Some gamers may be ready to ditch the disc drive to save on hardware.

When dredging up the Xbox One's brief used game policy debacle of 2013 yesterday, I was reminded of an interesting bit of trivia that came out in the aftermath of that story. Apparently, as late as mid-2013, Microsoft was considering making the Xbox One completely disc-free.
Microsoft eventually rejected that plan because, as Microsoft Studios head Phil Spencer said at the time, "when you start looking at bandwidth and game size, it does create issues." But now, four years later, I'm beginning to wonder if a disc-free game console would at least make sense as an available option.

To be clear here, I'm not saying we should do away with games on physical media entirely. The industry probably isn't ready for that for a number of reasons we'll touch on below. Instead, I'm suggesting that Sony and Microsoft could offer new versions of their consoles, without a disc drive, to sell alongside the standard disc-enabled version.

(The cartridge-based, portable Nintendo Switch is a little different in this regard, but the ill-fated PSPGo shows the idea of a download-only console isn't completely unprecedented. And let's not forget download-only microconsoles like the Ouya and Nvidia Shield, either.)

With one less bulky moving part contributing to production costs (not to mention reliability issues/support costs), the disc-free versions of these consoles could probably sell for considerably less than their disc-bound counterparts (a decent PC Blu-Ray drive currently costs around $50 or more, for some context). Console makers might be willing to lower the hardware's selling price even further for the benefit of locking players into their online store, where sales don't go through a retail middleman (and where the royalty-free resale of used games, which some publishers compare to piracy, doesn't exist).
The lower hardware-production costs could alternatively be folded into more built-in storage for the disc-free system, to store all of those big downloads. All the major consoles now sell downloadable versions of every retail game, so the disc-free version wouldn't be missing out on any software. And without a bulky disc drive taking up space, a download-only console could be considerably smaller.

Console makers might not want to confuse the market with two different versions of their system or artificially split their customers into disc-drive and non-disc-drive camps. Then again, a disc-free option could also help ease customers into a future where discs aren't even an option. In the long run, that would save console makers the cost hassle of packaging and shipping discs and finally cut out the retailers that often force higher download prices on the market. We're already seeing this largely come to pass in the music business, where sales of vestigial physical media have been crumbling for years in favor of downloads and streaming.
Pros and cons

When I asked my followers on social media whether they would consider a disc-free console option that was cheaper than the alternative, I got quite a few positive responses. Many gamers said they've already gone fully digital with their game purchases anyway and enjoy the convenience of being able to access all of their games without having to get up from the couch (not to mention the lack of clutter from not having to store all those discs, boxes, etc.)

Others noted that a disc-free ecosystem is already the de facto standard in PC gaming, where almost no one buys games on discs anymore. In fact, the "boxed" copy of many PC games these days is just a download code that you end up typing in when you get home anyway.

Those responses suggest there would definitely be some market for the disc-free option in the console market. But I also heard from plenty of people who wouldn't be ready to get rid of their own personal console disc drive just yet. The most common reasons included:

• Resale/purchasing of used games: Many respondents felt the savings on the disc-free console hardware would barely make a dent in the savings they already get reselling their old disc-based games when they're done with them. Others pointed out that disc-based games are often cheaper than their downloadable counterparts, whether via old games in bargain bins or deals like Amazon Prime's new game discounts (though downloadable console games are often subject to deep discounts as well). One respondent even noted that his monthly GameFly subscription would be useless on a disc-free console.
• Slow, unreliable, and/or capped Internet access: In many parts of the world (and even the United States), broadband quality isn't good enough to reasonably download games that can run dozens of gigabytes. Even where broadband quality is good enough, some people don't want to have to wait for downloads or worry about data caps on their home connection.
• Preservation: Downloads might be convenient now, but in 15 years, when your console or hard drive dies and the servers to redownload the game (and/or confirm your legitimate purchase) have been shut down, you might be out of luck. Disc-based games are more likely to "just work" in the long run, even if you have to buy replacement hardware.
• Travel convenience: Being able to simply loan a disc to a friend or take a disc over to someone's house is a lot easier than trying to lug an entire system along or signing in and downloading a game on a different console.
• Physical movies: No disc drive means no way to play your existing library of DVDs or Blu-Ray discs through the console.

For all of the above reasons and more, the industry isn't at a point where it can drop the console disc drive just yet. That said, there's definitely a segment of the market that would at least consider a cheaper, smaller, more reliable version of their console that wasn't loaded down with a disc drive. The question now is whether any console maker is willing to be the first to try it.

i say NO - consoles NEED to play retail games but its not the worst to have some good games as download as well. So it would work, but i would really miss something if there no more retail games to buy and collect