Monday, October 31st 2022
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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II Disc Version Doesn't Actually Have the Game on it, Serves as Hardware DRM
So you live in Randomville in the middle of nowhere, with a slow ADSL that's barely a few Mbps fast, and thought you could enjoy Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II on PlayStation 5 with its disc version? Think again. It turns out that the disc version of this game doesn't actually have the game on the disc. That's right, those unlucky enough to buy the disc version found that it only contained 72 MB of data, which when autorun, gets the console to fetch the up to 151 GB of the game's payload over the Internet. The disc only acts like a hardware DRM, in the same way as certain expensive software ship with USB flash drives that need to be plugged in for you to use the software.
After enduring the massive download, you're required to keep the disc inserted to play the game. It is possible to ship the entire game in two 50 GB Blu-ray discs with the best available compression tech. The problem with CoD off-late has been that the developers either forgot how to distribute game patches, or are using the sheer file-size of patches as an anti-piracy measure; with most of them spanning several dozen gigabytes, and major updates even fetching the entire game's triple-figure GB payload all over again. This 72 MB disc-based distribution is below the belt.
Sources:
Lance McDonald (Twitter), Tweaktown
After enduring the massive download, you're required to keep the disc inserted to play the game. It is possible to ship the entire game in two 50 GB Blu-ray discs with the best available compression tech. The problem with CoD off-late has been that the developers either forgot how to distribute game patches, or are using the sheer file-size of patches as an anti-piracy measure; with most of them spanning several dozen gigabytes, and major updates even fetching the entire game's triple-figure GB payload all over again. This 72 MB disc-based distribution is below the belt.
58 Comments on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II Disc Version Doesn't Actually Have the Game on it, Serves as Hardware DRM
I have read plenty of articles stating that mobile gaming revenue is far larger than other platforms; it is also growing at a faster rate as well. Since mobile game title ASP is far smaller than other platforms, my guess is that the total unit sales of mobile titles towers over others.
For sure, the paradigm of video gaming as someone sitting in front of a PC monitor, keyboard and mouse is obsolete.
That said, personally, I'm inclined to believe some mobile games do ship more units than other platforms as well. But then again, the platform isn't exactly relevant to the optical media discussion, given that it never required or supported it (And yes, I admit, joke's on me for making the scope "the entire video game industry" :|).
Edited my previous post to explain "volume" as number of titles, rather than sales.[/JUSTIFY]
I'm still amazed by how little I've missed since. But damn, that was fun for a good while.
I've been slowly adding .iso of my physical copies to a HDD on my computer (though I need a bigger drive to accommodate all my physical games to do this for , just haven't gotten one yet). Here's a good one:
Brothers In Arms - Road to Hill 30. Released March of 2005. I don't recall when I got the game, had to be around that time and I made sure to find any patches/updates for it and I saved them should I ever need to download and install the game again.
Games didn't come out perfect when they were on physical only. Patches and updates were still out there, but you had to search for them.
The moment the online servers are shut down, this game is gone forever - no one could play the SP or MP legitmately, ever again.
Why do they do this? Easy, because they can sell a remaster since they just drove up demand!
I remember getting excited with COD 1 & 2, after that they lost me... so I was a fan until...
Just as well more value in gaming is found in older titles these days, which of course necessitates smaller files. :)
But each to his or her own, as long as the market strength of this publisher continues, they'll get their way. :shadedshu:
Even Total Annihilations had patches, and that's a 1997-game, Starcraft BW (1998) and Warcraft 3(2002) also had a lot of patches
Look at ubisoft shutting down their games recently
You have:
1. No install media, at all.
2. No access to patches or updates at all.
3. No offline playback at all
4. No access to any DLC content, all locked behind an online user account
Even if people had pirated copies they kept forever as digital archivisits, without the ability to host your own dedicated servers these games are artificially forced into a "Play it now before its gone forever" mentality - they've become consumables
As big_coffeemugs said right above my post, SC1, WC3, TA: All playable today. Legit owners can STILL patch and play those games.
And yet, the current trend is for disposable games that if you dont play them at their peak, they're gone forever - look at overwatch
But let's face it, most software has a temporary nature. It is exactly piracy that keeps history intact here, this was never different, even prior to the internet being everywhere. The big problem is always online requirements / games as a service. We need to kill that idea with fire, yesterday. If its not absolutely necessary for the game to function, don't demand it to go online. There is a history of companies doing the opposite and getting burned for it. When it comes to the CoD / mainstream shooter crowd, I suppose that's the segment where these stupid tricks still work. I guess its a case of you get what you pay for, in the meantime hundreds of titles work fine offline, even today.
The service-trend is in some ways already dying down after a period of rampant growth. Its a post pandemic effect, but also an economical one. People are seeing monthly expenses rise, the first things that get the axe are entertainment subscriptions, in most homes. Also: food delivery. On-demand video. Down. Down. Down. It might very well be that lots of economical 'realities' we think are now normal, are actually only possible in a world of free money / low interest. Its a fantasy world, we've postponed lots of uncomfortable truths to make it possible and maintain it, its becoming clear we can't keep that up. For services like Netflix, that is a double problem: they have less money to make shows = less content = lower perceived value of service = less competitive.
That period of infinite consumerism is over; subscriptions are rapidly rising in price for offering the same things (or less than before!), the market is saturated, and its cheaper to do stuff yourself than having it delivered to your doorstep. Add some competition in ondemand services that is present now and already we're seeing lots of businesses in trouble. Flash delivery services are a great example, too. They're all merging, quitting, or somehow adapting to stay afloat. Sooner rather than later, younger generations that grew up in ondemand worlds are discovering that ownership represents actual value and is necessity rather than luxury, if they want to make ends meet. Overall it means you're buying less, but doing more with it, a sensible thing.
Well thank goodness candy crush is safe :laugh:
When the PS6 is out and they shut off the PS4, what will happen to those games then? You'll need to hack the console to manually update to play offline singleplayer games, since the disc wont just work outright once the online services are shut down