h a l f b a k e r yIt might be better to just get another gerbil.
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Instead of CDs or DVDs, computer games should only sold preloaded on USB flash drives. The flash drive would also work as a dongle, so the game couldn't be played unless the flashdrive is present. This would save substantially on storage space, and have the added advantage of being able to play your
game on any computer without having to install it. Naturally, save-games woulld also be stored on the device. Actually it would be cool to have BioShock enblazoned across a FD.
[edit] to clarify the idea and make it sould less like WIBNI
[link]
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Not really an invention, baked, WIBNI, also, what do you think an old-school game cartridge was? |
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[-] This is slightly less ecologically friendly than deploying optical discs. |
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[webfishrune] Okaaaaaay....so my invention is an old-style games cartridge that you can plug into the USB port of your PC. |
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This idea isn't that bad, is it? |
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Well, the U3 flashdrive folks will sell you games to run on their drives. U3 is supposed to allow you to take programs from computer to computer, installed on the drive. Make the software copy-proof, and this idea is easily do-able with present technology. |
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But U3 sucks, and you have to have it enabled on any computer--which may not be happening. Still, it shows this idea is possible. [ ] |
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This is actually already done. Not with full games, but I have seen flashdrives with small games pre-installed on them. More of a marketing ploy, but a really good one if you ask me. It was a staples brand flashdrive... Ill try to link it |
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I would end up with a drawer full of flash drive, to go with my drawer of tupperware cold cut containers and my jelly glasses |
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I don't know why this idea has been fishboned so much. Seems pretty good to me. Even if it's just an installation medium it's a lot more convenient than carrying DVDs about. |
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The main problem I can see is the 'without having to install it' feature which would really make it useful. Most games could in theory run straight from the CD with a little bit of hard disk space to store saved games and preferences on, but very few do. (For example, the recent 'Orange Box' by Valve wants 20GB for a full install) I don't know why but I suspect it's because optical drives are slower and decompression takes time. You would have the same speed problem when running from a flash drive. |
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Could someone explain to me these annos claiming that a game sold on a flash drive is more dangerous to the ecosystem than a game sold on a CD? |
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Seems to me that the CD is larger, and more fragile than a flash drive. |
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Last time I checked, a CD with a game on it had to be sold in a set with several other CDs, each of which was kept in it's own jewel case, each with it's own manual, and the whole set was then encased in styrofoam, with a large cardboard box placed around it. For most gamers I know, the CDs get filed in a CD book, the booklets sometimes are included, and the codes are then written on another piece of paper, which is stuck in with the CDs. Everything else then gets thrown away. |
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I've seen encyclopedas and such sold on smart cards, which are similar to flash drives. The packaging for the encyclopedia was the same material that was on the regular smart cards. |
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A flash drive tends to come with a cover for the USB port (or it retracts) and is sold with a strap. Both of these items are then placed in a recyclable plastic container, a slick cardboard thing saying what it is, and a small user's manual folded up inside it. Presumably, all the documentation needed for a game could be inserted into such a container. |
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Thus, it seems to me that by putting a game on a flash drive, instead of a CD, we reduce waste: Instead of a cardboard box, we have a plastic container. Instead of a bunch of foam, we have a single sheet of cardboard. Instead of a jewel case, we have a cap and a necklace string. Instead of a booklet, we have a folded piece of paper, and instead of a CD, we have a thumb drive. This last detail is important as well. CDs can break quite a bit more easily than thumb drives. |
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I recently washed my backpack with my thumb drive still in it. This particular load also included three pair of jeans. All of these items (except the thmb drive) had multiple metal buttons and zippers. Once I was done washing this load, I put it all inthe drier, and an hour later, when they were done, I found my thumb drive, blew the lint out of the cap, and plugged it back into my computer to find that all the files still worked. try doing that with a CD! |
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Incidentally, the thumb drives would likely be reusable as well. Currently, if you tire of a game, you must dispose of the CD in some way. Thumb drives can store whatever you want when you're tired of them. This fact could also boost game sales, and increase the value of older games, as the games get deleted in order to make room for other things on the thumb drive. |
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I like it. Stores that sell games now only have to have a poster with all the pertinent info that used to be on the box; ask at the sales desk to get your copy.
Also, flash-drives are more expensive than CD's, but that wouldn't make much difference to the customer for a $50 game, but it *will* make a difference to a pirate used to burning $0.10 CD's.
The portability factor, too, obviously, and USB is more prevalent than CD drives in smaller laptops.
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Also, one of the aspects is similar to an idea I had for CD's: RAM and RW on the same; that way you could put patches on the game CD instead of the HD (okay, I had in mind business programs, but still...) |
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