Do you worry that disc based retro systems won't work in the future?

[sworddude]

I do agree about the discs, disc rot quite a rarity and if it happens it is mostly with pretty bad condition discs.

I have only seen a few cases of disc rot with pretty bad condition discs to be fair.

Than again I guess since many people also pick up pretty bad condition discs when they are cheap than yes you will find some but those discs were not treated well to begin with so not a fair comparison.

If a very nice looking disc has disc rot it has probably been stored very poorly wich again since discs are durable even than it will not happen to fast. Disc rot is Not an easy find really I don't worry about that to much. I'm pretty sure even the older discs will last for quite a long time 100 years It's pretty possible.

[burningdoom]

From what I've read, early CD pressings weren't as high-quality because the process wasn't as refined yet. And a lot of the early years of CDs are more prone to disc rot.

But that was the mid-to-late 80s. By the time disc-based consoles came around, the process was pretty well developed.

[kamikazekeeg]

Nothing to worry about, it's gonna happen, but it's not a particularly huge issue.  Won't stop people collecting, but likely the only way to play stuff will be through digital means or if people make new systems that can play them.  No real reason to worry about it at this point though.

[telly]

For what it's worth, I have two CDs from 88 and 89 that still play just fine. But that's just an n of 2 haha

[turf]

I'm just hoping I die before these games do.  That way my kid has to fool with all this stuff if it's trash!   

[brazbit]

I wouldn't worry about the physical on these things. People are getting really good at repairing a lot of things that were thought of as sealed and essentially disposable at the time of manufacture. There are literally millions of most of these systems so even original parts will be around for a long time.

I would be more worried about the next generation where people think the disc contains the game but it is just a stub to download the game from what will be a non-existent service or is 100% reliant on a network server and lacks even the most rudimentary AI so even if you do fool it into thinking the service is there you would essentially be the only moving object in a digital wasteland.

That is going to be the real issue for fans of current generation games. Even digital is less of a concern, bits can be copied and DRM defeated, but a missing back end requires monumental effort to overcome.

[lordsofskulls]

i turn to piracy and emulation...

no way in hell i am buying my RPGs again that i have for PS2... they are in $60s+ some are in $100s and $200s+

heck especially  Kuon  haunting grounds and rule of rose. = HELL NO.

[scoobs22]

Nah, I'm not worried.

Seconded.

If we're going to worry about CD based consoles going bad, we'd better worry about disc rot, too. Which is a thing, sure, but just not all that pervasive at this point. Also, humans die after some years. At that point it's very difficult to care.

[dreama1]

Disc life is 25 years before it starts eroding.  If you want to see what the process looks like speeded up, look at VHS tapes.

[scoobs22]

Disc life is 25 years before it starts eroding.  If you want to see what the process looks like speeded up, look at VHS tapes.

There's no firm, predictable number of years as you're suggesting. I have nearly 40 TG-CD/PCE-CD games that have survived 25 years and not a single one has signs of becoming degraded. The quality of manufacturing and the way the disc has been handled are two factors that you have to consider.

[burningdoom]

I have plenty of VHS that are older than me, and I'm 35. That 25 year shelf life sped up is not accurate.

[dreama1]

Disc life is 25 years before it starts eroding.  If you want to see what the process looks like speeded up, look at VHS tapes.

There's no firm, predictable number of years as you're suggesting. I have nearly 40 TG-CD/PCE-CD games that have survived 25 years and not a single one has signs of becoming degraded. The quality of manufacturing and the way the disc has been handled are two factors that you have to consider.

scoobs22, anecdotal evidence means nothing you know? 25 years passing doesn't mean the suddenly break, it means the risk starts to climb from this point onwards.

[scoobs22]

Disc life is 25 years before it starts eroding.  If you want to see what the process looks like speeded up, look at VHS tapes.

There's no firm, predictable number of years as you're suggesting. I have nearly 40 TG-CD/PCE-CD games that have survived 25 years and not a single one has signs of becoming degraded. The quality of manufacturing and the way the disc has been handled are two factors that you have to consider.

scoobs22, anecdotal evidence means nothing you know? 25 years passing doesn't mean the suddenly break, it means the risk starts to climb from this point onwards.

Yes, I understand that. I also understand that when media manufacturers put a lifespan on their products, they don't really know if it's accurate, and they err on the side of caution to cover themselves. When it comes to how discs are holding up, I guess my collection is all I care about, and my collection is fine.

[dreama1]

Disc life is 25 years before it starts eroding.  If you want to see what the process looks like speeded up, look at VHS tapes.

There's no firm, predictable number of years as you're suggesting. I have nearly 40 TG-CD/PCE-CD games that have survived 25 years and not a single one has signs of becoming degraded. The quality of manufacturing and the way the disc has been handled are two factors that you have to consider.

scoobs22, anecdotal evidence means nothing you know? 25 years passing doesn't mean the suddenly break, it means the risk starts to climb from this point onwards.

Yes, I understand that. I also understand that when media manufacturers put a lifespan on their products, they don't really know if it's accurate, and they err on the side of caution to cover themselves. When it comes to how discs are holding up, I guess my collection is all I care about, and my collection is fine.

Worth bumping this thread in the future then. The PCE-CD is a regarded as a high risk with it's discs in particular. Dracula x has a lot of dead discs from disc rot.

[scoobs22]

That's cool, I look forward to your petty "I told you so."