We recently postulated that the early launch of the Xbox disc-to-digital entitlement system meant that the upcoming Xbox Helix console would not launch with a physical disc drive. Although there has been no confirmation that this is the case, it's clear that Microsoft is moving away from physical media, just as Sony is doing the same for its console.
In a recent interview with the BBC, Xbox CEO, Asha Sharma, lends credence to this theory with vague comments that dodge the question entirely. Much of the interview revolved around the current hardware and memory crisis affecting both console and PC hardware, but when it came to the topic of the disc drive in the next-gen Xbox Helix, Sharma's go-to response was to deflect, saying that "This next generation, we have to be thinking about efficiency and affordability alongside performance," adding that "All of the industry needs to start to innovate on affordability and efficiency," although she acknowledged that affordability "is absolutely something all of us need to be thinking about and innovating on and giving people more choice in terms of how they play their console and how they purchase their console." Read full story
