When will games come out on DVD's???

[everman]

I'm not sure what the cost difference is between producing 2 CDs and 1 DVD, but I'm betting 2CDs is cheaper. Reason why I say 2 CDs is that most games don't go beyond 2. Also I don't think video no matter how high quality will be very popular to use, that is because of advanced hardware which can render high quality graphics in real time is easier to work with than cgi.

 

[BennyD]

ok, i think people are getting confused with all these new DD and 5.1 buzzwords

Sure, it can be encoded on the fly, but it will still only sound as good as the original stream. 5.1 encoded sound ALWAYS sounds better than real-time DD encoded from a 2.0/2.1 source (which is what you get in most PC games). Also, you'd need hardware capable of real-time DD encoding/upmixing (nForce, XBox), and it still won't sound as good as DD 5.1 that is simply passed through to a DD decoder. Positional sound is much better, and again, so is the LFE (being on a discrete channel rather than crossing over from 2.0). If anything, a pre-encoded AC-3 stream will take up less space than a true 5.1 track, which needs to be encoded and then decoded. And no, my XBox isn't playing pre-recorded sound clips, but it does use pre-encoded AC-3 streams for its DD and isn't simply encoding standard 2.0 stereo.

oh man, the AC3 sound you get in DVD's sound better, not because it has not been done on the fly but because it has been recorded/enhanced in a proffessional sound studio at a cost of sometimes millions

the only real nead for Dolby Dig 5.1 gaming is if you run your pc through a decoder.
people seem to think that DD = quality, this is not true, it all depends on the situation.
standard analog is fine for 5.1 sound, and the only reason that games on the xbox use DD is they are designed to integrate with your existing sound hardware.
i really don't see the need for encoding this sound on the fly, then decoding it straight away to be played over the sound system.

encoding on the fly is the only way to get DD positional sound in games, you might be able to play AC3 sound clips but they would not be positional.

even if you do use AC3 streams (xbox) the positioning still has to be done on the fly so t will sound like crap.

ask a question about DD sound in games on the 3D soundsurge forum and read the slew of replies there.

 

[AtomicDude512]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
i hope they wont put em on dvds anytime soon. it would cost a whole lot more to bootleg.

Yeah, that would be a pain.

 

[Whitedog]

Games started coming out on CD's when CDROMS were sill 1x and only taking up like 10MBs.. LOTS of computers in those days did NOT come with CDROMS... and to Buy a CDROM, you have to Fork over the Huge Bux!

Most games in those days (93-94ish) came in BOTH Flavors.. Boxes were CLEARLY Labeled CD-ROM Version or [/b]3.5 Diskette Version[/b]

There's NO Excuse for coming out with these Multi-CD Games and NOT having a DVD version too...

:|

 

[CelticDemolition]

i just read an article about this very thing... check it out.

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: CelticDemolition
i just read an article about this very thing... check it out.

This quote sums it all up:

We have a game, Schizm, that's available in both CD and DVD format. The CD version (5 discs) has outsold the DVD format (1 disc, and higher resolution images, too!) 100 to 1. Those numbers are pretty compelling.

This is also very interesting:

It's simply a question of economics. One, the demand is not there yet as most people haven't made the switch from CD-Roms to DVD Roms and secondly, the production costs are much higher for a DVD. So unless you have a four-CD game, it is still not worth it from a value standpoint for a publisher to produce games on DVD

I've yet to see many four-CD games.

 

[Goose77]

from dullard: I've yet to see many four-CD games.

yeah but they are getting close. Diablo 2 is on 3 friggin CDs. and the switching is a pain. I do have a feeling that as soon as the DVD writers becomes more popular and prices for dvd disks drops, you'll be seeing more and more games on DVD. i estimate about another 6 months b4 this happens.

 

[Whitedog]

Originally posted by: Goose77

from dullard: I've yet to see many four-CD games.

yeah but they are getting close. Diablo 2 is on 3 friggin CDs. and the switching is a pain. I do have a feeling that as soon as the DVD writers becomes more popular and prices for dvd disks drops, you'll be seeing more and more games on DVD. i estimate about another 6 months b4 this happens.

I never had to use any Disks to play Diablo2. In fact, I never have to use a disk to play any game.

(Clone CD + CloneCDTray RuLeZ)

 

[Whitedog]

I find it damn hard to believe that DVD's cost that much more to produce than CD's. DVD Movies cost about the same as a single music CD. Most DVD Movies come with an "extra" DVD full of Junk too...

Games charge 3x more $$ than they do for DVD Movies... Are they THAT Hard pressed for profit margins?

I would say that if they started producing a LOT more games on DVD (Add more content to them to take up the extra slack with HQ intro movies or something) the Demand for DVD's would go UP!

If consumers KNEW that the DVD version of the game had MORE Content (ie. movies...etc...) then eventually the mass would MOVE to DVD... It's the GAME Industry that is holding back the move to Gaming DVD's.... NOT the consumers.

 

[Goose77]

Originally posted by: AtomicDude512

Originally posted by: Electric Amish

Originally posted by: Chaotic42

Originally posted by: ObiDon

Originally posted by: AtomicDude512
EVERYONE nowdays has a DVD drive.

Maybe based upon a quick poll here at AT but not in the real world.

That's like saying everyone is on cable/DSL these days.

Yes, but those people aren't going to be playing the new games that come out. Either:

1. You build your own system to play the latest games, therefore you have a DVD drive
2. You purchase a new system to play the latest games, therefore you have a DVD drive
3. You use your current system to play games that has a CD-ROM drive, but since it's not powerful enough to play the latest games, whether or not they are released on DVD has no bearing on you.

Therefore I don't see why they don't release the DVDs.

I play the latest games. I don't have a DVD player.

I'm running an Athlon XP 2100+/Radeon 9700 Pro/768mb DDR PC2100 ....plenty powerful enough to run the latest games.

There's no reason for a DVD player in a PC for gaming UNTIL the games begin requiring that kind of storage capacity.

amish

I mean that with DX9 out graphics will be so big you simply CANT make 4 disc sets!

i think what he is trying to say is that most of the people that do play the lastest games, upgrade often so there comps can keep up with what is offered. i mean think about it, you think that a guys that pays for a $400 graphics card wont buy a $30 dvd if the best game is offered on DVD???? More then likely everone will do the update if they did move to DVD. Same thing happened when windows made the move to CD and no floppy on win98. thats when i got my first CD-rom LOL.

 

[Agent004]

Originally posted by: Whitedog
I find it damn hard to believe that DVD's cost that much more to produce than CD's. DVD Movies cost about the same as a single music CD. Most DVD Movies come with an "extra" DVD full of Junk too...

Games charge 3x more $$ than they do for DVD Movies... Are they THAT Hard pressed for profit margins?

I would say that if they started producing a LOT more games on DVD (Add more content to them to take up the extra slack with HQ intro movies or something) the Demand for DVD's would go UP!

If consumers KNEW that the DVD version of the game had MORE Content (ie. movies...etc...) then eventually the mass would MOVE to DVD... It's the GAME Industry that is holding back the move to Gaming DVD's.... NOT the consumers.

Consider this, I can get a blank cdr or cdrw media for 20 pence, do the same with dvd and it costs more than 10-25 times more. Currently it's all due to adoption of dvd and economy of scale in mass production.

I was told some figures from someone inside the industry a few years ago a blank cd only costs them 1 penny to produce, where as dvd is like 50 pence to 1 pound. The volume of dvd simply pales comparing to cd.

 

[Goose77]

Originally posted by: Whitedog

Originally posted by: Goose77

from dullard: I've yet to see many four-CD games.

yeah but they are getting close. Diablo 2 is on 3 friggin CDs. and the switching is a pain. I do have a feeling that as soon as the DVD writers becomes more popular and prices for dvd disks drops, you'll be seeing more and more games on DVD. i estimate about another 6 months b4 this happens.

I never had to use any Disks to play Diablo2. In fact, I never have to use a disk to play any game.

(Clone CD + CloneCDTray RuLeZ)

i was looking for ^^that^^ i forgot what it was called and had not see anything for it since. so i basicly missed my chance to get it. can you point me out to the place where i can get it. Reason i didnt get it b4 was HEAT.NET did it for me untill they got bought out by sega!!

 

[dullard]

yeah but they are getting close. Diablo 2 is on 3 friggin CDs. and the switching is a pain. I do have a feeling that as soon as the DVD writers becomes more popular and prices for dvd disks drops, you'll be seeing more and more games on DVD. i estimate about another 6 months b4 this happens.

I've played Diablo 2 quite a bit. All it ever wants was a play disk - I've never needed to switch after the initial install. Yes we will see them soon, but I think it is more like 1 year out.