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Sony is doing all it can to prepare PSN for a post-PS4 world where game download sizes will hit an eye-watering 50GB.
UK boss Fergal Gara has confirmed to Eurogamer that the download for PS4 launch title Killzone: Shadow Fall will be the best part of 50GB.
PSN doesn’t have the best of reputations when it comes to reliability and speed of downloads, and recent troubles with the 18GB download for Grand Theft Auto V have increased concerns about the network’s abilities to cope with the added pressure the next-gen will place on it.
Gara, however, has moved to reassure gamers that a host of improvements to the service are on the way.
There are big innovations in the PS4 to make it more attractive and more easy gamer wise to want to download,” he stated. The Play as you Download functionality, for example, means you don’t need the whole file before you go.
This is a little bit counterbalanced by the fact the files themselves are getting bloody big. Killzone: Shadow Fall is an uber file – I think it’s cracking on for 50GB. It looks it, too, when you see it.
It is still a relatively tedious process. We’ve done a lot of work on pre-delivering files. It’s not perfect. It’s not seamless. But it’s a major area of focus. It’s a major area of investment. The network will perform better on multiple levels, because it becomes not just a sales or gaming delivery but increasingly it becomes a social network.
It’s going to be for no lack of investment, for no lack of effort and no lack of intention that things might fall a bit short. But we’re definitely moving in the right direction, and I’m confident when step on and understand its importance.”
