Sony and Microsoft's decisions to meet the standard demands of modern game convenience has been an adequate one with digital variations of their next generation hardware. Listed at cheaper price tags, the Xbox Series S and the digital-only PlayStation 5 model provides quality of life options for consumers. The digital age of gaming does come with some apprehension from people who aren't confident in the stability of the disc-less gaming, especially with the recent shutdown of cloud and digital game access Xbox experienced.

Microsoft, however, has a means to circumvent some of these concerns. According to Game Rant, a patent has been filed by Microsoft that will allow an external disc drive to be verified for digital accessibility. Upon purchase from the Series S Store, the external drive can authenticate the digital media.

(Image: Game Rant)

This helps bridge a part of that gap that consumers may have about the eventual departure of the last generation consoles, and those skittish about the prospects of digital game access. It's been speculated by pundits and gaming fans about how much longer physical games will be a predominant medium, but a lot of physical games still have hefty downloads, such as Halo Infinite, which requires online DRM for installation. Disc-to digital is a half-measure, and might be the medium between a full digital age.

SOURCE: Game Rant