


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## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

lol, the "market" shouldn't have done what they did? M$ should have been "stronger"??? seriously? people told M$ they weren't sick of physical media and they were wrong? wow, the sheer arrogance is amazing


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## Ares (Nov 23, 2009)

NPD did an online survey and this is what they found.



> In terms of buying behavior, it would seem logical that online gamers would prefer digital content over physical content, but this was not the case, according to the report.* Asked if players would prefer purchasing a game in physical format or digital format, where pricing and availability were consistent, 62 percent chose the physical format. *
> 
> The Online Gaming 2013 report was conducted through an online survey fielded from February 15 through March 4. *The survey was completed by 8,867 individuals ages 2 and older. *


The last time I checked Digital has the same price tag as Physical for day one releases and even a few months after release. I think he forgot about Sony's super-successful PSPgo.  It seems like every year they keep pushing the "Death of Physical Media" and fail to take into account that 


The size of an HDD for a console is limited (without using hacks and so forth)
Most gamers may not have the Bandwidth to deal with an all Digital solution
If your going to spend $60 for a game you would want sole ownership of the media and not be at the mercy of Sony, MS, Developer or Publisher.
Trade or Sell used games.


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## tripplej (Oct 23, 2011)

I think we all know that the underlining issue is piracy and as such they (the developers) want to keep the physical media away as a means of getting rid of piracy. Plus, with streaming media as the only option, folks are forced to "buy" new games instead of trading in games.. more money this way.


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## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

It does appear that we are quickly heading in the direction of no more physical media. I personally prefer having a physical disc but that's just me.


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## Ares (Nov 23, 2009)

Since Developers or Publishers couldn't get paid on used game sales they are trying very hard to push this on us under the guise that it will prevent piracy which it won't, every time they try to build a better mouse trap the mice just get smarter.


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