Do game install sizes affect your decisions as a consumer?

[Blyr]

Not really, but it probably should (my internet sucks, and I apparently have a data cap, which I never even knew about, but it's 1TB and I live alone, so I won't hit it on my own as I never get close, even when I download multiple games).. the alternative is waiting 3-5 days for a game to get shipped out here though, since I live in the middle of nowhere, so a ~3-8 hour wait is a significant improvement over that, atleast!

As far as space goes, I just regularly delete everything off my PS4 if I know I'm not going to be playing it, or if I've beaten it.. haven't needed to upgrade past my 500GB HDD in my PS4 yet as a result, and it isn't much of an issue on PC either.

 

[Orcastar]

Nope, neither do download sizes. I find all the complaining people do about them rather silly.

 

[Diablos]

It really doesn't, though I am in awe of how large games are becoming, and not particularly impressed by that.

I have a 1TB bandwidth cap that's not really enforced; even if it was I'd manage. That said, if I ever moved somewhere and had a more restrictive cap, or caps are adjusted after the current FCC has its way with Net Neutrality, it could be a huge issue.

As of right now, storage for PC's/consoles is really inexpensive so it's not a problem. Waiting for it to download might be if you're itching to play, but I usually buy physical copies of games for my PS4 and don't game on PC too much.

 

[Notaskwid]

I don't have ocd.

 

[aerie]

No, not at all. I've gotten used to deleting or reinstalling games quite a bit thing generation and to be perfectly frank its hardly been a hassle, just have to kind of anticipate want to play for the next few weeks.

 

[code]

I can hesitate if the game is 80+ gb . Or if there is a free week end and its 50+ gb i dont even bother trying

 

[PurestGamer78]

I've been deleting stuff for years now doesn't bother me much.

 

[ShaiKhulud]

Not at all. But that being said the Internet in Russia is fast and dirt-cheap. My best friend in London is pretty irritated with 50Gb downloads.

 

[Tony]

It hasn't changed my mind on buying anything specifically, but when making room for new games I always delete the games I have a disc for first to save time later. Not that it always helps a lot in the age of gigantic patches, but now that Comcast has implemented data caps in my area every little bit helps.

 

[fast_taker]

No because i can hook up an external drive, and manage any space issues. But i have to admit that i hate waiting for 100GB of data to download..

 

[bigbaldwolf86]

It doesn't put me off buying games but having to keep deleting stuff on my PS4 gets annoying

 

[DeadlyParasite]

No, I have great download and upload speeds and I rock a 4TB external hard-drive for my XB1 so I'm never worried about game sizes.

 

[Ivellios]

Not really, if storage is a problem i just delete some old games im sure i never play again.

 

[ODD]

On digital games, yes. I've already skipped games that are over 60 GB. I have small HDDs and a crapy internet connection, so...

 

[Trails]

Not anymore. After upgrading my internet connection I'm leaning more and more towards digital. That said I can imagine game sizes becoming problem in 3-4 years or so.

 

[Deleted member 2254]

No, but the constant uninstalling required on PS4 to free up the space for new games means my backlog gets easily forgotten.

Click to shrink...

This. I buy regardless of size, but I might forget stuff in the backlog if I'd have to delete other games for it or download for a day.

 

[Nairume]

I have been actively skipping Xbone games because of their install sizes, yes.

 

[kubev]

Not at all. I don't mind juggling game installations on PC for the privilege of playing games on an [admittedly small at only 500 GB] SSD, and storage isn't an issue on Xbox One (since I use an external hard drive). I do, however, tend to not buy games with a lot of DLC planned. That has less to do with storage size, however, and more to do with the fact that I hate it when DLC is released long after a game's launch, as there's very little chance of me going back to a game after so long, so I'd prefer to just not play it at all if I don't have the full package available on day one.

 

[TheBeardedOne]

No, but I definitely wish some were smaller because my internet sucks and it takes forever to download things.

 

[TripaSeca]

What bothers me more than sizes is the mandatory installations of disc based games. On Switch for instance you don't need to install. Bought Odyssey and only installed the day1 patch which was very small and took less than a minute and I was good to go. That's satisfying.

 

[Venom]

Nope, I have good internet now but even when I didn't I just had to suck it up and deal with it. It's a pain in the arse sure but games are going to get bigger with PS5, XB2, Xbox X etc. Its just something were gonna have to learn to deal with. I would like to see earlier pre loads though for poor souls who have to deal with anything less than 20mbps speeds and I think companies should directly address this with earlier pre loads

 

[Tetryl]

It's never stopped me from buying a game, but I did stop playing Halo 5 because I couldn't justify a game I only played occasionally taking up 100GB of space. And I'm definitely less likely to pop an older game in when I have to delete something else first and wait a few hours for it to install and patch.

 

[Thoraxes]

No for me, but that's because I don't buy digital for 95% of my purchases.

If I was digital only, due to bandwidth, I'd be significantly less inclined to buy games due to their sizes.

 

[Brhoom]

Yes. And this has limited my consumption of AAA games.

 

[GeeTeeCee]

I rarely stops me buying a game but it will usually make me go for a physical copy where possible. I don't like to download anything over 30GB generally, I'd much rather just install it from disc, even though my internet speeds are more than capable (even on PSN).

 

[Tampler]

It affects what platform I buy my games on.

I live in rural Ireland on a 1.8Mb (That's about 200 KB/s) connection that has remained constant for the 12 years since I've had broadband, with no signs of faster speeds coming anytime soon. I actually have much much faster speeds from the 4G connection that's on my phone.
As well as that, I'm in a position where I cant keep my PC on 24/7, where as I can with the consoles.

For that reason, if I'm buying a game with a large install size, I go consoles and set them to download in standby mode when i'm sleeping & away at work.

It's a bummer, but there's no real alternative available.

 

[ignorantspoon]

Nope. I'm sure if I had data cap restrictions it would be an issue but for now game size doesn't matter to me.

 

[warheat]

No as long as the server doesn't suck like PSN.

 

[OwensboroEsq]

Not once, ever, in the many years I've been playing games, has install size ever been an issue.

 

[ShadowGP]

Nope. Only with Doom on PS4 i was kind of pissed...

 

[Anteros]

It hasn't really bothered me. The only time I've ever gotten slightly annoyed about it was the multiple installations required to play MGS4.

 

[texhnolyze]

Just delete the other unplayed/finished games, problem solved.

This is such a non-issue for me.

 

[packy17]

Only if they're unnecessarily large. There's nothing wrong with (good) compression. I'd rather have a 30-40GB download with very slightly lossy audio than a 100GB download for FLAC audio.

 

[Spacejaws]

Game mostly on a laptop and on a ship for work so I've got my laptop hooked up to a 5TB drive using symbolic links. If I delete a game I won't be able to get it back for 4-8 months so I like to take my steam library with me. These days sometimes the download size does put me off.

Especially if it seems overlarge for the game. Think Star Wars Force Unleashed 2 is a good example of a game that seems bigger than it should be. Also isn't Gears of War remaster 70GB+? I just want the original that fit on a DVD re-released :(

 

[Desless1]

No, and never will. We are in an endless cycle, better hardware, better assets and faster connections.

Exiting to see what MS and others can do to get sizes down, but for now, 100GB is the new reality.

 

[SilentFlyer]

It is never been abfactor when I decide to buy a game. However, when I had PS4 with 500GB, I realized that the space is running out, only then I bought 2TB HDD, and that's what I am using in my PS4 Pro as well. Still having almost 1TB left after having almost 10+ games currently installed.

Edit: I presume that the size of games will further increase with better and powerful hardware, and hoping that manufacturers would sell consoles with higher HDD.

 

[StallionDan]

It hasn't stopped me outright buying a game, but if I know a game has a huge install I'll buy it very cheap, like £15, because I know I won't keep it installed very long and won't get as much value from it.

 

[The_Monk]

It does not affect me to the point of not purchasing a game at all but I admit it's a bit tiring having to instal a disc game and having to wait for a big patch download as well. I remeber installing The Witcher Wild Hunt for a second time and it took me quite a bit of time. Understandable but still.

 

[DeltaMustache]

No. That doesn't mean that I'm not baffled by some of the bigger games (Infinite Warfare and Shadow of War comes to mind), but neither does it affect my purchasing decisions nor do I especially care. Space is plentiful these days.

 

[kaospilot]

Nah it doesn't bother me at all. I have fast internet and 3 decently sized SSDs in my PC for games so they all go on there.

 

[LunarEmerald]

Absolutely not.

 

[SilentFlyer]

I admit it's a bit tiring having to instal a disc game and having to wait for a big patch download

Click to shrink...

Agree with it certainly. I hope in furture updates, they allow us to download updates in advance, so we can play the game as soon as we have access to it, physical copy that is.

 

[Lackless]

I never play more than 3 games at a time and I have a 1 TB HDD so it's not bothersome for me. Any games that will take forever to download, I start them before going to bed or leaving for work so there's no waiting.

 

[Eblo]

I generally go physical whenever possible. If a game is digital only, then a huge filesize can factor into which system I choose for multiplatform titles. Install sizes can also affect my decision to buy larger hard drives.

 

[Alandrus Sun]

No. I got 750GB of SSD space and 8TB of HDD space. I know I'm speaking from a PC perspective but I never understood the complaints about game sizes. Space is one of the cheapest parts to buy.

 

[Deleted member 9486]

Not really. A huge game I'm more likely to go physical to not use up a big chunk of our lame 1TB data cap (at least it's not 300GB like it was a year or so back).

But I'm mostly stopped buying physical (Steam aside) as I rarely replay and would rather be able to buy with 20% GCU discount and sell after beating, so it's mostly moot for me on console games.

Steam I tend to uninstall games when I'm doing with them so space isn't an issue. Doom was ridiculous with the huge and always growing file size for the MP mode I never touched.

 

[Paradox House]

Can do. Not often but sometimes its just ridiculous. If its a game I dont think Ill devoir its not worth the space.

 

[somedaythefire]

No. Unlimited downloads and probably takes an hour for 50gb.

 

[ClintonNavigatorBowman]

Not anymore, honestly. I have a 3TB drive in my PC and I'm planning on buying one more. I also have an 8TB Game Drive Hub for Xbox, just got a 1TB PS4 and am looking at grabbing a 128GB card for my Switch. With most of my gaming being done on PC outside of getting the occasional console exclusive or review copy, I no longer find it as a legitimate issue.

I used to do the whole "delete a game I'm not playing" while I install a new one if I need the space, and that was aggravatingly time consuming.

 

[inner-G]

Not at all.

If anything, a big install seems good to me because it means high-res textures and good graphics, usually.

If it were a handheld or Switch, it may concern me because of free space, but I have a 4TB drive in my PC that I install games to that's separate from the OS HDD so I have room to work with.