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New games downloaded to Xbox 360 HDD will have 'relatively small' gains photo

The fabled Fall update for the Xbox 360 (slated for this November) will give fans not only a new dashboard, but the ability to download games to their hard drives. The idea behind this is to streamline and compress load times. According to Boris Schneider-Johne, Xbox Product Manager Germany, only older titles will reflect dramatic changes and increased load times. Apparently the newer stuff will be as good as it gets.

…There are prominent examples, for instance: Project Gotham Racing 3, one of the first games for the Xbox 360. There the load times have been very long; those are going to get reduced immensely. Recent games are already optimized; there the gain is relatively small.

Despite the translation from the Golem interview, Schneider-Johne is quite clear as to the benefits that downloading a newer game on your HDD will have, and that is to say, almost nothing perceptible. At least I’ll finally be able to enjoy Enchanted Arms in all its glory this Fall.

[via GamersGlobal -- Thanks, Adam!]


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21 comments | showing # 1 to 21

Gameboi's Avatar
Gameboi at 09/10/2008 12:00
Do yourself a favor, and avoid Enchanted Arms -- optimized or not. As for the streamlining, it's a great idea. Now make it very noticeable, and you have a winner on your hands, MS.
Triox's Avatar
Triox at 09/10/2008 12:03
Load times for that game are crazy at times, at least on ps... Enjoyable game though well worth a look into :)
908peruvian's Avatar
908peruvian at 09/10/2008 12:08
who's that guy?
he looks cool as FUK!!
Max Power's Avatar
Max Power at 09/10/2008 12:24
@908peruvian: Apart from being the German community manager, he does the Inside Xbox thing for the German-speaking Live regions. The guy looks so fucking geeky, I never bothered to watch any of his broadcasts. Maybe I should? Still, it's so nice of MS to offer a dedicated Inside Xbox for all twelve 360 owners in Germany and Austria.

Anyway, can't wait for these increased load times. Seriously, though, I think launch era games will benefit greatly from the fact that the DVD won't be in constant motion. Maybe now I can actually hear the audio of some of them. Lookin' at you, Crackdown.
Touch My Box's Avatar
Touch My Box at 09/10/2008 12:38
Who cares about load times? I wanna see how much it affects texture pop-in.

I might just have to do a third mass effect play-through this fall.
zig's Avatar
zig at 09/10/2008 12:39
I don't care about load times, the benefit to installing games on the 360 is to eliminate that GOD DAMN SPINNING DRIVE NOISE.
Perry Simm's Avatar
Perry Simm at 09/10/2008 12:54
@908peruvian:
He also was a game journalist for the legendary German games magazine "Power Play" in the 80s, and he translated most of the LucasArts adventure games to German. This guy is the shit.
TrailerParkJesus's Avatar
TrailerParkJesus at 09/10/2008 13:00
Well that's kind of a let down.

Although if what he says is true, that "Recent games are already optimized," I expect new games to have very short load times.
Danmartigan's Avatar
Danmartigan at 09/10/2008 13:12
lololol @ 908peruvian

Ahh .. anyways, It will be nice to play a few games without the disc spinning and seeking all the time. Hard drives are still faster than DVD players for streaming.
fetusmilk's Avatar
fetusmilk at 09/10/2008 13:26
you mean games installed / copied to HDD. i hate the word "download" used in this way. sorry just a personal problem.

i feel downloading is anything taken from the internet or off a network through a modem/cat5 etc. but thats just me.

you
-copy/transfer pictures from a camera to HDD
-install from a cd/dvd to a HDD
-download pictures from internet to HDD
-download music from your network storage drive to you HDD

but thats just me.
Timmeh's Avatar
Timmeh at 09/10/2008 13:34
IT ISN'T DOWNLOADING IT'S INSTALLING.

Also, not having to listen to my drive screeching on some games, new or not, will be a pretty massive improvement - screw loading times.
RawwrBag's Avatar
RawwrBag at 09/10/2008 13:35
You "download" the game off of the DVD media onto the HDD. You "upload" the game from the DVD to the HDD. So I think the correct term here would be "load" :)
Knives's Avatar
Knives at 09/10/2008 13:37
If solves me getting a ton of disk read errors then I don't care that much about load times.
funran's Avatar
funran at 09/10/2008 14:00
I just wanted to point out that everyone better get ready for required installs next generation. Consoles are becoming more and more like PC's and the bigger games we get, the more likely we will need mandatory installations. We're seeing it now with the PS3, and it's taken a lot of flak for having these installs, but now we're seeing Microsoft implement them too (yes not mandatory, i know), but this is clearly the way games are going.
akathatoneguy's Avatar
akathatoneguy at 09/10/2008 15:05
It would make a big difference for me, and anyone else who's laser is working, but shittily. I have crazy pop-in in games like Oblivion that was never there before, and game freezes occur in certain games if I play for more than a few hours at a time.
ArrestedDeveloper's Avatar
ArrestedDeveloper at 09/10/2008 15:20
It will be good for multiple disc games like Lost Odyssey and possibly FFXIII. I bet Mass Effect will benefit as well.
DibbityDan's Avatar
DibbityDan at 09/10/2008 15:57
Good thing I just got a sweet PC and don't have to be concerned about this.
Max Power's Avatar
Max Power at 09/10/2008 16:40
@Perry Simm:

Wow, I feel like an idiot now. How the hell did his name not ring a bell with me? I've only been reading PowerPlay after he had left, but I did play the German versions of most LucasArts adventures then, and the translations were brilliant compared to some of the shit that passes as localisation these days. So I guess I should give the bloke a chance and watch his features on Inside Xbox.
GrayFox's Avatar
GrayFox at 09/10/2008 17:09
I'm not worried about gains, I just need this because I'm scared of my optical drive wearing out. Reduced load times would have been icing on the cake though.
Burnt Meatloaf's Avatar
Burnt Meatloaf at 09/10/2008 21:07
If it's optional, and it means I don't have to listen to the disc drive sounding like a turbine, I'm all for it.

Requiring an installation is a different story.
Chilly's Avatar
Chilly at 09/11/2008 19:36
I might actually complete sonic 06 with the fall update... maybe.
I must finish that joke of a game off!!
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