If you haven't already heard, there are rumors circulating that the next Xbox may not have an optical drive. Apparently sources have broke NDA and stated the new Xbox will have an interchangeable solid-state card storage.
It's still being speculated that Microsoft will unveil the new Xbox during E3 2012, for possible launch in 2013.
Microsoft has stated that they "do not comment on rumors or speculation".
So could Microsoft really be going the route of the digital download? Clearly the thinking is that in the next 2-5 years, most discs will be obsolete, however, some games are massive in size and would require a lot of hard drive space. What does this also say for backwards compatibility or for retail markets, particularly those that profit on used game sales? I smell add-on optical drive devices for Microsoft to offer and gain some profit.
Source: MCV