Like it or not, discs seem to be going the way of the VHS and cassette tape. Many of us already rely primarily on streaming for enjoying movies at home, so it’s no surprise to see the digital trend taking over the gaming world as well. Digital gaming initially became popular on PC thanks to platforms like Steam and it’s quickly becoming the new norm even for consoles, if Microsoft’s new Xbox One S All-Digital Edition – now available for pre-order (and with three games pre-installed) – is any indication.
The benefits of digital gaming are easy to see: It’s more convenient to buy games and other entertainment (all you have to do is purchase what you want and download it to your console), it reduces plastic waste, and it can save you money with the elimination of cases and discs cutting down on production costs. Not having to fuss around with discs is also a nice quality-of-life bonus if you regularly hop from game to game.
The Xbox One S All-Digital Edition was revealed in this month’s Inside Xbox newsletter. The console comes with 1 TB HDD and looks virtually identical to the regular Xbox One S, and aside from the lack of a disc drive, the All-Digital Edition features the same functionality: It plays games in 1080p Full HD and can stream video content in 4K (if you have an Ultra HD TV, that is), although without a disc drive, it obviously can’t play 4K Blu-Rays.
As a nice bonus to get you started, the All-Digital Edition comes with three free games pre-installed: Minecraft, Forza Horizon 3, and Sea of Thieves. Note that there is no indication from Microsoft (as of now) that the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition is set to replace its disc-loading counterpart. With the Xbox One X becoming more affordable, though – and a new console generation on the horizon – that may soon be the case, and we won’t be surprised if we see the standard Xbox One S console get discontinued altogether.
The Xbox One S All-Digital Edition will ship early in May. You can pre-order it now for $249, which is $50 less than the current Xbox One S. The Xbox One S is arguably the best value in a console, especially if you want a “do-it-all” multimedia machine, so the All-Digital Edition is an even better deal for gamers who are ready to ditch the discs altogether and score a few free games as a nice cherry on top.
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