This week's patch to PlayStation 3 game ModNation Racers was supposed to make load times in that otherwise-delightful, customizable racing game as much as 50 percent shorter. I tested the patch today. It made my load times longer.
I shot five videos of a pre-patched ModNation Racers running on my PS3 today and five videos of similar content after I downloaded and installed that patch. You can watch and time the results too.
Pre-patch ModNation Racers, from Title Screen to ModSpot: 23 seconds
Post-patch ModNation Racers, from Title Screen to ModSpot: 52 seconds
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Pre-patch ModNation Racers, from ModSpot to Create Studio: 11 seconds
Post-patch ModNation Racers, from ModSpot to Create Studio: 14 seconds
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Pre-patch ModNation Racers, from Create Studio to ModSpot: 23 seconds
Post-patch ModNation Racers, from Create Studio to ModSpot: 34 seconds
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Pre-patch ModNation Racers, from ModSpot to Quick Race: 42 seconds
Post-patch ModNation Racers, from ModSpot to Quick Race: 42 seconds
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Pre-patch ModNation Racers, from Quick Race to ModSpot: 23 seconds
Post-patch ModNation Racers, from Quick Race to ModSpot: 32 seconds
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I'm not sure why load times would be lengthened, which is the exact opposite of what publisher Sony and development studio United Front Games were trying to do. The folks at Joystiq did see their load times shortened. I've checked with Sony to see what's up and whether this is a known issue. I'll update this post when I hear back.
Have you tried the new ModNation Racers patch? Are you experiencing faster or slower load times? Here's hoping I'm the exception...