There’s been much speculation that RAGE, the post apocalyptic shooter from the guys who brought you Doom and Quake would require a pretty large install on the PS3. Speculate no more, because id has confirmed that it’ll carry an 8Gb mandatory install. It’s not all bad though – because that install could make the PS3 version better than the Xbox 360’s.
The reason for that is the data that’s installed is a a high resolution texture pack, that should elevate the PS3 version’s visual higher than the 360’s, making it more comparable to the PC version. It’s not usual for Sony to grant developers that sort of leeway and allow for such large install’s, something id’s rather please about. Speaking to Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry, id’s Tim Willits said “Sony was great. Kudos to Sony for letting us do that. They don’t allow every game to do that. So definitely, hats off.”
“What we were able to do is install all the textures to the highest level,” he continued. “What is nice about the PS3 platform is that it’s just one platform. Everyone has one Blu-ray drive, one hard drive, it’s all the same. Some of the other systems you have… should I install it on my 360? Should I not install it? So yes, it’s very nice.”
The Xbox 360 version will come on three discs; two for the campaign and a third for multiplayer. It can be installed as well, but the Xbox 360 only allows for installing entire discs – so the whole game will take up over 20Gb of your 360 Hard Drive, if you’ve got that sort of space to spare. So yes, Sony’s more open attitude towards developers is proving to be fruitful once again, the fruits of which we saw with the introduction of Steamworks on the PS3 from Valve. Still, with all this installing and PC-centric services making their way to consoles, it’s hard to shake off the feeling that consoles are becoming too much like PC’s – negating the “plug in and play” ethos that makes console gaming desirable in the first place.
Last Updated: September 26, 2011
