A new Xbox patent by Microsoft plans to bring physical disc games to the digital-only version of the gaming console, making the "disc-to-console" a possible idea.
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A staff member plays a game in front of an oversized mock-up of Microsoft's Xbox controller at a flagship store of SK Telecom in Seoul on November 10, 2020.
Xbox's NEW Patent
The Xbox patent suggests adding an external disc drive to the equation to allow digital-only consoles to verify the ownership of the gaming title, as per a news story by Video Games Chronicle.
The idea that Microsoft recently filed for patent essentially allows Xbox players to play the digital version of their disc games on the Xbox Series S, which most of you may know is way cheaper and is a digital-only console.
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COLOGNE, GERMANY - AUGUST 20: Visitors visit the booth of XBOX during the press day at the 2019 Gamescom gaming trade fair on August 20, 2019 in Cologne, Germany.
It sure puts the Xbox Series S to the next level as the patent suggests a way to allow the digital-only console to kind of play physical games as well.
According to a recent article by Kotaku, Microsoft's latest Xbox patent carries a very long name: "Software Ownership Validation Of Optical Discs Using Secondary Device." Its title itself already explains what the tech giant is trying to pitch.
Xbox Disc Games on Digital-Only Consoles
Despite that, Microsoft still went on to explain how it plans to allow disc game users to enjoy their collection on their digital-only gaming machine.
The Xbox maker shared in its patent that "many people now prefer digital video game content over physical video game media."
However, the latest trend in digital games brings a problem to owners of older consoles. Microsoft said that players of a previous generation video game device could no longer enjoy their physical games on the next-gen release.
The latest filing of Microsoft prevents other console makers like Sony PlayStation from going forward with the same idea.
If ever the Japanese firm plans to support physical games on its digital-only PlayStation 5 (PS5), Sony has to produce its own means of doing so.
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Xbox Disc to Digital: How it Works
On top of that, the patent provides intricate details on how the tech giant is looking into making it a reality.
Essentially, the pitch of the Xbox patent suggests the use of consoles that supports physical games to work as an external disc drive.
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The new Microsoft Xbox One S console is announced during the Microsoft Xbox news conference at the E3 Gaming Conference on June 13, 2016 in Los Angeles, California.
From there, it requires an internet connection to start the validation of the ownership of the disc. Thus, it allows Xbox players to download their digital version to a digital-only console once fully validated.
It is worth noting that Microsoft is pitching the idea of letting users get the non-disc version for free.
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This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Teejay Boris
