While the potential to run out of space is alarming, I think the current situation is being made larger than it is. Two games, both from Capcom, both on the same engine, seem to require large installs. I'm not too happy about it but clearly this is the route Capcom is taking. Most other games either stream, cache or utilize BR disk better it would appear.

I don't think we're at the point yet where every game seems to need a big install.

The reality is both 360 and PS3 seem to force challenges. I've seen many developers complain about lack of HDD in 360, because they want to use it in the same way some games for PS3 do. PS3 has slower read speed and more challenging architecture to use.

Look at the flip side of the coin with Burnout - if you have a 360 and no HDD you can't play online....

Quick Question.... Why does the DMC4 install take so long? I have Full Auto 2 for ps3 and it installs approx. 1.8 gigs from the disc and it takes under 1 minute, and the load times are under 10 seconds after that.... One time it loaded in 3 seconds

I'm not liking this. I'm not going to delete all my porn and hentai of my hard drive to install these games. I'll just buy the 360 versions of the games that have this. It's simply not worth getting rid of my porn and Hentai.

 The arguement against the mandatory installations is gaining a lot of tracktion. It certainly feels like a lot more games coming out are requiring hard drive installations, but it might be me noticing it more and more.

  So you need to spend more money on the console that is already the most expensive and go through all the aggravation of swapping harddrives to play games? Unless the PS3 has multiple harddrive bays (I doubt it) you would have to switch them based on what games were installed on which ones or have a useless harddrive. It is very easy to swap a harddrive admittedly, but it is still a pain in the ass to have to do it to play a game.  That is a bad solution. With PCs you just installed another harddrive and had access to a ton of new space and all the old files to boot. Now you either gain a new paper weight and less new space than what you paid for or the annoyance of trying to remember which harddrive had DMC4 installed on it.

Hmm... I distinctly remember having this argument before. And the same exact things being said.

 I distinctly remember last time one of the points made for the installation was that not a lot of games required it so there was no big problem. That defense is getting weaker and weaker it seems so it might do some good to revisit the situation.

this is NOT a big deal, external usb drives can be "installed" in under 5 seconds if you really need the space. i added a 200gb drive that only cost me about $50. and now i've got plenty of space for these installs as well as around 50 movies and 100's of songs on there, not to mention Linux Yellow Dog with a few apps AND 100's of NES emulators.

anyways, without all that, these installs are basically the gaming equilvalent of temp files. so if you're not gonna be playing the game again for awhile, just delete it, then REINSTALL the friggin thing. we've used up YEARS of our lives playing gmes, those 10-15 mins won't kill you.

Doesnt really bother me too much, but Id have to agree with some people that the reason I enjoy console gaming is that its usually a quick and trouble free experience. Im a PC gamer too, so Im not a stranger to giant HD installs, but for my PS3 and 360  Id rather not be *required* to install a huge chunk of data onto my HD.

I usually just want to pop it in, and start playing. 

I guess it would be nice if it were optional. (minimal install, moderate install, max performance install etc).