A newly discovered patent suggests that Microsoft may be designing an external drive so that its Xbox series s game console can download and install a wider range of game programs. Microsoft's patent outlines a system that does not intend to provide a full version of the game for local installation, but will use an external drive to verify the ownership of the physical game and then allow it to be downloaded from the game console's store.
This device will allow Xbox It is possible for owners of series s to access new and old physical games as long as they are available in the Xbox online store.
The recent two generations of game consoles have witnessed the transformation of the market from CD-based physical games to digital downloads directly on game consoles. Although some people still strongly support physical games, there are fewer and fewer such options. Many modern Games (such as halo: infinity) do not contain the whole game on CD-ROM, which requires digital download and online connection to play.
At present, this trend of online connection requirements and digital games was first predicted by Microsoft at the Xbox one exhibition in 2013. At that time, the reaction was so overwhelmingly negative that Microsoft reneged on many functions announced by Xbox one. However, over time, many of these functions have quietly entered the home game console.
Digital games have become so popular that the next generation of Xbox and Playstation consoles have versions without optical drives. These pure digital options are cheaper, but they leave some concerns for some players. However, Microsoft has now patented a system that may address one of these concerns for Xbox S-Series buyers. The patent describes a system that allows external optical drives to verify Xbox games and allows players to access the digital version of the game through the Xbox series s game store.
A system like this will benefit players. They no longer need to worry that any Xbox one disc they own will become useless after buying Xbox series S. on Xbox series X, they can play every non Kinect Xbox one game. For those players who upgrade to the next generation after purchasing physical games for Xbox one, this is a huge backward compatible purchasing power. This will also help Xbox s series players who receive physical games from friends or family. They don't understand that the disc is incompatible, even if it is used on the right system.
It is not known whether this patent allows players to redeem digital games to permanently join their digital library, or whether this patent is only the basis for Xbox series s players to purchase external optical drives (if they want to play down compatible Xbox one games). If the disc is likely to be sold and copied again, it seems unlikely that players will be allowed to copy copies of their games, although the patent may identify whether the disc has been verified before, just like the code for exchanging digital games through the Xbox game store.
The patent description also seems to indicate that the Xbox one can be connected to the Xbox series s series and used as an external disk drive for certified games, but it is unclear whether they can be connected wirelessly or need to be connected.