هناك ما من أوساط مثل ما من أوساط

ال [تب ركردر] [فري فيرست] كان أنا منشار يكون يستعمل [تب ركردر] [ريل-تو-ريل] أنّ انتسب إلى صديقة من الأسرة. كان ال [تب بلر] أولى أنا استعملت بانتظام 8 أثر نظامة في صديقتي? [س]? 68 تفادى شاحن. عندما حصل أنا فرس المستنغي, هو أتى يجهّز مع ال جدّا متأخّرة في أوساط, شريط تسجيل شريط لاعب وزوج من في إندفاع المتحدث قطر [أبووت ث سم] كبايسبول. غيرمعقول!

عندما أتى حاسوب شخصي جانبا, أنا كان قدّمت إلى نوع كاملة جديدة من أوساط [ستورج دفيس], [سترتينغ ويث] اللعبة خراطيش في عقيد بحريّي 64; 8? [فلوبّي ديسك] في فائض قديمة 8088 أحضر أنا منزل لإبنتي عندما فيديراليّة عبّر عن حسن نظامته [إين ث لت]? ثمانينات; بعد ذلك [فلوبّي] صغيرة في أسرتنا [كمبق]. عندما أتى القرص كنيز أولى جانبا, أنا كنت [أغغ] مع [ستورج كبستي] ه ضخمة, غير أنّ [بي ث تيم] [دفدس] وصل, أنا يضطرّ اعترفت, أنا التقىهم مع [هو-هوم] موقف. نحن توقّعنا أوساط قدرات أن يستمرّ أن يزيد; our only question was how much information could be engineered into one space.

With increasing media storage capacities, possibilities really opened up for game developers no longer limited by the amount of information that could be written on a disc. Disc capacity also affected distribution arrangements for the industry. For example, World of Warcraft, originally released on 4 discs, finally was transferred to a single DVD disc. Less weight and a more compact size meant a significant reduction in shipping costs and easier installation, too.

My son and I had a conversation a couple of years ago about what might be on the horizon for media storage. We talked about the ?cube? concept of storage media ? six sides with ?layers? of laser-written content ? and a lot of other possibilities. The one possibility that I didn?t imagine was the rise of digital distribution. And that, my friends, is the future of game distribution.

When the Valve Corporation launched ?Steam? in 2003, they changed the question. What media is next? No media. Steam makes downloading content a very reasonable alternative.

Why drive to Wal-Mart when, by the time you?ve made the trip and installed, you could?ve already leveled up on a Steam-purchased game? Dog ate your Team Fortress 2 CDs? With Steam, your entire house could burn to the ground (with your computer inside) and you?ve got nothing to worry about. Just log back on with your new computer (ala Allstate) and all your games are right there. With digital distribution, you’ll never lose a software disc again.

The next big media is no media at all.

Oh sure, I?ll still listen to my 8-tracks (only kidding), and I may break out the reel-to-reel for some righteous original recordings of the Ink Spots (kidding again), but when it comes to computer games, I?ll have to go digital.

Discuss this article in the forums - (1) Posts

Flex your gamer muscles and submit this article to N4G.com.