Gamers Fed Up with Limited Storage Space on Consoles
Modern Games Require Increasingly Massive Storage
In this era of video games, avid gamers are becoming increasingly frustrated with the limited storage space on their consoles. As games evolve and become more complex, the demand for storage has skyrocketed. Gone are the days when a video game cartridge could only store a mere 4KB or 64KB of data. Current heavyweights in the gaming industry, like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, now demand a mind-boggling 140GB of space at launch, and that’s before any additional patches or updates.
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Dealing with the Storage Struggle
During the early days of the latest generation consoles, managing storage space was relatively easy. However, as time went on, this task has become increasingly difficult. While deleting games or moving them to external hard drives are possible solutions, it becomes a major annoyance for gamers who intend to revisit those games in the near future. It often feels like a game of constantly shifting files to make room for new ones.
Many gamers have found themselves resorting to buying additional storage to alleviate the issue. As an Xbox Series X owner, I recently purchased a 1TB SSD expansion card, and I just placed an order for a new 2TB internal SSD for my PlayStation 5. But even with these additions, the need for extra storage remains a persistent problem, especially for those interested in games like Modern Warfare III.
Shared Frustration Across the Gaming Community
The frustration surrounding the limited storage space is not exclusive to a few individuals. Gamers from all walks of life have voiced their discontent. Redditor solo13508 conveyed their astonishment at the excessive storage requirements, particularly citing Star Wars Jedi: Survivor as an example, which demanded a staggering 150GB of space. Another user, askewboka, vented their frustration over limited internet data caps in their area, unable to download such large games without exceeding their limits.
Complaints about the meager amount of storage shipped with consoles have also emerged. PickleSavings1626, for instance, highlighted that their PS5 only came with 500GB, which is quickly filled up by games. The user humorously suggested that a console realistically needs between 50TB to 100TB to handle the demands of modern gaming.
The Culprit: 4K Textures and Limited Options
Many attribute the ballooning storage requirements to the increasing use of 4K textures in modern games. Some gamers, like kamacho2000, wish developers would offer the option to download Full HD textures instead of being forced to take up space with 4K textures. This would give players more control over their storage usage and prevent unnecessary waste of precious memory.
Don’t Expect the Storage Issue to Disappear
Regrettably, it is unlikely that storage demands for modern video games will improve in the near future. As technology advances and visuals become more realistic, the need for larger and more intricate game files will persist. Until then, gamers will have to make do with the limited storage options available, either by constantly deleting games or expanding their storage capacity.
In this modern age of video games, it’s fair to say that we have to reserve a lot of storage space as gamers grow ever frustrated with having to either continually delete games or expand hard drive space.
Back in the days of the Atari 2600, video game cartridges demanded a mere 4KB of data on a cartridge with 64KB via bank switching with its then-demanding 160×192 pixel count. Obviously, as video games evolved so did the hard drive space requirement with the likes of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III demanding 140GB at launch, way before the game receives any substantial patches and content updates.
Check out the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III trailer below!
During the early days of this current generation for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, it was relatively easy to manage storage space. However, a few years in, that task is not so easy. Sure, we could just delete the games we’re currently not playing or move a game to an external hard drive to play later, but that’s an annoyance if we know we’ll come back to that game in the near future.
Recently, I’ve had to buy a 1TB SSD expansion card for my Xbox Series X and just this week, I ordered a new 2TB internal SSD for my PlayStation 5. As much as I tried to shift things around, at some point extra storage is likely, especially if I intend to buy games such as Modern Warfare III. That being said and to no surprise whatsoever, I’m not the only one that’s sick of demanding games taking up large chunks of storage space.
“It honestly baffles me that the storage space that games take up is just normal nowadays,” exclaimed Redditor solo13508. “I think the biggest culprit (at least for games I’ve played) this year has certainly been Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Great game but holy s**t, it does not warrant 150GB of space. At all. Considering that Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order wasn’t even 50GB the fact that its sequel had over 100GB more is just incredible to me. Like, how is that even possible?!”
“It’s so annoying. I moved to a rural area with data limits on the only internet provider in my area,” said askewboka. “I could download Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and Forza Motorsport in a month and that would likely exceed my cap. Ridiculous!”
“That and the little amount of hard drive space. My PS5 only came with 500GB,” replied PickleSavings1626. “It realistically needs 50TB to 100TB. I can’t keep uninstalling games each time I want to play something else. It gets old fast.”
“It’s mostly due to 4K textures, I wish developers had an option for you to just get the FHD textures and download the 4K ones if you want them instead of forcing you to download 4K textures either way,” explained kamacho2000.
Unfortunately, storage demands for modern video games are unlikely to improve anytime soon. So you better get deleting or expanding.
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