Large Video Game Files | The Struggle for Storage!

Summary

The video discusses the modern challenges gamers face with large game file sizes, emphasizing the frustrations of downloading massive updates and installations. The narrator reflects on how gaming has evolved from simply popping in a disc to requiring extensive downloads, even for physical copies. They share personal experiences with storage management, particularly for games like 'Ark: Survival Evolved,' which takes up over 280GB. The video also highlights other large games such as 'GTA 5,' 'Call of Duty,' and 'Red Dead Redemption 2,' and expresses concerns about the future of gaming, potentially moving to cloud-based systems.

Takeaways

• 🎮 The modern struggle for gamers involves large file sizes for video games, often requiring significant storage space and download times.
• 💾 Modern consoles have adapted to large file sizes by allowing expandable and external storage options.
• 🚫 The risk of data loss from hard drive failures is a concern, which some gamers mitigate by owning physical copies of games.
• 📂 Physical game ownership doesn't completely avoid storage issues, as large download files are still necessary for updates and installations.
• 🕒 The speaker recalls the frustration of waiting for lengthy downloads when first introducing physical game discs, especially on consoles.
• 🖥️ PC gaming often requires downloads, which the speaker was accustomed to, but the same issue has now transferred to console gaming.
• 🔄 Day one and regular updates for games contribute to the ongoing storage struggle, even with physical disks.
• 💿 The speaker has experienced storage issues on their Nintendo Switch, but a spare SD card helped resolve the problem.
• 💻 On PC, managing storage for large game files is a constant challenge, often requiring uninstalling and reinstalling games to manage space.
• 🏆 'Ark: Survival Evolved' is highlighted as having one of the largest file sizes among the speaker's games, reaching up to 280 gigabytes with all DLC included.
• 📈 Other games like 'GTA 5', 'Sea of Thieves', and 'No Man's Sky' are mentioned, with varying file sizes that can be surprising given their content and features.

Q & A

What is the modern struggle of gamers mentioned in the script?

The modern struggle of gamers is the eternal fight between wanting to play new games and having limited storage space on their gaming systems.

How have modern consoles adapted to the issue of large file sizes?

Modern consoles have adapted by allowing for expandable and external storage options to accommodate the large file sizes of games.

What is the author's preference regarding physical game ownership and why?

The author prefers to own games physically because it avoids the issue of storage device failures, but acknowledges that physical ownership doesn't eliminate the need for large download files.

What was the author's experience with downloading games on consoles compared to PCs?

The author was accustomed to downloading games on PCs due to being a PC gamer, but found it different and less convenient when it came to consoles, especially with day one and regular updates.

What recent issue did the author have with storage on their Nintendo Switch?

The author had a storage issue with their Nintendo Switch, which was resolved by using a spare SD card.

How does the author manage storage on their PC for gaming?

The author manages storage on their PC by uninstalling games they don't play often and keeping the most played games on the SSD for faster speeds and load times.

What is the largest game file size the author personally owns?

The largest game file size the author personally owns is for the game 'Ark: Survival Evolved', which is close to 280 gigabytes on their PC with all the DLC installed.

Why does the author believe 'Ark: Survival Evolved' is so large despite being optimized poorly?

The author believes 'Ark: Survival Evolved' is large due to its multiple expansive maps, sub-areas, interactable elements, different characters with their own AIs, and many textures.

What other games are mentioned as having large file sizes in the script?

Other games mentioned as having large file sizes include 'GTA 5', 'Sea of Thieves', 'Red Dead Redemption 2', 'Final Fantasy XV', 'Quantum Break', 'Destiny 2', 'Hitman 2', 'Microsoft Flight Simulator', and 'Rainbow Six Siege'.

What is the author's opinion on the future of gaming with regards to large file sizes?

The author suggests that the struggle with large file sizes is ever-present and will likely continue, unless gaming shifts entirely to cloud-based platforms.

What is the author's strategy for dealing with large game files?

The author's strategy is to install large games before they plan to play them, manage their storage by uninstalling and reinstalling games on different drives, and keeping frequently played games on the SSD.