Microsoft looking at ways to ?validate? Xbox discs for disc-drive-free consoles

And the validation itself could be accomplished entirely on the device or through the use of "an external video gaming service" like Xbox Live.As for how long that initial disc validation lasts, the patent application also offers a few different options: as long as both devices "are on the same local network"; while the disc is actually physically present inside the disc drive of the first device; and/or "while a digital version of the electronic content is available to the external device or service." Interestingly, the patent also mentions the possibility of "streaming and/or downloading content from local network devices to prevent/mitigate Internet fees and bandwidth issues [emphasis added]," suggesting options that don't involve Microsoft's centralized servers to transfer the disc data itself.While the specifics are still amorphous, the application devotes significant space to describing why Microsoft sees this as a problem to be solved in the first place. are being constructed without optical disc drives," players "are unable to play their previously acquired optical discs on the current gaming consoles," the application states.That's an issue because many gamers have "amassed extensive libraries of physical video game media and other video game paraphernalia over time [that] represent a significant financial (and emotional) investment for the video game device owners," the application continues.