Since when was the PS3 a PC? Because I don't recall any console in history needing it's games to be 'installed'.

Game has had the install for months now in Japan. It's only a issues now cause of DMC4.

It's stupid really, they should make it optional. Majority of PS3 games with installs make it optional. Ridge Racer 7, a launch title had an almost 7 gig install, but it was purely optional.

I'm just not getting into this whole thing again.

I agree you with there Luke.

I'm curious why it takes so long to install compared to PC games. Maybe it's just DMC, I don't know. But a mandatory install of multiple gigs, if it becomes a trend, will eat up a lot of people's hard drives pretty fast.

@blackadvent: When every console came with a HDD built in. Developers like using the HDD with games. It allows them to achieve better results than pure disc streaming. The PS3's all have HDD, so they are going to use them. Making it manditory though is a dumb idea.

Meh. Who cares. I'd be surprised if more and more of these installations become mandatory.

But damn, the installation for DMC4 sure made that one hell of a streamlined experience. No load times, whatsoever.

Why mandatory =(, I don't own a PS3, but.. this just does NOT seem like a good idea to me for consoles.. Although I do enjoy reading the little booklets, etc.. whenever I install a PC game..

Wait? When did Devil May Cry 4 become mandatory?

Because in half the articles, it's a choice, like in most Ps3 games, and the other half, you claim it's mandatory.

There's no consistency.

I won't even trust this site until I see picture/video proof.
And since the Justin TV video is unavailable, we have none.

@Kyle81:
/agree

That is the biggest thing I hate about consoles. Disc streaming!

The PS3 was designed for this...

Optional is a great idea, but sometimes it doesn't always work if you've developed the game in a certain manner. Seriously though, its not that big of a deal.. a one time thing. It most likely removes texture pop in and all that, which is a good thing. So stop whining!

Mandatory is ridiculous, but the only way you'll ever stop it, since it appears to be convenient for the devs, is to never buy games that require them. UT3 has an install, but it's optional. Now that they've discontinued the 80gig systems, we can play about eight of such games and then we have to uninstall, and have another 20 minute wait if we want to dig it out of retirement...pass.

Hmm. This is somewhat troublesome. I mean, it's a golf game. I can understand optional install, but mandatory for this? Eh.

Well, good thing I'm not interested in this game that much. That's 5 gigs I don't have to worry about being wasted!

@phloog: There hasn't been any official announcement of the 80GB model, correct? Though I'm betting on a new SKU with a large HDD to be introduced in order to replace the 80GB.

I can't agree more with Luke's post. I was willing to accept DMC4's mandatory install, even though from all reports there are little-to-no benefits whatsoever. But if this trend continues, eventually people will get to the point where they need to delete games from their console's hdd to play a brand new game they just bought, AND wait 20 mins+ for the privilege. People will not be happy - we can see it coming, others might not.

@phloog: You you often play 8 games at once?

No loading times is nice, but if it eats up my 60gb ( yes i know i can upgrade) then i can pass on this install trend.

"Making it manditory though is a dumb idea."

And shows how lazy they are, the HDD is NOT supposed to be used in that way, that is why MS taken it off from the Xbox 360 to prevent being used for things like that.

Now is Sony turn to learn the fact if developers can cut corners they will cut corners.

I worry more about when they realize they can released unfinished games and patch then later ...

So DMC4 was a popular game, and thus people tried to justify the install.

But Hot Shots Golf? ...

And now if you buy this and Hot Shots Golf, you've got 10GB on your drive gone.

10GB for two games? Let me put that in comparison.

My 360 has a 20GB HDD. Out of the box I had roughly 14 GB available. I have 6 game saves, 8 GHIII songs, 13 RB songs, and 5 XBL arcade games.

In all that, my available GB has taken a "hit" equivalent to 1GB.

Nice of Sony and the developers to kick all of us in the nuts. Those of us who "fell" for the 40GB price point.

If this becomes the trend then I'm going to have shell out more money a larger HDD in the future when I could have spent it toward a larger PS3 with Ps2 backward support and a free Motorstorm back when I bought it originally. Sony bait & switch I say...anyone want a used PS3? I might have one to sell with a 40GB hard drive though :(

@PirateThom:
8 games at once? No. But it'd be nice to know that should I want to play a game a second time I don't ahve to go through a 20 minute install again.

I don't really see why gamers find a need to complain about every single little thing.

Do you guys realize that it's 20 freakin minutes? Pop it in, click install, and go take a shower. It'll be done by the time you know it and bam, you no longer have load times.

Granted, I don't have a PS3, so if storage space is a problem (I can see it getting annoying if you have 5 games on the go and you can't play them since you need storage space to mandatory install), then I can see why people are complaining. But if that's not the case, then wow. Count your blessings if that's what you're complaining about in the world. I don't mean to offend anyone.

*Sigh* Hard to defend this one.

I like suggesting that they look to Halo 2 PC's ability to play while you install as a guide. Wouldn't that be delicious justice?

Too bad Mass Effect didn't have an option like this to stop all the damn in-game texture rendering while you standing there staring at blurry walls.

God that was annoying.

@wicko: Texture pop-in, in Hot Shots Golf? There's something terribly wrong with a system that would suffer from pop-in from a cartoon-styled golf game. That's really all I've got to say about that.

Anyway, back to the topic: this is a bad trend. Especially if all these mandatory installs are huge 5gb affairs. Don't think this will be limited to DMC4 and Hot Shots Golf. Once the flood gates for this type of thing open, developers are going to be all over it. It's a bad idea and Sony should never have allowed mandatory installs in the first place.

@Kirbytheslayer: is dancing: DMC4 has a mandatory install. The articles that claim it is a choice were written before the game came out.

@Kirbytheslayer: is dancing: Where have you seen it reported as optional?

@Maldron: I think the bigger issue here is the amount of space these take up. 5GB is a lot for Hot Shots Golf.

@DeLoRtEd1: If you read most of the comments, you'll understand that the *potential* for this to become a real problem space-wise and whatnot is what most people are complaining about. The 20 minute load time is a non-issue for the most part. (or just a tacked on extra annoyance)

Y'know, I don't have the slightest problem with installs if they're "optional." I mean, if it's such a dramatic difference that I have to do it, then I probably won't care.

Otherwise, that's annoying. Saps the momentum and joy of opening a new game and ohgoodyohgoodyicanhardlywaittoplayohgoody...please wait, installing?

I mean, I'm not even that crazy about the demo downloads needing to install before they can play. Can't you just build that into the download time so it's ready for me when it says "download complete"? I don't notice the Xbox 360 needing to me to approve an install before I can play a demo.

@Drakron: They already do that. Almost any console game released now (that isn't on the Wii) will often already have a patch for it when you throw it in your system on launch day. It's really ridiculous. Anyone remember Dead or Alive 4 on the 360? Holy crap was that game broken. If I didn't have the internet back then I'd have been right pissed. Even so, it took them so long to release a patch that I successfully lost my save file 4 times.

@Jesus Christ:
a personal savior with sarcasm....i could...nope still can't accept ya sorry =(

@Kirbytheslayer: is dancing:

I can tell you from first hand experience its mandatory

In all seriousness though, while personally I don't care since if it ever becomes an issue i will just pick up a bigger HDD (imagine if sony made you pay outrageous prices for hard drives like microsoft does) but really This type of stuff should be optional.

while I do appreciate faster load times, until we can get it down to no load times or very very close to no load times there's no reason to make this mandatory.

@dowingba: Yeah, for Hot Shot's Golf, I realize that's a little farfetched.

But for DMC4, I wouldn't say so.

I have a 20GB PS3, so after 4 games I am screwed?

this is a disturbing trend indeed. I'm down to less than 10GB on my 60, mostly from demos and videos and the like, granted, but id hate to have to make room for one game instead of another.

Kinda stupid to have a 40 gig now, like me. Soon I'll only be able to play a few games at once without having to delete and install constantly.

When is Sony gonna own up and put a graphics processor in the damn machine?

I know they can't do anything about the blu-ray read speeds, that they're just effed about.

@Ignatius:

/agree

@DeLoRtEd1: Take a shower? Why not just parrot Capcom and suggest a sandwich and snack? I know 20 minutes is a tiny speck of one's life, but I know when I get home with a new game, I want to play the damn thing. I don't want to get home, pop it into the system, and then go find something ELSE to do -- the game IS the something-else-to-do. I'm with the above: allow for installation, but don't make the game install-or-don't-play or you'll piss people off.

Being overly optimistic I just hope that devs are using this as a "temporary crutch" to get games out of the door faster until they have more knowhow on the workings of the PS3 to not need to do as much of these "installs".

What we have to worry about though is if devs become complacant with using this sort of cop out and everyone begins to use it as a standard. Folks better start bitching though to let the devs know you gotta stop this shit now.

Okay, that's it. No game with a mandatory install of this size is getting my purchase. It's not the 20 minutes that bothers me, it's the fact that if we don't make ourselves clear in a year's time every PS3 game will have a huge 3+ gig install.

@Kirbytheslayer: is dancing: Would you believe Capcom's site?

[blog.capcom.com]

They offer the alternative of getting a drink or eating. They do not offer the option of not installing. Pretty clear clues there. This was linked on Kotaku yesterday.

@Witzbold: I was firmly in the anti-mandatory camp with the DMC4 revelation, but got kicked around for it. lol.

@TRT-X: Can't compare HDD usage between 360 and the PS3. There is a reason why PS3's came with larger HDD and a reason 360's have no HDD sku's.

I personally don't mind mandatory installs as long as the game is worth it. ( MGS4, FFXIII, etc) since I'll be expecting a lot of content and I want seamless gameplay.

But Hot Shots Golf? Come on.

Optional=Awesomeness

Mandatory=Bullshit

C'mon now.... seriously.

@Drakron: No, Microsoft did not make the HD optional to prevent situations like this. They did it so they could release a lower cost SKU and gouge purchasers of the tard pack later on. Not having these idiotic mandatory installs is the one advantage to the optional HD situation (there's a lot more disadvantages).

Similarly, I just had to install the Ratchet and Clank demo after downloading it on the PS3. Why is this necessary on a PS3 demo, but not on any XB360 games?

Bad trend.

9 games on my 160 gb hard drive. 74.5 gbs takin up.

Whats gunna happen when these hard drives get filled? Require you to go get a bigger more expensive memory card?

Shame 90% of all ps3 owners don't know you can swap out the hard drives for much bigger space.

@MrBionic: Yeah, there was an explosion of comments while I wrote my post, it seems. Lol.
@DoesNotEqual: Patience is a virtue.