It's often joked that big-name PS3 titles would need to ship on multiple DVDs if they came to the Xbox 360, and Final Fantasy XIII actually needed three of the bastards when it launched. However, who could have imagined that the next game to need multiple discs would be Castlevania: Lords of Shadow?
Mercury Steam boss David Cox has stated that Lords of Shadow requires two discs. The first disc allows players to install the game on their hard-drive, so that they can play it fully on the second disc. It's like the age of nineties PC gaming never left us!
"Microsoft actually sent their tech guys to the studio to see the game and look at [how we're] compressing it, but they said: 'Okay, it's good. You're doing all you can'," reveals Cox. "I think it's something Microsoft are going to experience more and more -- that they need to help developers overcome the storage problem. I mean, each console has it's own issues [360's smaller disc capacity and PS3's slower loading times], but you have to work around them."
Since Hideo Kojima is involved in this game, it's hardly surprising that the game is so bloated and is struggling to stay compressed, although Cox is adamant that huge cutscenes aren't a problem, with the longest one apparently being "fourteen minutes long." Uh ... that's a pretty long f*cking cutscene, mate.
I never know what to make of developers who complain about this stuff. The vast majority of developers never seem to have a problem with it and it seems to me that some devs (coughKojimacough) are filling up Blu-ray discs simply because they can, not so much because they need to. I never truly believe a developer who claims he can't compress his audio or video, especially since it's always a small handful of the same devs complaining.
When we can get gorgeous download titles for under a Gig, I struggle to believe some huge-name developer is having such a problem getting what they want onto a DVD. Seems to say more about the developer than the storage medium, really.
Xbox's lack of Blu-ray a 'problem' for developers [CVG]
Contest:
8:40 AM on 08.02.2010
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Of course, it does seem a bit suspect, but what do we know? We don't make games for a living.
But then again, Kojima is kinda like the Peter Jackson of video games. Likes to make cinematic games as long as possible but with long cut-scenes. Kinda distracting away from the game.
Are you just complaining because there's nothing else to complain right now or do you really think that having 2 discs is a problem?
2) Games have been getting bigger and bigger since the dawn of gaming. Sony didn't decide to include a br drive, just because it was the cool thing to do you know! - Every few generations the medium is upgraded, from tape to cart, from cart to CD, from Cd to DVD from DVD to Blu-ray. Microsoft chose not to upgrade this generation so they could keep their console cheap and to an extent it's worked out for them! - But still games are getting bigger and DVD's aren't, this going to become common in the MS camp. It's the trade off for having so many sales to people not willing to spend over £200 on a console (back when they cost that much).
3) Yup, sure DD games are often tiny, and are often awesome too! But they also carry a comparitively tiny price. For a full retail game I want optimum video/audio quality, i want loads of content, I want varied soundtracks, i want various audio-language-options, I want as much as i can fucking get for the extortionate £50 new game price.
Blu-ray is here to stay no matter what anyone says, I look forward to watching MS eat their own hat as they announce the next Xbox has a blu-ray drive.....
Of course there are shoddy retail and amazing downloadable games, but I have high hopes for the new Castlevaina.
I personally don't know enough about how compression and storage to really say anything. If they say they can't fit it on one disc, they can't fit it on one disc. There's no hidden purpose that you normally seem to find. That's the one major problem I currently have with your writing is that you're always looking to find something to put someone/thing down. I don't know the word for it, but when you write things like:
it seems to me that some devs (coughKojimacough) are filling up Blu-ray discs simply because they can, not so much because they need to.
It's like you have magically figured everyone and everything out all by yourself. You don't know a damn thing about why people do the things they do. You're not them.
I'm just talking out of my ass. I never thought I would say this, but I don't like this article.
Where did you hear anyone from Mercury Steam "complaining" about compression? And if you aren't talking about Mercury Steam here, then why include it in an article about Mercury Steam's decision to use multiple discs? Also, what, from your own experience as a games blogger, do you know of file compression? Why do you think that developers would want to ship on multiple discs as opposed to compressing files? Bragging rights for bigger file sizes? If that's the case then I apologize, but that's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.
Personally, I don't care if the game ships on five discs, as long as one console doesn't end up with a gimped version because developers had to meet compression requirements in order to fit the game on one disc for absolutely no fucking reason.
Insinuating that the developers are being lazy for not wanting to spend the extra time and money on compression (especially when the Microsoft tech experts realize they are "doing all they can" with the compression) just seems like a very ignorant stance to take by someone who, in comparison with Mercury Steam's develops, knows fuck all about file compression.
Love ya Jim, but the opinion aspect of this article blows.
Please stop being a massive shlong.
Peace out
The "problem" is clear: sony shills flapping their mouths for press.
Not that having a second disc is a big issue. You're not playing the game in one sitting anyway.
And before everyone cries and calls me a 360 fanboy, know that I haven't played a 360 game in probably 3 months, while I've been playing the PS3 pretty much daily.
microsoft has a policy against mandatory installs on the 360. They let it lapse for FFXI, but I don't remember any other games that have it.
But from this comment I guess you're just trolling.
I mean, I have to change it once every dozen hours. THE HORROR.
Oh woe is me...changing discs!
I remember Legend of Dragoon on the PS1. Each disc was a different section of the map. I had to change discs ALL THE FUCKING TIME. Until we go back to that, multi disc gaming isn't really an issue.
For some reason Capcom decided to shaft their faithful Sony fans and release an incomplete game instead of utilizing the space available on a Blueray, and releasing the game on multiple disks for the poor souls stuck with the 360.
That statement may have contributed to their poor sales for LP2. I know I'm interested in buying it, but I'm not paying full pop for a game I know isn't complete.
If you actually, you know, read the source it isn't about textures. But you know why read when you can go on an angry tangent.
You are one of the main reasons I visit this sight and I love 99 percent of your work. Having said that, I'm having a really hard time with this quote-
''and it seems to me that some devs (coughKojimacough) are filling up Blu-ray discs simply because they can, not so much because they need to.''
Have you played any of Kojima's games? I'm not sure how you came to that conclusion but having played all of Kojima's games leads me to believe that he actually does use up the space since his games look rather good and are filled to the brim with extra gameplay elements and content. If I didn't make that very clear I can clarify further, but I see no proof that he fills up the space just...because he can?
None of what you said actually made any sense and had little to do with the article written. How you came to bash Sony when this has to do with fitting the game on 2 discs for the X BOX THREE SIXTY!!...is beyond me
I have a 120 gig hard drive with around 100-150 XBL Arcade games installed on it. I still have plenty of room for more games (I think I have about 60-70 gigs left.)
I don't see why this should be an issue to anyone. If you have to have 2 CDs at least you're getting the content anyways, it's not something that's going to sabotage the whole experience or anything. Don't be angry because the developers are packing the media with content. That's just stupid.
To anyone surprised that Jim would say such foolish things, I'm surprised it's taken you this long to notice.
It's too early in the morning.
Your logic fails. I would explain how, but others have already done it.
Jim, maybe there is a point to this game being as big as it is? Maybe you should talk to the developers before telling us how there was unnecessary content.
Please tell me your joking.
The reason's PC games fit on one DvD is because they are installed to the hard drive and then decompressed there.
Console games are played from the disc. PC games from the Hard drive.
There's a huuuuuuuge difference there.
Vanilla World of Warcraft was on 4 cd's (not dvd's), but once installed was almost 20gb. PC games are compressed to the absolute smallest they can be then decompressed during installation, additional files are also downloaded from the net in most new games.
If PC games like World of Warcraft were run off a disc, you would be constantly swapping disc's every time you entered a new area.
i sat through an hour-long cutscene in Xenosaga 3.
an hour-long cutscene at the end of the goddamn game.
after a 30-second final battle.
if you can't pay attention for 14 minutes go fuck yourself.
eat my dick
Uh ... troll f*cking harder, chump.
i mean honestly
Either way, this doesn't affect me, since a) I have a PS3, and b) I install all my games to my 360 hard drive anyway.
get over it
@Nyktharas; Sure it wasn't 5 discs? Mine is, anyways.
But yeah. Loltrollpost. Kids these days with their "zomg we want one disc fer everyfink lawl" attitudes. Back in my day we had to do something called disc swapping!
Dude, try finishing your thought before pushing Add Comment next time.
Just because ALMOST all retailers will drop £10 off that price on day one doesn't mean it's not the recommended retail price.
I admit, it is standard procedure to sell new games for £40, it doesn't change the RRP being £50.
Seems a silly thinkg to pull me up on, but people sure do love to pull me up on just about anything.