With the announcement that the Playstation 3 version of Bioshock kicks off with a 5gb mandatory install, the question now has to be raised, Will these mandatory installs on the Playstation 3 become a problem?

First we have to ask the question, why do we need all these big mandatory installs on Playstation 3 games when the Xbox 360 does so well without them? That I believe is down to bluray, sure bluray has tons of capacity but the disc reads at an overall slower speed than DVD9, Therefore it is either have more load times in your games, or install data to your Hard Disk Drive to eliminate load times and make the game run more smoothly.

The problem is that if developers keep doing this then it is going to become a big problem maintaining all your space on the hard drive, 5 Gigabytes is a lot of space to take up for an install and if you buy many games that require this then it is all going to add up very quickly. It’s all fine and dandy that Playstation 3 allows you to use all kinds of external hard disk drives and to even replace the Playstation 3’s hard drive, but the point is that people shouldn’t have to do this. You have people who bought 20 gigabyte Xbox 360’s years ago and they still have no problem with space to this day. But if the install trend continues on Playstation 3, then I can tell you as a Playstation owner that I will not be happy.

However what I have noticed is that many first party games published by Sony find ways around the loading issue. For example when you first enter the game it may take around a minute or so to load at that point, but then the rest of the game runs smoothly with limited load times. So my thing is that, if Sony knows tricks to get around the loading issues then they need to share their information with developers, because these developers are not going to go out of their way to find a solution, they’ve created the game and they will implement it on the system any way that is convenient to them. So in this case it is up to Sony to solve this issue, as it is one that can hurt them in the long run.

Bourne Conspiracy Includes a Manadory Install on the Playstation 3

In conclusion I feel this loading issue could also be the cause of many Playstation 3 games being at 30fp and at low resolutions, and although mandatory installs can correct this issue, it is not a solution that can continue to be a growing trend if Sony wishes their platform to last ten years. If a game like Bourne Conspiracy can run on the Xbox 360 without an install then how does that look for Playstation 3? Some people may feel that Xbox 360 is pushing its limits with DVD9, but the fact is that they played it safe, DVD9 loads faster than bluray, but it just doesn’t have the same capacity. What we have to remember is in this day, No console is perfect and if you feel strongly about the negative aspects of your console then the only way to truly win is to own both consoles.
Happy Gaming, Peace.

http://analoghype.com/blog/2522/playstation-3-installs-will-they-become-a-problem/#more-2522

Call of Duty 4:

720p, 60 fps, not first party.

Fail?

I believe the keyword in the statement you are offering a retort to, would be 'many'.  I do not know if the statement is true or not, but one example is not sufficient.

To the is simple NO
you get the intial load time to cut down on in game load times a fair trade off, actually a beneficial trade off in my mind

Lets see...With a PS3 you can use ANY hard drive (thats 2.5) meaning you can get a 500GB hard drive for 100 dollars and a 250 for even less (like 70 if you look around). That makes a 5GB install quite meaningless (you can have 100 5 gig installs before the 500GB HD gets full.)   The whole market isn't xbox world where you pay 90 dollars for a 20GB hard drive. For that 90 dollars in open source PS3 world you can get a hard drive thats 25 times bigger and install it in literally 45 seconds if you know how to use a screw driver (there's an easy access flap on the side of the PS3), you just unscrew the screws underneath it, slide out the cage, switch the HDs, slide it back in and poof. The firmware even saves your game tag info and your software updates, all you do is format it for PS3 and you're good to go.

There's even a PS3 backup utility that backs up EVERYTHING on your PS3 then reinstalls it on the new PS3 thats super easy to use. Just plug in an external hard drive or USB storage and back up then restore system to your new HD, its like the swap never happened (except for the extra drive space). Total time spent even with restore? Maybe 15 mins if you have a lot of stuff.

I think it may just come down to lazy devs as much as anything- I mean, Burnout Paradise is a third party release, and that requires no HDD installation yet has no loading times anywhere, save for the minute at the startup.

Yes it is a problem, delivers are lazy idiots, that dont "FUCKING" (yes I tend to get mad when it comes to ps3 installs) cut the installs, I mean UNCHARTED HAS NO LOADING TIMES, AND AMAZING VISUALS.

Oh and it has no install..

Yet bioshock contains a 5 gb install how nice.

I think one of the more important concerns is when you look at games like MGS4. Since the install size is limited, more games may start using a mandatory install for individual chapters/levels/etc. This would then mean you will need to install the game almost every time you want to play it.

Well, if people can afford to buy as PS3, they can afford to buy one with a big hard drive or at least buy a larger hard drive seperately.

This install malarky is just another hammer people will hit the PS3 over the head with. Just as the PS3 becomes popular, something comes along to bring the naysayers back.

"Too expensive"
then
"No games!"
then
"No JRPGs!" (because suddenly everyone was a fan of JRPGs
now
"Installs suck ass!"

Its beyond ridiculous. Buy a bigger hard drive people!

Also games with an install on the PS3 don't just load the same they load FASTER then the 360 version, so its a net improvement not just an unfortunate trade off. If MS didn't make the stupid move of having some consoles be hard drive less (which they didn't even do with the original Xbox, why would the new system have less features then the old system? Makes no sense).

If 360 devs could use the Hard Drive they would certainly want to, MS just requires that they don't since some 360 users don't have one (yet another innane MS rule). That goes right up there with making Activision pay more for wireless accessories so they have to have a wired guitar only, charging more for 2 or more DVD games so resolution is limited to what fits on one DVD and many other boneheaded decisions made at the top. Why isn't there a real browser of any sort in the 360? The PS3 has a ported version of the mobile browser (that even runs things like flash) and the Wii has Opera. Why isn't wireless built in like with every competitor? Why does the 360 gain functionality at a snails pace while the PS3 and Wii get cool new features and programs every few months?

Lazy incompetent design, thats why. Nintendo and Sony are vastly superior hardware designers and it shows this generation. I haven't heard any Wii or PS3 owners complaining about multiple console failures thats for sure (or of their system sounding like a jet engine when it runs).