Playstation 4 won't have a physical disc drive?

[corruptrelic]

Haven't seen this posted here before, but according to the latest EGM (which I just got yesterday) they had a quote from Phil Harrison saying he'd be suprised if the PS4 had a physical disc drive.
How could that kind of comment sit well with anyone?

I'm a big fan of the PS2 (and PSP for that matter) but the more and more I hear about the PS3 (the latest delays and shortages are no exception) the less confident I feel about spending so much money on one.

While I'm sure we are eventually headed to electronic distribution, that's still a long, long ways off. There's far too many people out there without internet or still on dial-up.. And what about sony's commitment to backwards compatiblity? They've  been saying those of us that don't want to invest in a PS3 yet can get a PS2 and all the games we buy won't go by the wayside because they'll still be compatible when we eventually upgrade.
And with the fate of the next-gen DVD battle at hand, this kind of comment is just asking for a community backlash.. yet I haven't seen or heard of anything of it until opening up the latest issue of EGM yesterday.

Doing a quick search on yahoo, all I could find was this:

http://kotaku.com/gaming/sony/forget-bluray-playstation-4-wont-play-actual-discs-192001.php

(Although it's pretty obvious Kotaku is extremely biased.. they have a page dedicated just to Phil's quotes..)

[Knightshade Dragon]

Here is the thing - they expect, and I'd say are banking on, the PS3 will last a decade.  In 10 years, there should be enough broadband to justify an electronic distro.  Realistically, there are too many of us who don't trust that media that will probably make it fail to materialize. 

[wonderpug]

Not only that, but I hear it won't ship with any SH+2Wo cables.  That's right, you've got to pony up another 600 Yuan unless you're ok viewing your games in 2d.

Way to drop the ball, Sony.

[whiteboyskim]

This is Sony we're talking about. If they aren't saying something completely idiotic and strange at the same time then it's probably a lie. And for completely no reason at all, here's a ninja:

[CeeKay]

I hear you'll have to complete Dance Dance Revolution on Ultrahard mode with no sound or picture just to turn the PS4 on.  When you finally do, Kutaragi shows up to rape your dog.  If you don't have one, he goes out and adopts one for you.

[-Lord Ebonstone-]

PS4 won't have a physical disc drive, or anything else for that matter, 'cause Sony abandons the market after the PS3 crashes and burns.

[ATB]

PS4 won't have a physical disc drive, or anything else for that matter, 'cause Sony abandons the market after the PS3 crashes and burns.

But the PS3 is gonna win this generation!  I kid. I kid...because I love.

Anyhoo-  If the PS3 does live 10 years and there is a PS4, I don't think a non-physical drive is going to be that big of a deal.  It has been said that Bluray and HD-DVD is the last format war...the thinking being that everything will go digital.  Why wouldn't gaming follow suit?

[Clay]

Why are we talking about the PS4?   

[CrayolaSmoker]

Why are we talking about the PS4?   

'cause even the fanboys have given up on Sony this generation. 

[EddieA]

Complete online distribution would require a huge change in the gaming industry, both makers and sellers.  That's not going to happen in the next 5-6 years.

[corruptrelic]

I think it is a big deal (assuming we ever see a PS4 - good point LE) because I don't want to be spending $60+ a game and know in the back of my mind that it's won't even be compatible come the next generation.
Sony's commitment to backwards compatiblity was one of the biggest selling points to me, as I didn't feel too bad spending $30-$50 on a PS2 game because if it ends up being a classic, I know I can still play it on the next generation.

Even in 10 years time, there's just no way games can be 100% digital distribution. That'd put places like gamestop out of business (we woudn't want that..  ) not to mention it'd mean even super giants like best buy would be slowly heading to their demise, because a good chunk of their sales come from video games and movie sales.

Plus, if you consider so many people (especially in Europe) dont even have internet, or live out in the country and only have dialup.. yeah, 10 years from now who knows for sure.. but the way things are going now, in my eyes, I just dont see digitial distribution becoming the complete new standard. (Though I'm sure it'll be an option.)

And the reason we're talking about the PS4? Because Sony's Phil Harrision is!

[EddieA]

I believe the statement that the PS3 is supposed to last 10 years doesn't mean it'll be 10 years before the PS4 comes out, only that they expect people to still be using it in 10 years.  I think they said the same thing about the PSOne and PS2.

[Kevin Grey]

I think they said the same thing about the PSOne and PS2.

And they are going to come pretty close with the PS2 with AAA titles for seven years and they will likely squeeze another couple of years with mass market budgetware that's of little interest to most of us but ends up racking some decent sales for the publishers.  I know that EA went on record as saying they abandoned the PS1 way too early and were going to avoid that with the PS2. 

[ras752000]

This is just a teaser so they can hit you with the real twist at E3 2010 . . . the PS4 will be catridge based.