No Optical Drive in next Xbox? - Rumor

In a rumor which has flooded many games news sites (here's the link on ign) today, I was wondering what my fellow Canadian gamers think of this news.

Personally, if (and yes I  know this is just a rumor) Microsoft chooses to go in this direction, I will absolutely not being heading out at all - to ever - buy this new system of theirs. For me it's a deal breaker in the truest sense. Not only have I purchased the most amount of games for this system (many of which I consider real classics, that I would love to return to from time to time in the future) but I love to physically own something I pay >$50 for... I've bought many games through the arcade over the years, but I enjoy physically owning them too (not to mention that many ISPs enforce bandwidth caps... and if a game on a next gen console was 25 - 50 GB, that's a considerable bite out of a monthly allotment).

I'd hate to say goodbye to Microsoft but, that's exactly what I would do if they pursue this avenue... who else would join me in a migration back to one of the other platforms? Personally, I would re-join the old plumber box.

I believe this is rumour until proven true or false. I never believe anything about Xbox or their consoles until they say something themselves or Major Nelson tweets about it.

Til then this is false in my mind

having no optical hard drive does not mean no physical media (consider flash memory for example). if they went purely digital distribution it would really alienate all their retail partners, not to mention dramatically effect large portions of their global player-base. Its possible but very very unlikely to happen.

It's funny, really. Isn't the Xbox 720 still just a rumour, including that name? And yet everyday there seems to be new information from "sources" regarding the future console. When Microsoft announces something, then there will be a point to discussion, but until then... totally pointless.

I don't think anybody thinks they'll call the successor to the 360 the 720 but otherwise I agree, no point speculating too much. Its not like knowing more details changes anything since its not available for purchase or anything. Just wait for an actual announcement. :)

I think having no optical drive would be a good option for the Xbox XXX. If combined with the current "no HD" 4GB version, it could be called the Xbox Paperweight. ;)