Source: joystiq
We’d figured as early as February that Microsoft would forgo placing a next-gen optical drive in the Xbox 360 for a myriad of acceptable reasons, but we couldn’t help but keep the nagging issue of disc space from lingering in the back of our minds. From the high-res textures fit for an HDTV to the higher polygon counts befitting a next-gen console, the space available on standard DVDs is suddenly in increasingly short supply. So far we’ve yet to see an Xbox 360 game take up more than a single disc, but if the most recent issue of Game Informer is any indication, Microsoft may soon be sweating their decision to pass up on a next-gen storage format.
The issue takes an in-depth look at all the features of the Xbox 360, and while GI is generally quite taken with the 360’s performance, functionality, and especially its controller, they unearth some unsettling details regarding the console’s diminuitive storage capacity. According to Game Informer, nearly every developer they talked to at X05 expressed difficulties fitting their launch titles onto a single disc. One unnamed yet “highly anticipated” game in particular is said to currently occupy a full four 9Gb DVDs. Elder Scrolls IV immediately jumps to mind [UPDATE: or perhaps not, duuur], but any of those Japanese RPGs that Microsoft is always touting are also likely candidates. Microsoft’s J Allard downplayed the storage issues, citing that improved compression rates in the future will allow much more data to be held on an individual disc, and that the pre-launch crunch forced many current 360 titles to use space far more inefficiently than they would have otherwise.
Microsoft has already hinted that a future add-on may be developed to allow the 360 to handle high-def movies, but that the device would be unrelated to gaming. Should the status quo remain unchanged, that means that Xbox 360 owners will be stuck with standard DVD media until at least the next console generation, circa 2010. And, obviously, just because a title is relegated to multiple discs doesn’t mean that it can’t be a great game—just look at Final Fantasy VII. But in this modern era, will consumers still put up with swapping discs mid-play? Games which are linear, such as Halo, may have little to lose by opting for a multi-disc format, but games which are, er… cubic, such as Grand Theft Auto, may take a significant hit in their ease of playability. All told, did Microsoft make the right decision when choosing the 360’s optical drive? If not, would they risk segmenting their fanbase by releasing a newer, HD-DVD enabled box in the future?
Comments
Changing discs is a 10 second process, and anyone who has problems with it should consider therapy (or some sports).
I still stand by what I said above, but I do agree that games like GTA (and sandbox games like it in general) will definately take a hit with more than 1 or 2 discs.
All the 360 needs is an external, multi-disc changer. Say 50-200 gamedvd slots. That way all the disc's will load by themselves and you'll never have to get off your lazy ass!
I read somewhere a few months back that stated, the Enchant Arm uses about 4 DVD9s
lol @ dvd9
Would you rather have a 1X-2X Blue Ray drive that takes 5 times as long to load stuff? Or get off your lazy ass once to swap a disc?
Anon 5:22:
The PS3 will be able to play HDTV-movies at 1080p, this will require it to have at least 54Mbps transfer-rate. So 1x is a no-no.
The drive will be at least 2x (72Mbps) or maybe even 4x (144Mbps).
I would pick Blu-Ray over DVD9 any day.
I can't stand to have to put the disc in my drive on my pc just to play a game. Of course consoles are a little less redicules in this regard. At least with consoles the game doesn't copy its self to a drive and still expect you to insert the disc. Why even make the game installable (Yeah I know they have to for various reasons?) I could swap discs in a console, as long as it wasn't an every 5 minutes kind of thing. Just think of how much immersion Oblivion would lose if you had to swtich discs every time you entered a different territory. Ick!
veryone and your mother knows that. halo has never got a bad review by a respectable critic. halo rules you.
also with oblivion being about 60 hours long you will only switch disks every 15 hours. what i dont understand is that with the ps1 a lot of games had multiple disks and no one complained but people go crazy at the thought of having multiple disks for 360.
the playstation 1 is the dumbest thing anyone could bring up in this argument. This isn't Micorsofts first system for one and more important than anything is that when the ps1 came out there was no alternative to CD because of the early stages of DVD at the time(practically non-existent). Ohh and lets not forget that the CD used in the playstation was not about 1/3 the size of the storage medium of its closest competitor(N64). Please for future debates concerning DVD9 vs Blu-Ray can we not discuss irrelevent not to mention stupid things like ps1 disc swapping. GTA is a perfect example of why DVD9 will probably fail for next gen because you won't be able to free roam around the WHOLE map without changing discs.
Would you rather have a 1X-2X Blue Ray drive that takes 5 times as long to load stuff? Or get off your lazy ass once to swap a disc?
Well if this isnt the most un-educated opinion in the world.
At 1x, the BR kills the DVD at 1x. If you want to compare speeds you compare at the multiplier. not at the current maximum. The PS3 for sure will have a 2x or more reader. BR FAQS have already stated that the minimum for any BR drive will be a 2x, and even at 2x it beats DVDs.
Disk swapping should be non-existant. It should suck to play oblivion and have to change disks for every part you move to. Thats why im sticking to the PC version, not only will it be better but much faster load times.
The only games that wont be affected much are linear games. We all know linear games suck. They dont offer much excitement and no matter how many ways you have to completing your objective, a linear plot is a killer. Splinter cell for example is a one play through game. You play it through once and any more then that its not as exciting. Its not dynamic. Its linear and therefore with multiple disks it wont be affected.
Imagine playing GTA and for every new area you unlock its a new disk you have to swap. And when you return to old areas you have to swap again.
Not to mention the 360 confirmed problem with scratching disk when its even moved a little. Multiple disks on an unstable mounting design is asking for games to become coasters.
Anon at 8:31, no, that's not how it'd work. Oblivion is a big world, not a linear story game (well, it is, but you can go anywhere in this big world, like GTA) so you would change discs every time you enter a new area that's not on the current disc.
lol this is funny yall are complaining about changes discs what lazy asses america has become so terrible(i'm American by the way) microsoft might have a compression technique that would fit on dvd9 2-3 discs is no big deal it just makes you get of you lazy ass and move to the console. Sony is using the blu ray to push hd movies and that doesnt mean that theyre going to use the full space capability to its potential look at past games on dvd or dvd9 they didnt even take up all the space on the discs and thats with just basics compression and you might also forget the pad0 and pad1 used to protect dics with takes up more than the whole game if you have ever burned a ps2 game or xbox game you will know what im talkin about.. also if this is the big problem then the nintendo revolution is going to fall on its face cause there planning on using regular dvds and maybe dvd9 maybe so think about that
Talking about load times, I've seen how long it takes to load PGR3 and PDZ, and I can say I'm not too impressed with the 12x DVD drive...
its a good thing GTA isn't coming out for 360.
http://ps3updates.qj.net/2005_11_11_ps3updates_archive.html
hey, kakarot133, the Xbox360 has a 16x dvd drive, not 12x. Much faster :D
^^^ That makes his comment sound worse
why the post about Halo never getting a bad review?
neither has Gran Turismo, or Grand Theft Auto. What do reviews mean?
In some cases Review scores are ridiculously inflated, usually around release time, somewhat like how Perfect Dark 0 got between 9 and 9.7
You can't tell me that in 6 months 50% of the games out won't be better, do you see them scoring all 9.5-9.9?
Hell no, PD0 Was WAAY over inflated. And its not even that impressive of a game!
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