Tqaulity
Member
Just is just a reminder folks 
....
As we approach the launch of the next generation of gaming, one thing that is common across all platforms is the advent of SSD as standard. With that, storage size costs increase dramatically and we are seeing relatively low storage amounts at launch for the PS5 (825GB), Xbox Series S (512GB), and Xbox Series X (1TB). On the surface, this is spawning a lot of fears and discussions around how the amount of storage will be extremely limited and problematic for gamers. Many acknowledge that next gen game sizes will likely be smaller than current gen (at least initially) due to the efficiency improvements of the SSD, particularly in reducing duplication. However, few have really discussed the real world usability improvements brought by these SSDs and why the current model does not apply to next gen.
The underlying assumption that is the source of these fears is that as next gen games continue to grow larger, then fewer games will be able to fit on the HDD requiring more downtime (i.e. maintenance) reinstalling games to play. So...why is that a problem? Because TODAY, installing a game is a universally painful process (especially when considering installing all associated patches on top of the default game data). Downloading and installation is impacted by internet bandwidth and HDD speed but today the HDD speed is the bottleneck in many cases (for folks that may have an internet plan >50 Mbs or so).
So the thinking is most people would rather not have to uninstall their game and would just rather keep it on the harddrive because if they get in the mood to play again and have to reinstall, they will have to wait 10's of minutes at least before they can jump back in. If it's preinstalled, then they only have to wait a few mins for the initial load and launch process is complete. Obviously that will fill the HDD quickly. OK that makes sense....but that's the old paradigm.
In the new next-gen paradigm, would the same assumptions apply? Would it be considered "painful" to reinstall a game. Let's remember folks: we're talking a 100x improvement in raw disk throughput going from PS4 to PS5. So effectively the bottleneck moves from the HDD speed to the internet bandwidth for a download. With net speeds steadily improving and efficiencies added by console manufacturer to selectively install only portions of the game to start playing, we should see speeds that are orders of magnitude faster than what we see in current gen.
If you think about this new paradigm, how many people here would really have a problem reinstalling their games if you knew that if would almost universally take <5 min on any next gen console of your choice?
Consider this: Even for preinstalled games on current gen, the time it takes to launch into the game may be longer than the time it will take on next gen to install, launch, and load a game! Brand new world people
So yeah, 825GB might only store ~12-20 games total at a time...but that is plenty for the most people to have as their "active" list. But that whole concept is made irrelevant next gen since there really wouldn't be much speed advantage to having you're game preinstalled versus installing from scratch (we're talking maybe a few seconds difference). Thus, I really wouldn't worry about the smaller storage amounts next gen. Of course, there will be a upgrade path if you desire and it (hopefully) will become cheaper to do so over time. But the current amounts should be plenty at launch and for the foreseeable future.
Rest easy...it's going to be a much better experience come next gen
Edit: This is referring to digital game primarily. Obviously for disc based games, the initial install will be limited by disc drive speed (which is still much slower than HDD)
....As we approach the launch of the next generation of gaming, one thing that is common across all platforms is the advent of SSD as standard. With that, storage size costs increase dramatically and we are seeing relatively low storage amounts at launch for the PS5 (825GB), Xbox Series S (512GB), and Xbox Series X (1TB). On the surface, this is spawning a lot of fears and discussions around how the amount of storage will be extremely limited and problematic for gamers. Many acknowledge that next gen game sizes will likely be smaller than current gen (at least initially) due to the efficiency improvements of the SSD, particularly in reducing duplication. However, few have really discussed the real world usability improvements brought by these SSDs and why the current model does not apply to next gen.
The underlying assumption that is the source of these fears is that as next gen games continue to grow larger, then fewer games will be able to fit on the HDD requiring more downtime (i.e. maintenance) reinstalling games to play. So...why is that a problem? Because TODAY, installing a game is a universally painful process (especially when considering installing all associated patches on top of the default game data). Downloading and installation is impacted by internet bandwidth and HDD speed but today the HDD speed is the bottleneck in many cases (for folks that may have an internet plan >50 Mbs or so).
So the thinking is most people would rather not have to uninstall their game and would just rather keep it on the harddrive because if they get in the mood to play again and have to reinstall, they will have to wait 10's of minutes at least before they can jump back in. If it's preinstalled, then they only have to wait a few mins for the initial load and launch process is complete. Obviously that will fill the HDD quickly. OK that makes sense....but that's the old paradigm.
In the new next-gen paradigm, would the same assumptions apply? Would it be considered "painful" to reinstall a game. Let's remember folks: we're talking a 100x improvement in raw disk throughput going from PS4 to PS5. So effectively the bottleneck moves from the HDD speed to the internet bandwidth for a download. With net speeds steadily improving and efficiencies added by console manufacturer to selectively install only portions of the game to start playing, we should see speeds that are orders of magnitude faster than what we see in current gen.
If you think about this new paradigm, how many people here would really have a problem reinstalling their games if you knew that if would almost universally take <5 min on any next gen console of your choice?
Consider this: Even for preinstalled games on current gen, the time it takes to launch into the game may be longer than the time it will take on next gen to install, launch, and load a game! Brand new world people
So yeah, 825GB might only store ~12-20 games total at a time...but that is plenty for the most people to have as their "active" list. But that whole concept is made irrelevant next gen since there really wouldn't be much speed advantage to having you're game preinstalled versus installing from scratch (we're talking maybe a few seconds difference). Thus, I really wouldn't worry about the smaller storage amounts next gen. Of course, there will be a upgrade path if you desire and it (hopefully) will become cheaper to do so over time. But the current amounts should be plenty at launch and for the foreseeable future.
Rest easy...it's going to be a much better experience come next gen
Edit: This is referring to digital game primarily. Obviously for disc based games, the initial install will be limited by disc drive speed (which is still much slower than HDD)
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