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Am I the only one who loves bringing home a PlayStation 3 game that I’ve been dying to play for months and months and then watching an install screen for 20 minutes instead of being able to just play the damn game? Seriously, I just can’t get enough of it.
That’s why it saddens me to hear that Sony Santa Monica’s upcoming mega-sequel God of War III will forgo the joyous install process entirely. The developer’s head of technology Christer Ericson made the announcement over Twitter (via VG247), in which he added, "The 5MB listed on box back is for save game only."
I actually have nothing against being able to install games to a console’s hard-drive to speed up load times, especially in the case of the PS3 since loading from the hard-drive is faster than loading from the Blu-ray drive, but it needs to be optional. Since the first two God of War games featured just one load screen at the beginning of each play session, there is even less of a need for a mandatory install for GoWIII. And given that other blockbuster titles like Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and the upcoming Final Fantasy XIII don't require an install, it’s clear that developers are capable of alleviating the annoyance of this process. Whether more decide to do it in the future isn't quite as clear.
What are your thoughts on mandatory game installs? Is it super annoying or just a slight inconvenience?
Source: VG247
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RocketJoel85
It was cool that even though Heavy Rain had a long install, you got to do an origami while you waited.
VizardKon85
Honestly i don't really mind. when I was installing Assassin's Creed II I had enough time to go get some food without starving cause i wasn't gonna put that game down. If they decide to take that away I'm okay with it. I'll just have to get dinner before I put it in.
greendogg55
Installing is a good thing, it makes the game more enjoyable
Coalmine
I think installation can be a crutch to some developers who haven't dedicated time to learn how to get their software to stream smoothly. In the past, both classic God of War titles were able to get huge environments to load in the background of your play session, and games like Halo have been able to do a stellar job at this as well. Even when you die, the game never misses a beat, and can put you back at the last checkpoint within 3-5 seconds. I guess with HD titles there's a more delicate balance to strike, but it's already been done successfully; Uncharted 2 was able to stream seamlessly uninterrupted, and get you back in the game within 10 seconds of death. On the other hand, Bayonetta on PS3 did the poorest job of getting their media to stream; not only did SEGA sacrifice a lot of texture quality on static objects, they only managed to achieve load times of 30 seconds to a minute.
You know, even when I play Chrono Trigger on PS3 it takes 5-10 seconds to enter a random encounter, and that's with 16-bit graphics. I think for a 90's jrpg it's forgivable, but load times under the 5-second mark are possible for developers that persue the virtue without leaning on the install crutch.
kwfang
As long they give you the option to install it then that would be good but this also good for people who are running out of memory on their PS3 so they still get to play it without having to delete anything which is good thing cause i don't think anyone wants to lose any of their saved data, DLC, or Saved games. Maybe the down side on this is if they dont give you the option to install the game and then longer load times which isn't bad as long as we get to play it.
joe888
That is good news to me. To me this headline, is saying that when you play the game less memory space will be taken. You see when you install a game, and saved with it, that takes up a lot of memory. less memory means: less games to play, less add-ons to have, etc.
SirCitadel
installs are really not that big of a deal. and i dont ever recall a 20 minute install for any game, so hopefully you were just exaggerating. funny enough, i was playing a little uncharted 2 today, and i realized that the load times are freaking long. especially when you first boot up the game, and the dagger thing just spins around and around. i seriously listened to the background song twice all the way through. i think if i had to choose, i would rather have an install. ive never been SO excited to play a game that i had to play it at that exact moment, especially if it speeds things up throughout the game.
hellterskelter89
Man, way to leave this open for 360 fanboys to complain about the ps3. I mean honestly its not 20 min. to install a game..bioshock 2 took about 10 and if people are THAT impatient than I have nothing else to say for you. Good to see the common person doesn't mind the installation..I mean who gives?
TD_ThA_MoNsTa
Never really minded the installs with the PS3. It's good to hear that Final Fantasy XIII and God of War III won't have them so I can jump right into the games slightly quicker. But it's also bad because that means all my AMP energy drinks that I would've gotten to play these games through the night will be gone sooner.
RandyMercer
Yeah Installs don't bother me much either after installing MGS4 and DMC 4 I can handle it but what ever they feel will make us happy. But let's face it some of us will need those pre-bathroom breaks before we go in for 10-20hrs of ripping Gods heads off and killing strange lobster Horses. But whatever just give me the game. Well not yet I still have to get ready.
ricosan
I've been a PC gamer most of my life so installing onto my PS3 ain't no thing but a chicken wing... word... just as long as I don't have to keep putting in disk after disk, I will be fine. As for MGS4, it was a really good thing it installed at the times it did during the game... I would not have left my couch if I didn't get those breaks.
Completist
I honestly DON'T mind instaling my games. If it helps reduces slowdowns and other hiccups, I'm for it. I just hope that Sony will make the installation of GoW III optional.
colinsilver105
Man I prefer the installs because Killzone was very annoying. I could be very much into my thing, shooting and stuff and it will do that little freeze thing it does. VERY ANNOYING! and honestly waiting for the coolest game every to install is just a thrilling feeling. It so iz. lol
GingerKid
Load times don't really bother me, my load time for Heavy Rain today taught me how to do origami, haha
atx88
personally, (i loved uncharted 2 so don't get me wrong with this comment), I would rather wait 10-20 minutes for an install to lessen load times. Especially when UC2 had rater long load times. Given the look of the scenery it was no surprise why. Although, I think giving your gamers something to do during the load times is a great idea. For example, I just bought Heavy Rain and sat down to install it. I didn't even read the screen till it was half way loaded and then i realized it was giving me step by step instructions to do the origami thing that came with the game. That was pretty cool and got me even more psyched to play the game. The system has the processing power to be able to install and do something else at that time. Why not set up a beginning cinematic for the length of the install? Just some ideas and my two cents.
PlatypusJr
I must say that when a friend came back from a vacation to Japan carrying FFXIII with her, I was in shock that there was no install required to the hard drive. It was a pleasant surprise, but we weren't expecting it. We had actually made plans to do something else while we waited for the install to finish, but instead ended up bickering over who got to play first lol... I suppose I don't really care about the installations since they do benefit the games significantly, however nothing beats that wonderful feeling of turning on a new game and getting right into the action. I'm pleased that God of War III, and FFXIII, won't have any need for an install.
fluttzie
I didn't mind having to install my games. Untill my hard drive got full
darkeldar100
10 minutes is an easy price to pay for me.
jmllmj
I don't mind installs, but the MGS4 install after every chapter really sucked..if it was just one long install at the start that would be fine just watch some TV or whatever, but it's kind of detrimental to keeping immersed in a game with those stupid installs..If GOWIII only has the one load at the beginning like the previous games than it's all good.
ImpossibleApple
does not bother me.
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