Both Microsoft and Sony have said that they’d like to offer digital format titles at a discount on their respective next-gen hardware. Microsoft has taken the first steps to that end with a bit of an experiment. From February 18th through the 24th, XBox One launch title RYSE: Son of Rome will be available for only $39.99 on Microsoft’s game store. While RYSE has been available for several months, and has already seen a price cut for the physical copy at some retailers it’s nice to see Microsoft make good on their promises of a reduced digital pricing structure.
Offering a discount on digital purchases certainly has had precedent set with music, movies, and even games through avenues such as Steam. It’s nice to see next-gen consoles follow suit. Both XBox One and PS4 currently offer 500 GB of storage. While the PS4 currently allows for the internal hard drive to be replaced, XBox has yet to provide for expanded storage. The most recent update I could find on the matter was from Xbox Community Manager Larry Hryb (Major Nelson) back in September.
Speaking during a live podcast recorded at PAX this weekend, Xbox Community Manager Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb said that, while the external storage feature is being worked on, “my understanding is that feature will not be there at launch because the team’s working on other things. It’s definitely on the list; I don’t know when it will come in, though.”
While it would be difficult to fill 500 GB at this point in either console’s life, Microsoft will need to implement expanded storage sooner rather than later. When disc-based games have a three to five GB install, and next-gen games are sold on Blu-Ray discs, 500 GB won’t last forever. Digital sales are pretty clearly the direction that most everything is taking. Hopefully Microsoft bumps that up on their list of priorities.
Anyone looking to pick up RYSE during this sale?
Source: Gamerant, Eurogamer, ars technica
Photo Credit: Crytek
Last Updated on September 19, 2016.
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