One of the more welcome changes that the New Xbox Experience brought with it was the ability to install games on your console’s hard drive, resulting in quicker load times. Pretty handy, eh? Well, not always. In the case of Halo 3, for example, installing the game will actually make it slower.
Bungie has confirmed reports that installing Halo 3 will result in less optimal experience thanks to the way it was developed. Halo 3 was designed to copy maps from the DVD to the HDD in the first place, which is what it does whenever you play the game. However, if you install it, the game will then copy maps from the HDD to the … HDD. Since Bungie never had to account for installs, the game simply assumes it’s running from a disc, even when it isn’t.
The process is longer because one device can only do so much at once. If you are putting the entire process of reading and installing on the shoulders of the HDD rather than splitting it between the HDD and the disc, it will take a bit more time. Bungie explained it in a more complicated way that made my head hurt because I am ignorant.
The bad news is that Bungie won’t be fixing the issue, since it would be a lot of effort. Can’t really blame them, since it’s non-essential and the benefits aren’t worth it. Just don’t bother installing Halo 3 is the message of the day.
