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Players who received early physical copies of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 report that the disc doesn't actually contain the game. It contains around 70MB of data, while the other ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY GIGABYTES, the actual game, have to be downloaded and installed via teh interwebz. The disc is basically just proof of purchase.

The officially releases tomorrow, and until that time those with physical copies can just twiddle their thumbs and fume. Since the game isn't officially out yet, and download isn't available, the disc is really just a piece of shiny plastic.

What does this mean in terms of copyright, intellectual property, software as a license VS as a product VS as a service?
What does this mean for resales of physical copies?
What does this mean for game preservation?


Activision has yet to comment.

Source,

 

[Viri]

Purposely making games large on purpose, and not including it on disc, to make it a pain in the ass to re-download it, so you don't delete it, to play other games. They want to consume as much space of your hard drive as they can!

 

[Noctosphere]

i think they dont get whats the purpose of having a physical copy...

 

[Marc_LFD]

150gb download is just crazy.

Yes, it is. Games should be compressed to save space and bandwidth.

Nintendo is amazing with compression.

i think they dont get whats the purpose of having a physical copy...

This looks more as a push towards digital.

 

[DJPlace]

holy shit that's 150GB +? that's bigger then FTP phanstay star 2

 

[Tomtani1]

You can choose between downloading the 150 gb from Sony server or from Zippyshare.

 

[slaphappygamer]

“I can haz alll yur gigahbitess” -Gaming2020

 

[raxadian]

So it is basically a season pass disk like I have for that Batman game on the PS3? No is even worse. At least that disc has episode one on the disc.

 

[SG854]

“I can haz alll yur gigahbitess” -Gaming2020

2022

 

[BaamAlex]

Sigh, they're really keen on killing physical media

You have no idea how right you are.

 

[jt_1258]

what is this, the switch?

 

[Spider_Man]

Now let's hope the justice system steps in because they've been getting away with this for too long.

Im still left with a fucking fucking disc that doeant contain the actual game I purchased while I'm forced to install some bullshit that forces me to download the actual game..... modern warfare.

That keeps deleting itself everytime I load the game up.

And you get nowhere with customer service.

And I bet your expected to pay even more just because it has the ps5 or xbox sx logo on the cover.

They deserve to be pirated and fucked over out of any sales.

This forced digital shit shouldn't be allowed and is only going to become mainstream once others see that they can get away with it.

Post automatically merged: Oct 29, 2022

Looks like if you want to get your game certified for PS4/PS5/XBOX you no longer need to have a 'playable' game on the disc at all. It's sad to see certification standards drop so low now. Hopefully this is just an exception because Activistion/Blizzard got some kind of waiver from Sony/MS because they are so big just how Cyberpunk 2077 was likely just an exception despite the game crashing frequently because it was one of the biggest games of the year.

It seems very likely that the game wasn't finished in time to be pressed on the discs to meet the release date.

Not likely at all, they did exactly the same with modern warfare, bet it'll be another disc with a simple menu that updates to warzone if your online.

Or not and the modern warfare 2 menu will prompt online connection required.

That then updates to warzone then install all the required game packs.

 

[slaphappygamer]

2022

.....and beyond..

 

[Deleted member 586536]

Always wondered why Blu-ray Discs weren't used for PC games

the answer is licensing/royalties. Similar to how the (early) wii had DVD support, but Nintendo didn't want to deal with royalties, so the feature got axed.

 

[Goku1992A]

Well in all fairness most games post PS4 era only came in the box 50% complete. You had to "download" the rest of the game via software update. Now keep in mind if you live in an area that doesn't support highspeed internet and lets not forget most importantly because many people forget. Standard internet is maybe 1TB (this is your data cap) and nowadays games are 100gb per game.

Back in PS2/PS3 era a physical copy was a PHYSCIAL COPY. You didn't need to download a copy of your game on the HD. This is mainly a concern because in the future what happens if you cant access the server meaning you can't enjoy the game 10 years from now.

 

[BaamAlex]

the answer is licensing/royalties. Similar to how the (early) wii had DVD support, but Nintendo didn't want to deal with royalties, so the feature got axed.

Do launch wiis have such a function? The thing is, i have a Launch Wii. Not that i'd use it, but it's nice to know to have it.

 

[chrisrlink]

Do launch wiis have such a function? The thing is, i have a Launch Wii. Not that i'd use it, but it's nice to know to have it.

afaik early launch wiis dvd playback was locked(needed hbc/media player app to play video dvd's but as stated later wii's couldn't even do that

 

[DSpider]

This is called taking the piss.

 

[SPAC3W4IFU]

Not a shock considering it's Activision, but still, jesus christ. At this point, the only reason to get a physical copy of a game is if you somehow don't have a credit card still.

And good lord, what is up with that file-size? Are people just incapable of compressing their assets nowadays or something? Phew.

 

[mrgone]

i don't understand why this is news ?
all games distributed via steam have just a steam installer on their physical disc sold in stores and no game data at all.

 

[tech3475]

At this point, the only reason to get a physical copy of a game is if you somehow don't have a credit card still.

Actually there are still potential advantages to physical.

The first is that the disc is still the DRM, so depending on your circumstances/opinions this may be preferable.

But one potential reason which I‘ve often seen ignored is price, unless I’m missing something, the cross gen bundle at one retailer (Argos) is £10 cheaper than the PS Store.

I’m not saying that the disc size practice isn’t BS, but to say that physical media is pointless at this point for consoles is also BS.