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Mid-gen Xbox roadmap hardware leak. Series S|X refreshes (digital Series X refresh at $499), controller with haptics and quieter buttons at $69.99.
(www.resetera.com)
Archive link: http://archive.today/B2RBv
Things can change but this is the current planned roadmap for Xbox mid-gen refresh hardware as part of a whoopsie from the FTC documents with files attached.
The update appears to be an all digital design
The all digital design would certainly prevent me from buying an updated model, which is unfortunate since I do appreciate the backwards compatibility.
It's a cynical move to get all game purchases done through their storefront and eliminate game reselling, and it will lock out a lot of price-conscious consumers who need to wait for a good sale, or buy used games.
On top of that, it's a huge blow towards game preservation, since the logical next step would be to stop producing physical games. Even other publishers might think twice before producing a physical game if only a third of the base can even use disks.
Often people bring up that games can ship incomplete and need updates; but even a non-updated game is still more playable than a digital one when the servers aren't maintained, and there's no reason to remove the disk drive. You can still play digital games on a console with a disk drive.
All in all, this is a pretty disappointing update for me.
As someone who more and more appreciates having physical discs of media I agree with what you're saying. We're seeing not just games but media disappear because they're digital only.
Digital is super convenient, but it also means you don't own anything. I've still got N64 and Gamecube games and I can play them today. But when specific servers go away I'm out my games from the PS4, PC, etc. Even the few I have discs for. It's such a bad feeling. Wish more games would launch without needing to be online all the time, especially for single player games. Seeing the depreciation of disc drives makes me sad.