*spin-off* Game size

Possibly, but consider that for those games you mentioned, I'd be surprised if the game data including textures took up more than 10-15 GB of data. The rest will be video and uncompressed audio for multiple languages.

Game developer's only use a small fraction of BD 25/50 for game data. Hell most developers don't even use the full capacity of a single dual layer DVD for game data as they often have to include multiple languages and FMV.

Regards,
SB

Without FMVs and extra languages UC3 still around 36GB. GoW3 is 35GB without extra localizations and only a few FMVs. GT5 is almost 20GB, after being stripped down.
 
Every. Single.Time.

Question: How much more storage space do we want if we have 16x more memory available?
Observation: I found some small games on old gen
Conclusion: We don't need more storage. Only the Lazy Devs(tm) need more.
 
Every. Single.Time.

Question: How much more storage space do we want if we have 16x more memory available?
Observation: I found some small games on old gen
Conclusion: We don't need more storage. Only the Lazy Devs(tm) need more.

It's the wrong question.
It's not about how much you need, it's about how you exploit what you're given. In fact pretty much all console development works that way around.

Ignoring the cost of drives for a second, to ship with higher capacity storage medium you need to be able to manufacture them at millions of units/month rates, with minimal lead time at a reasonable cost. What candidates are you suggesting?
 
It's the wrong question.
It's not about how much you need, it's about how you exploit what you're given. In fact pretty much all console development works that way around.

Ignoring the cost of drives for a second, to ship with higher capacity storage medium you need to be able to manufacture them at millions of units/month rates, with minimal lead time at a reasonable cost. What candidates are you suggesting?
Whatever 4K Blu-ray movies will go on should do nicely.
 
It's the wrong question.
It's not about how much you need, it's about how you exploit what you're given. In fact pretty much all console development works that way around.

Ignoring the cost of drives for a second, to ship with higher capacity storage medium you need to be able to manufacture them at millions of units/month rates, with minimal lead time at a reasonable cost. What candidates are you suggesting?
I thought BDXL-ROM would have been a perfect candidate at 128GB. They could advertise it as such "up to 128GB(*) games", while waiting for the disc production to ramp up with tri and quad layer support, launch games could be 50GB max (just like the first DVDs were single layers until they figured out how to do the RSDL trick, but players supported it). If we had both the 720 and the PS4 supporting 128GB, we'd have a big worldwide production volume that makes it easy for the companies to add quad layer support in larger volume (not just the low volume BDXL-R/RE). So far I think the only issue is that adding more layers messes up the yield a bit (6% yield drop per additional layer), and takes twice the time to press, obviously.

Now, I'm worried that even Sony won't support it, because as you implied, producing quad layer ROM would need an industry push that won't be worth it if they go it alone. I was also hoping the quad layer ROM would also be the complement to Ultraviolet for 4K, you can get a "disc copy" for your Ultraviolet purchases, but it's limited to 1080p bluray, it would need that 128GB for a 4K physical media copy in the future. I usually trust the old consumer electronic industry to sort it out instead of killing each other, but this one is not looking good.

(*)results may vary, may not be available in all region, call your congressman for complaints.
 
The other (far fetched) idea would be that they go with their own modified bluray press and add some MLR technology, to get up to 320GB/QL or a low cost 160GB/DL, and 2.5x the bitrate. The drive wouldn't cost much more to make.

The bitrate advantage would be more helpful than the space, from what you guys are saying?
 
The other (far fetched) idea would be that they go with their own modified bluray press and add some MLR technology, to get up to 320GB/QL or a low cost 160GB/DL, and 2.5x the bitrate. The drive wouldn't cost much more to make.

The bitrate advantage would be more helpful than the space, from what you guys are saying?

Going with a proprietary drive will likely be a non-starter. It would be too costly as there are no economies of scale. If this were the PS3/PS2 era where you use the console as a loss leader in the hopes of recouping the investment and losses on software royalties, then I could see it being possible. But the current situation dictates a relatively risk averse strategy.

Hence any optical drive will likely use off the shelf parts. Not an off the shelf drive but off the shelf internals. There's a chance they'll do things to encrypt disks, etc., of course. But other than that I'd be looking at a mostly standard BD-ROM drive.

Regards,
SB
 
ERP said:
At some point there is no distinction between procedural content and compression.
Especially when the content-creation process for those unique texels already heavily depends on procedural generation in the first place.

But given the hoops Rage jumps through to maintain 60hz, it's a bit of a stretch to argue it owes most of it to Virtual textures.
 
isnt using the flash storage only as cache already good? just like on Xbox 360 with its HDD cache partition.

It make the game performance get better over time. Very noticeable on game with super long loading like GTA IV and lost odyssey with my slow DVD drive (cleaned the lense, no effect)
 
Going with a proprietary drive will likely be a non-starter. It would be too costly as there are no economies of scale. If this were the PS3/PS2 era where you use the console as a loss leader in the hopes of recouping the investment and losses on software royalties, then I could see it being possible. But the current situation dictates a relatively risk averse strategy.

Hence any optical drive will likely use off the shelf parts. Not an off the shelf drive but off the shelf internals. There's a chance they'll do things to encrypt disks, etc., of course. But other than that I'd be looking at a mostly standard BD-ROM drive.

Regards,
SB
I think a multi level amplifier wouldn't be such a big expense in the long run, and the rest is just digital parts and drive firmware (most of the drive is still standard parts), having 2.5x the data rate seems to be worth it. The drive is already custom anyway, it's using proven and compatible technologies, but it's still a custom drive. There are chips on the PS3 bluray drive which are only used there. On the disc production side, MLR would use the same bluray press, but a different mastering of the glass stampers (and QA would be different, I suppose). If that's what they have planned for 4K disc it will happen, otherwise I guess we can forget about it.
 
The important part of the size is really dictated by the onboard storage. If there is no limits to install size except free space, and no artificial license fees on the 'second' disc nothing is stopping developers from shipping multiple bluray disc's.

Using nand as cache is likely, but why not use the money to buy more ordinary ram? Gpu or cpu speed? The choices are so many, exciting times :)
 
The important part of the size is really dictated by the onboard storage. If there is no limits to install size except free space, and no artificial license fees on the 'second' disc nothing is stopping developers from shipping multiple bluray disc's.

Using nand as cache is likely, but why not use the money to buy more ordinary ram? Gpu or cpu speed? The choices are so many, exciting times :)
Yes I agree, but only if they give us a very big HDD. For me that's the scary part about the 160GB HDD from the latest Orbis rumors. If they want us to buy full games download, it better be user replaceable.
I was expecting a 320GB or 500GB low sku, and maybe a 750GB or 1TB high end sku. Would have been perfect, we'd full install all our games.
 
Skyrim is 4.5GB on PS3/X360 and PC. Storage space is not a problem if you plan the game right.

Skyrim's rrather humble file size is readily apparent when playing the game, though. Same houses, churches, interiors, dungeons and generally repeated texture sets as far as the eye can see.
 
A Sony exec has already mentioned a 2hour 4k movie will be about 120GB. When you start throwing in higher frame rates and steroscopic data size is going to be over 200GB.
If he's the same sony exec who said that the "average" PS3 game size was 50GB, I think we'll be fine for 4K :D
 
If he's the same sony exec who said that the "average" PS3 game size was 50GB, I think we'll be fine for 4K :D

Well the 120GB exec dude at least was better educated, 4 times the pixels, 4 times the space which adds nicely up to 120GB :)

One thing is certain, the next generation is gonna suffer more than this one if we are forced into DVD sized games again.
 
H265 just got approved officially yesterday, any previous size requirements for 4k are now cut in half :D
(same for FMV, I guess)
 
When it comes to 4k it looks like RED is the company to beat.

RED Ray 4k playback
RED 4k laser projector (could they be planning to use Samsungs SOM tech?)
Already has a strong foothold in the movie industry (4k cameras)

Could RED team up with GE and create a physical 4k HoloRed format? Work to get the format on PCs?
 
No. The RED attempt is very similar to the failed HDDVD, with a single company jumping the gun instead of working with everyone to create an industry standard. I hope their format die, it would be better for everybody, and we must boycott them in the consumer space. We don't want another format war.

For disc-less format, Ultraviolet is the new industry standard, and has already all the consumer electronics on board and most major studios on board, it is platform agnostic, studio agnostic, and DRM-scheme agnostic. For download, it's what we want to succeed.

For 4k disc, the entire CE industry and the major studios are in negotiation to decide what it will be. If the negotiations break down we will have a format war. Let's hope they can work it out.

We discussed GE's holo disc before. Look at the promises being broken again since we talked about it. They said production starts in the next few months, we're now almost two years later, where is it? Yeah, I'm used to it, I have been promised this for about 20 years. No plan for ROM disc. No industry support. Nobody planning to make drives. All they have is a material for archiving.
 
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