Xbox One was originally conceived as a digital-only console, Microsoft’s Phil Spencer has revealed. It wasn’t until relatively recently that the optical drive was finalised.
Speaking with OXM, Spencer revealed that the notion of a disc-less Xbox One console was on the table until the middle of last year, but was subsequently dropped following Microsoft’s reveal.
He added, “Obviously, after the announcement and E3, there was some feedback about what people wanted to change. There was a real discussion about whether we should have an optical disc drive in Xbox One or if we could get away with a purely disc-less console, but when you start looking at bandwidth and game size, it does create issues.
“So we decided – which I think was the right decision – to go with the Blu-ray drive and give the people an easy way to install a lot of content. From some of those original thoughts, you saw a lot of us really focusing on the digital ecosystem you see on other devices – thinking of and building around that.”
