dump the disk drive

dump the disk drive

The familiar way to start up a video game — sticking a disk into a console or a computer — isn’t about to go away anytime soon. But much of the buzz at this year’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco revolved around machines that do without the disk drive. The devices’ creators hope to be at the forefront of a new age of downloadable gaming.

OnLive Inc., based in Palo Alto, Calif., plans to host dozens of popular computer games, from big publishers like Electronic Arts and Ubisoft, on its servers. Anyone with high-speed Internet could then connect a PC or a Mac to a server and start playing, say, “Crysis” without having to worry about whether his computer was powerful enough to handle its high-end graphics. You could even play PC games on your television through the OnLive MicroConsole, a sleek device that’s about as big as a pack of cigarettes.

Another machine introduced at GDC isn’t likely to make it into too many U.S. homes. But that’s OK, because Zeebo Inc.’s “video game console for the next billion” is aimed at places like India, China and Eastern Europe where few people can afford a PlayStation 3. Games will be distributed through cell-phone networks, using technology developed by San Diego-based Qualcomm Inc. Graphics quality is far from state-of-the-art, but Zeebo is wagering that developing markets will be wowed by decade-old hits such as “Quake II” and “Crazy Taxi.”