The Growing Problem of Video Game File Size

Summary

The video script discusses the increasing file sizes of video games due to advancements in technology, resulting in more detailed graphics and complex gameplay. It highlights the shift from physical media to digital downloads, necessitating larger storage space. The script contrasts games like 'Demon's Souls' and 'Modern Warfare', questioning the latter's massive size despite having less content. It praises 'Ghost of Tsushima' for its efficient use of space without compromising quality, and raises concerns about the impact of large game sizes on storage and internet connectivity for rural gamers. The video concludes by acknowledging the trade-offs between faster SSDs and the cost and space requirements of modern games.

Takeaways

• 🌟 As gaming enters the 4K era, games are evolving with more detailed textures, increased polygon counts, and improved visual effects like ray tracing.
• 🚀 The new generation of SSDs significantly reduces loading times, sometimes eliminating them entirely, enhancing the gaming experience.
• 📈 The average file size of games is increasing due to technological advancements, leading to more storage space being required for individual games.
• 🔍 The transition from physical media to digital downloads has made installation and storage space more critical for console gaming, similar to PC gaming.
• 📊 Games like 'Demon's Souls' and 'Red Dead Redemption 2' have large file sizes, with the latter being noted for its 90GB install size on day one.
• 🔧 Game developers use asset duplication to reduce loading times, which increases file sizes, but efficient engines can minimize this without sacrificing performance.
• 🏆 'Ghost of Tsushima' is highlighted for its efficient use of storage and quick load times, achieved through fine-grained mesh and texturing systems.
• 💾 The cost of SSDs compared to HDDs means that while speed improves, the cost and available storage space for gamers might decrease.
• 🌐 Large file sizes can be a barrier for gamers with limited or slow internet connections, affecting their ability to download and enjoy digital games.
• 🔮 The future of gaming may see a need for larger storage capacities and more frequent management of game libraries due to increasing file sizes.

Q & A

What is one of the main reasons for the increase in video game file sizes?

The increase in video game file sizes is primarily due to advancements in technology that allow for more detailed textures, higher polygon counts on 3D models, longer draw distances, and the implementation of visual effects such as ray tracing.

How has the introduction of 4K resolution impacted game file sizes?

The introduction of 4K resolution has contributed to larger game file sizes because it requires higher quality textures and more detailed models to maintain visual fidelity at higher resolutions.

What role do SSDs play in the context of game file sizes?

SSDs have reduced loading times significantly, which has allowed games to become more complex and larger in size without a corresponding increase in load times. However, they are also more expensive per gigabyte compared to traditional HDDs.

Why did physical games on seventh-generation consoles not require installation on the hard drive?

Physical games on seventh-generation consoles like the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii were directly playable from their physical media, and only a few required installation for better loading times, but it was not mandatory for the majority of titles.

What was the initial file size of 'Demon's Souls' on PlayStation 5?

Demon's Souls was confirmed to be 66 gigabytes in size on PlayStation 5, making it one of the largest first-party launch titles.

How does 'Ghost of Tsushima' manage to have a smaller file size compared to 'Modern Warfare' despite its detailed open world?

Ghost of Tsushima's smaller file size is attributed to efficient compression techniques and an engine that keeps specific data ready to be loaded the moment it's needed, minimizing asset duplication.

What is the significance of asset duplication in game file sizes?

Asset duplication is a common practice where copies of assets are placed throughout a game's files to reduce loading times, but this significantly increases the game's file size.

How does the size of 'Modern Warfare' compare to other AAA titles?

Modern Warfare's file size is unusually large, reaching up to 250 gigabytes, which is more than twice the size of some massive open-world titles with detailed maps and lengthy stories.

What is the impact of large game file sizes on consumers with limited internet connections?

Large game file sizes can be problematic for consumers with limited or slow internet connections, as they may have to wait for extended periods to download games or updates, and they might also face data caps.

How do game developers sometimes address the issue of large file sizes?

Some game developers address large file sizes by implementing new compression techniques or by allowing players to uninstall certain parts of the game that they do not use, such as single-player campaigns or multiplayer modes.

What is the future outlook for game file sizes as technology continues to advance?

As technology advances, game file sizes are expected to continue growing due to higher quality assets and more complex game engines. However, the price of SSDs may decrease over time, making additional storage more affordable.

Outlines

00:00

🎮 Evolution of Game Sizes and Storage Challenges

The paragraph discusses the impact of technological advancements on video game development, particularly the increase in game file sizes due to higher resolution textures, detailed 3D models, and advanced visual effects like ray tracing. It highlights the transition from physical media to digital installations on hard drives, which has become necessary to cope with the growing size of games. The paragraph also mentions the storage space required by games like 'Demon's Souls' and 'Spider-Man: Miles Morales' for PlayStation 5, contrasting with previous generation games like 'Dark Souls 3' and 'Bloodborne'. It reflects on how game sizes have grown to over 100GB, with 'Red Dead Redemption 2' and 'Modern Warfare' being examples of large file sizes, and questions the reasons behind such large sizes compared to the content offered.

05:02

📊 Compression Techniques and Game Efficiency

This paragraph compares 'Ghost of Tsushima' with 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare' to illustrate how efficient compression and asset management can result in smaller game file sizes without compromising quality or loading times. It explains how 'Ghost of Tsushima', despite being a visually impressive open-world game with a lengthy playtime, manages to keep its file size to 45GB, including both single-player and multiplayer modes. The paragraph credits Sucker Punch's efficient engine and compression techniques for this achievement. In contrast, 'Modern Warfare' is criticized for its large file size, suggesting that it may be due to inefficient use of assets and duplication. The discussion raises questions about the balance between game quality, storage space, and loading times.

10:02

💾 The Future of Storage and Accessibility

The final paragraph addresses the broader implications of increasing game file sizes on storage solutions and digital distribution. It points out that while SSDs offer faster load times, they are currently more expensive than HDDs, potentially leading to higher costs for gamers seeking larger storage capacities. The paragraph also raises concerns about the impact on gamers with limited or slow internet connections, who may struggle to download large game files or updates. It concludes by suggesting that as game development technology continues to evolve, there may be a need for a reevaluation of how games are distributed and stored to accommodate a wider audience and ensure accessibility.

Keywords

💡4K

4K refers to a display resolution of approximately 4,000 pixels horizontally across the screen. In the context of the video, it signifies the era where 4K resolution is becoming standard for gaming, leading to more detailed textures and higher quality graphics in games. The video mentions that as technology advances, games will continue to evolve with impressive visual effects, and 4K is a key part of this evolution.

💡Polygon Counts

Polygon counts refer to the number of polygons used to create 3D models in video games. A higher polygon count typically results in more detailed and realistic models. The video script discusses how AAA titles will boast models with polygon counts in the millions, indicating a significant leap in graphical fidelity.

💡Draw Distances

Draw distances in gaming refer to how far into the game world the rendering engine can 'see' and render objects. The video mentions that with advancements in technology, draw distances will be miles far, meaning that players will be able to see objects and details at a much greater distance than before, enhancing the immersive experience.

💡Ray Tracing

Ray tracing is a rendering technique that simulates the physical behavior of light to create highly realistic lighting, shadows, and reflections. The video script highlights ray tracing as one of the awe-striking visual effects that will become more prevalent as games continue to evolve with 4K and other advanced technologies.

💡SSDs (Solid State Drives)

SSDs are storage devices that use flash memory to access data faster than traditional hard drives. The video discusses how the adoption of super-fast SSDs will reduce loading times in games, and in some cases, eliminate them entirely, improving the gaming experience by making it more seamless.

💡File Size

File size refers to the amount of digital storage needed to hold a particular file, such as a video game. The video script addresses the growing concern of increasing game file sizes, which is a consequence of more detailed graphics, larger assets, and additional content. This growth in file size can lead to storage space issues for gamers.

💡Asset Duplication

Asset duplication in game development is a practice where multiple copies of the same asset are placed throughout a game's files to reduce loading times. The video script uses this term to explain one of the reasons behind the ballooning file sizes of modern games, as duplication increases the overall size of the game.

💡Compression Techniques

Compression techniques are methods used to reduce the size of digital files without significantly affecting their quality. The video highlights how some game developers, like Sucker Punch with 'Ghost of Tsushima', use advanced compression techniques to keep game file sizes smaller while maintaining high-quality graphics and quick load times.

💡Streaming Density

Streaming density in gaming refers to the amount of data that is loaded into memory during gameplay. The video script mentions that 'Ghost of Tsushima' manages to keep its file size small by only loading newly required assets and adjusting the streaming density, which contributes to its fast load times and smaller footprint.

💡Inefficient Engines

An inefficient engine in the context of video games refers to a game engine that requires more resources than necessary to run a game, leading to larger file sizes and longer loading times. The video script speculates that 'Modern Warfare' might be an example of a game with an inefficient engine, as it requires a significant amount of storage space compared to other games of similar scope.

💡Internet Connectivity

Internet connectivity, particularly in rural areas, is highlighted in the video as a challenge for gamers who face data caps, slow download speeds, or both. The video points out that large game file sizes can be problematic for those with limited or poor internet connections, as it can take an extended time to download games or updates.

Highlights

The era of 4k gaming is leading to increasingly detailed textures and higher polygon counts on 3D models.

Draw distances in games are expanding, and environments are becoming denser with assets.

Visual effects such as particles and ray tracing are becoming more prevalent.

Fast SSDs are reducing loading times, and in some cases, eliminating them entirely.

As games become more complex, their file sizes are increasing accordingly.

Technology advances enable developers to create more ambitious games.

Consumers require more storage space as game sizes grow.

Demon's Souls on PlayStation 5 is a large first-party launch title, weighing in at 66 gigabytes.

Previous generations' games were often playable directly from physical media without needing to install to a hard drive.

With the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, console games also require installation, emphasizing the importance of storage space.

Some games, like Red Dead Redemption 2, have had massive install sizes on day one.

Updates and DLC can significantly increase the size of games like Gears of War 4 and Destiny 2.

Modern Warfare has an unusually large file size, sometimes approaching 250 gigabytes.

Ghost of Tsushima, despite its detailed open world, manages to keep its file size down to 45 gigabytes.

Sucker Punch Productions used efficient compression techniques to manage Ghost of Tsushima's size.

Asset duplication is a common reason for large file sizes, as games often contain multiple copies of the same assets.

The move to SSDs may reduce the need for asset duplication, but currently, they are more expensive than HDDs.

Large file sizes can be an issue for those with limited internet connections or data caps.

As game assets improve, average game sizes are likely to continue increasing.

The cost of SSDs may need to decrease significantly before consumers can affordably expand their storage.

The inconvenience of large file sizes is a growing pain of new technology in gaming.

Transcripts

[Music]

as we enter the era of 4k

being standard we'll be seeing games

continue to evolve in

impressive ways aaa titles will boast

insanely detailed textures on 3d models

that have

polygon counts in the millions draw

distances will be miles far

and environments will be dense with

assets a plethora of visual effects will

constantly fill your screen

whether they're beautiful particles or

awe-striking ray tracing techniques

and let's not forget the new super-fast

ssds will severely cut down on loading

times

in some cases eliminating them entirely

it should come as no surprise that as

games become bigger flashier and more

complex

the average file size of games will

follow suit

it's unavoidable it's a cycle that

continues to repeat

technology advances allowing for grander

visions to come to fruition

and game developers take advantage of

this technology to reach new heights and

offer greater experiences

and for the consumer this means more

real estate on their storage drives will

be taken over by individual games

for example demon souls is likely going

to be playstation 5's biggest

first-party launch title

alongside spider-man miles morales it's

already confirmed to be coming in at a

pretty hefty

66 gigabytes in comparison dark souls 3

was less than 20

and bloodborne less than 30 on day 1 for

each

obviously this wasn't always an issue

all the way up until the end of the

seventh generation of consoles which is

the playstation 3 xbox 360 and the

nintendo wii

physical games were directly playable

from whatever physical media they came

on

disks or cartridges with only a handful

of exceptions we didn't need

to install them directly onto a hard

drive to play them

and if we did it typically wasn't the

entire game being installed

sometimes it was just recommended for

better loading times

but for the vast majority of titles it

wasn't mandatory

this requirement was something that was

still limited just to pc games at the

time

however when the next generation started

with the playstation 4 and xbox one

console owners had to get used to the

installation process too

because the average game size was going

to grow and reading the game from the

disc

just isn't as fast as reading it from

the hard drive

thus storage space became significantly

more important

almost overnight and throughout the

generation

we saw just how stupidly massive some

games can get

at the very beginning we already got

games crossing 40 gigabytes which wasn't

a size that was unreasonably large

just yet however now at the end of it

they've finally begun to cross three

digits

it's not yet a regular occurrence but it

very well could be once the next

generation

which is the playstation 5 and xbox

series x hits its stride

in the lead up to release red dead

redemption 2 was noted for

alarming people with its massive 90

gigabyte install size on day one

this was the amount that came on the two

discs

before you added any patches or updates

several other games come close to or

even past this number

mostly due to updates and dlc that came

later such as gears of war

4 and destiny 2 both of which crossed

the 100 gigabyte mark

but also received updates that addressed

the size issue and shrunk them down

either by implementing new compression

techniques or eliminating old content

however the most egregious perpetrator

of storage drive gluttony

which is such a space hog that the size

of its updates

sometimes outweigh other entire aaa

games

is modern warfare depending on which

platform you play on it could approach a

frustratingly gargantuan

250 gigabytes in size for the entire

package

the game does allow players to uninstall

certain parts

either the single player campaign

multiplayer or special ops to free up

some space

if you're the type of call of duty

player who only plays the campaign

you'll just uninstall the whole thing

when you're done anyway however

if you're a multiplayer focused call of

duty owner you're still going to be

asked to surrender a massive chunk of

your storage

because for some reason it still takes

up around

170 gigabytes of space and it's not even

known how much of this

is war zone only content which is

mandatory

according to a production director over

at infinity ward

it's not much but still why

that's the big question everyone asks

why does one first person shooter take

up

more than twice as much space as a

massive open world title with a 60 hour

story

and insanely detailed map why does this

shooter's multiplayer

by itself take up to four times as much

space

as an mmo with three full expansions and

thousands of hours of content

what is lacking under the hood that

forbids the game from being crunched

down to a size that doesn't ask

players to forfeit up to half of their

entire hard drive

for comparison's sake let's look at the

recently released ghost of tsushima

it's an open world game with a map

that's in the ballpark of about

11 square miles or 17.7 square

kilometers

it's not particularly huge there are

much bigger maps out there

but it's sizeable enough to have many

unique features and landscapes that

don't feel crunched into an impossible

space

the game is very new but it's already

known to be one of the best looking

games to come out this generation

every single line of dialogue in the

game is fully voiced

and the story takes anywhere from 30 to

50 hours to finish

and the game is noted to have shockingly

quick load times

in spite of all of these details you

might be thinking

but that's a single player game it

doesn't compare to call of duty which

has a heavy focus on multiplayer

and well actually as of the 1.1

update that came out a few weeks ago

it's a multiplayer game now too

thanks to legends mode which is a fairly

content-rich

cooperative mode with redesigned

environments new armor and weapons

cosmetics many new enemies and a

self-contained narrative

and guess what even after legends came

out

ghost of tsushima the entire game single

player and multiplayer

still comes in at only 45 gigabytes

how did sucker punch manage such a thing

well as it turns out their black magic

was just

good compression techniques in an

interview with kotaku sucker punch's

lead engine programmer

adrian bentley said our art teams did an

amazing job pushing their assets to fit

in our aggressive performance and memory

budgets

as an example one of our 200 meter by

200 meter terrain tiles

only usually takes up around 2 megabytes

compressed on disk

including all the terrain and foliage

placements it's easier to load a lot of

data when you keep it compact

a huge reason for games having inflated

file sizes

is duplicated assets games typically put

copies of assets all over the game's

files so they're easier to locate and

thus minimize

loading times at the cost of increasing

size

as an example back at the game

developers conference in 2019

insomniac games gave a presentation and

in that presentation

was this simple slide pertaining to

their spider-man game

showing that almost 56 000 assets are

duplicated one or more times

inflating the game's size by 10

gigabytes from 0.9 without duplication

to 11 with doing just a little math we

can determine that each asset was

duplicated

on average up to 11 times considering

the retail version of the game is 45

gigabytes

that means duplication takes up about 22

percent of its size

now let's go back to ghost of tsushima

surely sucker punch must have duplicated

a ton of stuff if the game's loading

times are insanely quick

right in that same interview with kotaku

mr bentley continues our mesh and

texturing systems are very fine-grained

and fairly conservative

we only have one copy of every asset on

the disk

during most loads when not jumping into

a close-up we

only load newly required assets and can

dial down our streaming density a bit

this usually results in requesting one

or maybe two fewer mipmap levels for big

textures

users shouldn't see pops because we

still have the textured data we need to

render

when jumping into gameplay 99 of the

time

essentially ghost of tsushima is able to

keep its total size small and loading

times fast

because its engine is insanely efficient

and keeps specific data ready to be

loaded the exact moment it's needed

why did sucker punch go through so much

trouble in developing such amazing

software

i don't know maybe they just respect our

storage space and understand that we

don't want to nuke

half of the games in it just to shove in

one

and maybe they also know that generally

speaking no one likes loading times

no consumers specifically asked them to

go out of their way to create such an

amazing engine

they definitely could have gotten away

with one that wasn't so good

but they put the work in anyway and our

storage space and our time

are thankful for that and what's more is

that they didn't need to sacrifice

graphical quality to achieve these

things

because it's still one of the most

beautiful looking games to come out this

entire generation

so why is modern warfare so insanely

massive

if i were to take a guess i'd say it's

likely big assets supported by the iw

engine and a metric ton of duplication

of those assets

so loading times aren't an eternity and

a day

but does that really excuse the absurd

size of the game

how many more titles should be allowed

to balloon this much

before it starts to become unacceptable

thankfully black ops cold war is already

confirmed to be much smaller

both on current and next-gen consoles

but how long will it stay that way

and how much larger will the next call

of duty be

with gaming making the move over to

hyper-fast ssds over old school hard

disk drives

games can do away with constant asset

duplication to save on loading times

but we're no longer saving money on

space like we used to

right now a 2 terabyte hard disk drive

is anywhere between thirty to sixty

percent cheaper

than a one terabyte m.2 ssd

from the same company so what we gain in

speed and technology

we sacrifice in price and available real

estate

of course these prices will drop as ssds

become more standard

but it'll take years for them to match

the cent per gigabyte rate that hard

disk drives currently have

so while we may enter an era where

loading times are starting to become a

thing of the past we're still likely

going to end up spending more money

on space than we did before another

reason as to why huge file sizes are an

issue isn't just because storage space

it's a total lack of consideration for

people who have

not so stellar internet connections

there are 47 million adults who live in

rural areas of the united states

which are areas that have extremely

limited isp options

and those who have internet access

likely have either strict data caps

mediocre download speeds or both and of

those tens of millions i'm willing to

bet a couple of them play video games

in fact in the blog post that announced

the patch that would help shrink destiny

2's file size bungie specifically

acknowledged and apologized to people

with capped or second-rate internet

generally speaking the internet service

infrastructure in the united states

is subpar all around but people in rural

areas are especially [ __ ]

over time it'll become more and more

difficult for them to be digital game

owners

in some cases it'll be difficult for

them to even download an

update for a game they own physically

they're doubly screwed when they want a

game that's

exclusively available digitally and not

only would downloading it be a potential

multi-day commitment

but the game would probably hold their

storage space hostage

because they might be too reluctant to

download it again if they uninstall

as the quality of assets grow game sizes

on average

are going to follow it's an

inevitability that goes hand in hand

with ever evolving hardware and game

development technology

and to make things worse there will be

some games running on very inefficient

engines

requiring more gluttonous hoarding of

space than what should be necessary for

their genre

unfortunately it'll take a hot minute

for the price of ssds to sink enough

that an extra terabyte or two is no

longer a significant expense

worst case scenario people who only play

aaa games

might only be able to fit about 5-8

titles on their playstation 5

or xbox series x before filling them up

meaning significantly more frequent

cleaning up of their space

or spending up to two hundred dollars

for more of it

it's inconvenient but unfortunately it's

the growing pains of new technology

this concludes all of my thoughts on the

subject of growing video game file sizes

it's a bit more ranty than the other

videos i usually make but

it's something that's been bugging me

for a while hopefully i wasn't too

obnoxious about it

thank you for watching and i'll see you

around