Microsoft’s Xbox One could have launched as a “purely dic-less console”, according to an OXM interview with Microsoft Studio’s Phil Spencer. Microsoft had debated about whether it should include the disc drive even following the Xbox One’s controversial E3 2013 reveal.

 “Obviously, after the announcement and E3, there was some feedback about what people wanted to change.”

“There was a real discussion bout whether we should have an optical disc drive in Xbox One or if we could get away with a purely dic-less console, but when you start looking at bandwidth and game size, it does create issues.”

After receiving the harsh unfiltered, direct feedback from the gaming community, and debating the merits of a disc-less console, Microsoft chose to scrap the idea.

 “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.”

The only dic-based gaming solutions that seem to be viable solution at this point are mobile platforms, and PC. Games are simply too large and download speeds not consistent enough nation wide to warrant a mainstream dic-less based cons