Microsoft had a troubled path towards release of Xbox One with much of the controversy having to do with discs and online requirements, but in an interview with OXM Microsoft boss Phil Spencer said they considered ditching a disc drive altogether as late as mid-2013 following the E3 backlash.
"Obviously, after the announcement and E3, there was some feedback about what people wanted to change," he explained. "There was a real discussion about whether we should have an optical disc drive in Xbox One or if we could get away with a purely disc-less console, but when you start looking at bandwidth and game size, it does create issues."
"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."
If you look closer at that statement - particularly at the stated reason bandwidth and game size - these are issues that could potentially be conquered in the near future. Especially if the amount of data needed to start playing a game is cut down. There is potential for Microsoft to launch a budget version of the console without a Blu-Ray drive down the line-