Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II Disc Version Doesn't Actually Have the Game on it, Serves as Hardware DRM

[btarunr]

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.



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[xorbe]

People still use spinning plastic discs?

 

[Space Lynx]

People still use spinning plastic discs?

A lot of people have data caps, so take for example Last of Us 2 on PS4, it was 100gb and came on 2 discs. It probably saved loads and loads of people a lot of money for not having to go over their data cap for that month.

 

[Minus Infinity]

LOL sucked in, if you buy craptavision games you get what you deserve.

 

[Camm]

Annoys me, you've gone to the effort to make the product, at least put as much of the singleplayer game on there or something. Literally just a wasted disc and increased energy consumption by people having to download it if they bought it.

 

[Space Lynx]

Annoys me, you've gone to the effort to make the product, at least put as much of the singleplayer game on there or something. Literally just a wasted disc and increased energy consumption by people having to download it if they bought it.

Agreed, not even putting the single player campaign on there is a bit of a dick move.

 

[Dr. Dro]

Optical media still has a niche in data storage and high-end AV, but... video games have evolved past physical media quite a while ago. Modern always-online, ever-evolving titles with constantly changing assets such as this are simply no longer feasible with the medium.

I do not mourn optical media for video games one bit, though, I feel for people with data caps sometimes.

 

[Space Lynx]

Optical media still has a niche in data storage and high-end AV, but... video games have evolved past physical media quite a while ago. Modern always-online, ever-evolving titles with constantly changing assets such as this are simply no longer feasible with the medium.

I do not mourn optical media for video games one bit, though, I feel for people with data caps sometimes.

Don't worry, you will have data capped someday too. It's the future of a capitalist society. As business grows, you make your customers happy, but then you become part of a duopoly, create laws so that smaller companies can't compete against you, and then you implement the data caps when your customer base has nowhere else to go.

Just takes time my padawan. *lights a cigar*

 

[MarsM4N]

Well, looking at the Steam reviews, it's just another rushed out the door money grab. Game is broken, so it won't make any difference if you got it on disk when you have download it again (patched).

But AngryJoe wasn't very angry in the beta, so it can't be that bad. Maybe savable. Let's wait for his release verdict.

After enduring the massive download, you're required to keep the disc inserted to play the game.

That's the part I hated the most back in the days on the PS3. To play a game you always have to insert the disk into the drive, resulting in extra noise. And if the disk gets scratched you're fucked.
Who are these people who still buy physical in these day and age? I get the vinyl fetish, but games is just dumb.

 

[NC37]

A lot of people have data caps, so take for example Last of Us 2 on PS4, it was 100gb and came on 2 discs. It probably saved loads and loads of people a lot of money for not having to go over their data cap for that month.

Exactly this. Which is pretty ridiculous in this day and age. Where I live there is no caps but when I travel to other states some areas are full of caps. To get unlimited you have to pay double to triple what I pay. This is why the push to all digital will always fail in the US. Our networks are so behind elsewhere in the world. Too much greed at the expense of the consumer and some areas simply don't have any competition to bring in better deals.

 

[The Von Matrices]

The problem with discs is that even if the entire game is on the disc, the multiplayer will probably require a new 20+GB patch every few days, and the launcher will prevent you from starting the game until you download and install it.

 

[Chaitanya]

Exactly this. Which is pretty ridiculous in this day and age. Where I live there is no caps but when I travel to other states some areas are full of caps. To get unlimited you have to pay double to triple what I pay. This is why the push to all digital will always fail in the US. Our networks are so behind elsewhere in the world. Too much greed at the expense of the consumer and some areas simply don't have any competition to bring in better deals.

Not just US but data caps are common thing in Asia as well, also unlike those online delivery having physical disc is much better in long run when these publishers decide to cull their servers just for fun.

 

[Readlight]

Who wants to buy game for 100 euro?

Bad 4G signal can download Max 200GB in month.

 

[ixi]

In which countries do ISP cap user usage? . Sounds sadge.

 

[Kinestron]

Gamers against discs must have only started gaming in the last 5-15 years. I prefer to think of the time of only discs when companies HAD to release a working game with as little bugs as possible since there was no patching then. What has online games done for you lately when they ask you to pay for an unfinished mess? This one apparently adds to the steaming pile. Is it getting better or worse?

 

[BSim500]

People still use spinning plastic discs?

I think you'll find there are ulterior motives beyond "being futuristic and that" to getting rid of console discs and the gradual push for de-ownership in general though (killing off the healthy 2nd-hand resale market = watch the price of older games on consoles increase in future). Same is true of physical CD's, DVD, books, etc, with many "buy this MP3 album / Amazon Video (not Prime) season / Kindle on Amazon to keep outside of a streaming subscription" being higher than picking up a used disc / book on Ebay, even factoring in postage. There are of course some benefits to online distribution, but there are also some seriously naive people out there who genuinely believe "user convenience" is the main reason why publishers want it.

Edit: And as others have said, "update spam" is a double-edged sword aka "Why bother with decent QA when always online = we can turn our pre-orderers into unpaid beta-testers on the back of a meaningless trinket (pre-order bonus)..." That trashy feeling stuff is definitely objectively worse than it used to be.

 

[Kinestron]

I think you'll find there are ulterior motives beyond "being futuristic and that" to getting rid of console discs and the gradual push for de-ownership in general though (killing off the healthy 2nd-hand resale market = watch the price of older games on consoles increase in future). Same is true of physical CD's, DVD, books, etc, with many "buy this MP3 album / Amazon Video (not Prime) season / Kindle on Amazon to keep outside of a streaming subscription" being higher than picking up a used disc / book on Ebay, even factoring in postage. There are of course some benefits to online distribution, but there are also some seriously naive people out there who genuinely believe "user convenience" is the main reason why publishers want it.

You will own nothing and be happy. -World Economic Forum

 

[zlobby]

Keep buying such shit and then cry some more. I'm sure studios and publishers will stop it. /s

 

[TheDeeGee]

A lot of people have data caps, so take for example Last of Us 2 on PS4, it was 100gb and came on 2 discs. It probably saved loads and loads of people a lot of money for not having to go over their data cap for that month.

What about the 75GB day-1 patches?

 

[Chomiq]

People still use spinning plastic discs?

Yes, because I can re-sell physical copy of any PS4/PS5 game I own, something that can't be done on PC right now.

 

[Easo]

Wonders never cease, do they? Just... I am not sure they can be called that.

 

[Deleted member 185088]

A lot of people live in North America, so take for example Last of Us 2 on PS4, it was 100gb and came on 2 discs. It probably saved loads and loads of people a lot of money for not having to go over their data cap for that month.

Joking aside, it makes sense to buy discs as you can resell the games and recoup some of the initial cost.

 

[Chrispy_]

It's Activision.
They're currently the worst for everything:

• Paid, seasonal DLC that makes your game practically unplayable unless you keep up to date with the frequenty, expensive DLCs.
• Numerous titles tied up in various lootbox-mechanics litigation from the US FTC, EU, and more, with Blizzard/Activision still pushing the mechanic heavily.
• Sued by the State of Californian for employment violations
• The Frat-boy sexual harassment scandal apparently ran rife through all levels of the company
• Employee suicides and mass employee walkouts
• Cosby-suite scandal
• Anti-union small-print in contracts, strict anti-union social media policy, active monitoring, telling employees not discuss wages and contracts.
• CEO Bobby Kotick caught red-handed signing up with the Union-busting lawyers who prevented Amazon workers from Unionising
• Evidence of data destruction and document-shredding for at least three of the above incidents, probably more.
• SEC investigation into both major sexual harassment scandals and subpoena of Bobby Kotick
• Harrasment of Blizzard co-leaders by Kotick.

All of this pre-Microsoft, since that takeover is still in progress.
IMO the company is poison. Let it fail, the IP will fall to Microsoft who will likely take many of the employees on under their own wing.

 

[neatfeatguy]

I don't see why anyone is surprised. The last 5+ years or so most PC physical copies weren't actually copies of the game on a disc. Inside the case consisted of a cardboard cutout of a disc and a game key that you would use on your digital platform so you can link the game to your account and download it.

Optical media still has a niche in data storage and high-end AV, but... video games have evolved past physical media quite a while ago. Modern always-online, ever-evolving titles with constantly changing assets such as this are simply no longer feasible with the medium.

I do not mourn optical media for video games one bit, though, I feel for people with data caps sometimes.

I despise the always online requirement for games. I have yet to find an always online game that is entertaining. The game companies try to control every little aspect of a game and they fail to do the one thing that makes the games great.....designing a game with the player in mind. Now the always online requirements means you're linked to the internet, at the mercy of the companies servers to be active if you want to play the game. Since you're now stuck online there is a much, much, much higher incentive for the developer to include micro transactions or some auction house aspect of the game to milk more money from stupid people.

I also hate the change of movies mostly going to digital platforms only, especially if it's a platform that doesn't own the rights to the movie. If that digital platform doesn't renew contracts or they have their rights pulled for some reason, you no longer have a movie you can watch that you paid for. Plus, you constantly have to stream it to view it, so it's a drag on your data cap (unless you're lucky enough not to have one). I like having movies on DVD/Blu-ray. I can put them all on my server and if by some chance something should happen to said server, I can always grab the physical copy and watch it on a DVD/Blu-ray player or on my computer that still has optical drives.

These days people are like, "Physical is dead. Digital is better."
I think these people don't realize how much control has and is being taken away from the consumer with the change over to digital. If that doesn't bother you, then good for you. But I, for one, hate it.

 

[Dr. Dro]

These days people are like, "Physical is dead. Digital is better."
I think these people don't realize how much control has and is being taken away from the consumer with the change over to digital. If that doesn't bother you, then good for you. But I, for one, hate it.

I would say that I dislike always-online requirements, but at the same time... I play and spend a lot of money on Apex Legends, so whatever I have to say is hypocritical and false

Regarding single-player games, though... GoG's model is probably the closest to perfect as we are going to get. Standalone, DRM-free installers which you can backup as you see fit.