Xbox360 owners: How would multi DVD games affect you?

[Squilliam]

I don't want to ignite any controversy here so could people refrain from any fanboyism between the Xbox 360 to the PS3.

I was wanting to know how you would feel about playing a game that came on 2-4 DVD's? Does having to change disk every 3-6 hours of game time bother you?

Would you be annoyed at the extra number of disks to lose or perhaps would it be a bonus for sharing a multiplayer experience with a friend who doesn't also have to purchase the game.

Lastly do you think it will actually come to pass where some xbox 360 games come on more than one DVD? I have no personal opinion here as I do not know enough about compression etc to say anything of worth.

 

[AlphaWolf]

I used to play commodore games that came on like 15 floppies. I don't see how a few discs would be a big deal provided the game was decent and the transitions were limited.

Blue dragon ships on 3 discs I think.

 

[Dave Baumann]

Blue Dragon was three disks, though with that game the switch time was more like a week! All the game data actually fits on one disk, its only the story cutscenes that required the disk space, so when you are going back and visiting another part of the map that you've already been trough the storry with it doesn't really matter what disk is in.

 

[silhouette]

As long as transitions are limited, I do not have any problem either. I do not think it is a problem for linear games. Though, it may be a big problem for open-world games (Mass Effect, Oblivion) as even replicating data on multiple disk may not be a solution.

Although a little bit off-topic, I wonder if the technology used in triple-layer HD-DVD's can also be applied to DVDs. I remember to read somewhere that current HD-DVD drives are capable of reading triple layers disk. If this is also true for DVDs, I wonder why MS does not bring it to 360 which at least gives some more breathing room for developers.

 

[AlNom]

It depends on the type of game and how they implement it. A few scenarios comes to mind:

Not problematic (for me):

• The single player campaign progresses linearly and is split into Parts or Acts (whatever you want to call them). It's a bit of a stretch to imagine a developer creating that much unique content though. Might as well sell it as a trilogy..... *cough*
• The game is split into single player disc and multiplayer disc (or double sided disc)
• If the game is free roaming (RPG, sand-box), the multiple discs are for accessing specific, large-area locations. Take for example the GTA3 series, where the games are split up into islands or cities. I would be fine if (for some reason) each major location makes up a single disc. There are clear distinctions being made.

Problematic (for me):

• non-linear game made up of levels e.g. racing games, Unreal Tournament.
• free roaming game with no clear distinction of major areas.

Gotta go for now...

 

[function]

Ways to get around DVD storage capacity issues:

Boring ones:
- Multiple disks
- Caching / installing some / all content to HDD

Exciting "bad business" ideas
- Storing some content on a ROM cart/card that goes into the memory card slot
- Releasing whole games on HDD (USB or SATA) with storage of up to 500 GB (or more)

Any more?

[Edit - another for the Exciting "bad business" ideas list]
- A Windows client that allows you to cache to a network PC and stream to a 360 on demand.

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

Well, going back to the 'The First Console Manufacturer Who can Do This" Thread, I'm going to say that switching discs in the middle of the game is a huge burden for Robert.

Considering he doesn't want to have to switch discs BETWEEN games, he'll surely not want to switch discs DURING games.

There was a time when multiple discs (dvds, floppies, whatever) was a sign of how incredible the game actually was.

You'd open the game and say "WOW! This game is on THREE discs!" You didn't care that at some point you'd have to change discs, in fact, it was sort of an early version of Accomplishments.

"You got it? Great game isn't it? Did you get to disc 2 yet?"

The only reason this has really become a negative lately is because of the fantastic work by the Sony marketing department promoting blu-ray over dvd as an integral feature set of the PS3.

It's the Sony marketing department that took something that used to be a sign of a LARGE, INVOLVED, EXPENSIVE gaming experience and turned it into a negative consequence of console selection.

Based on the amount of threads generated on this topic since the current gen consoles were announced, I'd say they've done an excellent job and I applaud their efforts.

Extremely impressive marketing, in my opinion.

 

[Squilliam]

Thanks for all the responses! I really kicked myself for getting a PS3 near launch instead of just getting an Xbox360 and waiting for the PS3 games to arive (along with a price cut) I never personally had a problem with switching disks because it's been part of the console experience for ages. Tho im mainly a PC gamer who cracks his games, but I don't mind it for consoles as they all fit nicely on the DVD rack.

 

[woundingchaney]

You didnt buy a system that may have multi disk games?? I would understand if every game where multi disk but there is only one game using more than one disk currently and very few in the future even mentioning multi disks. I agree that one disk is preferable, but its not something I would base a console decision on.

But anyways enjoy your PS3 it is an excellent system.

 

[PARANOiA]

Alstrong pretty much hit the nail on the head (as he has a habit of doing lately!). Most games are not an issue for me personally. In fact, I couldn't see 99.9% of gamers caring about having a disc swap, even if there was another version out there without disc swapping. Even many epic DVD movies have disc swapping these days such as the LOTR series... that sure didn't hurt their sales at all.

I'll be interested to see how devs get around this in the future when there are genuine problems with games requiring disc spanning (eg sandbox style).

 

[vazel]

Even many epic DVD movies have disc swapping these days such as the LOTR series... that sure didn't hurt their sales at all.

It sure didn't stop me from buying the Extended Cut of King Kong but it is a little annoying to have the movie stop and having to swap discs to continue the movie. To think it was common to change sides on Laserdiscs in order to keep watching the movie!

 

[Rangers]

Considering Crysis is 6GB, I think only RPG's maybe could need multi-discs..

No disc swap is better, of course. I think multi discs could make a RPG feel more epic, though.

 

[Platon]

Personally I have never had a game disc from the day I started playing till I finished in the console all the time. Since I might be playing several games at the time I have to switch anyway as well as watching DVD and stuff so I can't for the life of me get why it would be any major probelm for anyone to change a disc every 10 hours or whatever, you might even take to opportunity to go to the toilet if you play a game form start to finish in one go.

Problems can arrise when you would have sandbox kind of games that would fit on a single DVD, but truth be told if they do it cleaverly then even that could be OK, so to conclude, no I would not hesitate to get a game that is on multiple DVDs...

 

[quest55720]

Considering Crysis is 6GB, I think only RPG's maybe could need multi-discs..

No disc swap is better, of course. I think multi discs could make a RPG feel more epic, though.

That is how I felt playing some of the early square RPGs on the PS1. I thought to myself wow am I getting great value that game will take forever to beat with 4 CDs. When I would talk to friends we would ask each other what disc the other is on.

I would not mind switching discs for a linear game but for something like a sand box game it would drive me crazy. In a first person shooter if there was 2 discs 1 for the single player and 1 for multi player that woud not bother me either.

 

[valioso]

It doesnt bother me at all, i already did that on the ps1 and didn't bother me then either.

 

[....]

As long as it's not a racer or an open-ended world, I have no problem.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Non-linear RPGs exclusive to PS3 confirmed.

Seriously, I doubt that anyone with a 360 is going to comment here that, yes, they are in fact worried about the multi-disc situation, with basically some of the first RPGs out on the platform already being 3 and even 4 (Lost Oddessy?) discs.

Why not? Do MS Ninjas/Cowboys hunt down and kill anyone who talks against their platform? There's plenty of complaints about all platforms from all sources here. I can't see why XB360 owners would choose to stay silent on this matter if it bugs them.

 

[Platon]

Non-linear RPGs exclusive to PS3 confirmed.

Seriously, I doubt that anyone with a 360 is going to comment here that, yes, they are in fact worried about the multi-disc situation, with basically some of the first RPGs out on the platform already being 3 and even 4 (Lost Oddessy?) discs.

Instead, I'm sure they're either more than happy with having their games be DVD limited, forced into linearity, shorter than they could have been, having worse textures than they could have had, sometimes having very limited multi-language options (if any), and so on. Because really, multi-platform games are still mostly better on the 360, and that's all that matters, after all. They'll expect developers to come with a solution, and result in better load-times to boot. And why not?

I am ashamed to say that I have not played Mass Effect yet but I though that it was non linear, as is Oblivion and if it is true that the whole gamming world of Blue Dragon can actually fit on one DVD and the reason for the multiple DVDs are the CG stuff We might have to do without them if we want non linear RPGs on one DVD.

As for the texture comment, i would think that the biggest hurdle for that is actually the RAM if anything else, and haven't xbox games actually have had over all better textures if anything...

 

[Dave Baumann]

I am ashamed to say that I have not played Mass Effect yet but I though that it was non linear, as is Oblivion

Two Worlds as well. I'm currently playing that - in my 8'th hour of game time and about 1/6 of the map explored.

 

[Squilliam]

You didnt buy a system that may have multi disk games?? I would understand if every game where multi disk but there is only one game using more than one disk currently and very few in the future even mentioning multi disks. I agree that one disk is preferable, but its not something I would base a console decision on.

But anyways enjoy your PS3 it is an excellent system.

I was just curious about it thats all. I'm about to purchase an xbox360 elite to go next to my 60gb PS3 and PS2 on my 53" bravia.

I feel burnt by the lack of games on the PS3... if I'd bought an Xbox I wouldnt have spent more time playing on the PS2 rather than a next gen system. My Wii broke! Otherwise I'd have a complete stable.