Topic: Is the graphical fidelity worth it for the issues with hard drive storage?

After 18 months of ownership, I'm finally starting to appreciate my PS4. Having access to tites like FFXV, The Last Guardian, Rocket League, Madden, and others give me something that Nintendo isn't able to supply. But still the actual machine is frustrating; with constant downloads that stop those 'quick 15 minute' plays that you can get in here and there, huge paches that take up to 16 hours to crawl through my internet, and a limited hard drive that fills up after 10 to 15 games. I have recently had to delete a lot of games I haven't finished (or want to play again) because there isn't enough room on the hard drive, and the prospect of reloading them (and all the update data) really is unappealing. Unlike Nintendo games that load from the disc or cartridge, all data has to be downloaded from the disc or the internet to the hard drive apparently 'to speed things up'- but yet I find myself still sitting in front of loading screens on FFXV and Madden. You even need an internet connection verification to play games (and DLC) that have been downloaded. I know I could upgrade to a bigger hard drive, but in reality as a console gamer the hassle and the cost really puts me off- I might as well just be a PC gamer instead. It's the reason I want Darksiders Warmastered on the Wii U, as I don't have to justle for space on my PS4's limited hard drive.

So my question is; with the Switch and it's cartridges on the horizon, if you had the choice of a 3rd party game (lets just say the Switch will have 3rd party support) on the Switch or the PS4/XB1, would you choose the lesser graphics but easier installation cartridge, or the shiny 1080p pictures that invove a lot of hard drive woes?

Easier installation cartridge. I miss the times when you booted up your console and where ready to go.
The patches, both on PC and PS4/XONE are annoying. If you have slow internet, you can't enjoy the game day one, you'll have to chug along until the download is ready.

@MrGawain Downloading the games off the disc exists to minimize loading times and lag. The disc reader simple can't keep up with the information that is needed to render every frame and action. Had Nintendo released a Wii U 2.0 that used discs, then I'm sure that mandatory installations would've been a requirement too. Fortunately, the Switch doesn't have discs, so that won't be an issue.

That being said, it depends on the game, but I still think that I would choose the PS4 version over the Switch. Unless I want it portable, but that's not really my thing to begin with. The reason being that storage space will be a lot more expensive on the Switch, good luck finding an SD card for the same price as a HDD. As for those patches, if they're a thing on the PS4 version, then they will also exist on the Switch version, so that's a moot point.

Without doubt one of the biggest gripes of owning a PS4/Xbox One is thus. Incredible how this thing goes under the radar but is of absolutely no benefit to us, how the Witcher 3 for instance required several patches with one I remember being 15GB to iron out loads and loads of little issues, how DOOM basically has everyone download the DLC regardless of whether they bought the Season Pass just cause it's easier for ID/Bethesda, how basically every game needs a day 1 patch even after some companies decry them they do it anyway...

But the most annoying part of it all is the hidden installations on PS4, stemming from Sony's initial unveiling of the PS4 and how they boasted about being able to play games whilst they are downloading. A feature that sounded great on paper and at a conference but basically amounts to nothing more than 'riveting' gameplay such as killing rebels as an invincible Darth Vader that was fun for about 1 second but messes up your plans thinking the game has installed only for you to go onto the title screen (sometimes they hide it even further than that!) and see you need to wait upwards of 30 minutes longer because beep you that's why. You enjoy this great feature that we have so strenuously pushed for and long since proven the value of. Just kidding of course it was abandoned almost straight away and is nothing more than an annoyance now.

But as to the conundrum of buying games on Switch or PS4/Xbox One because of this I don't really care by this point. I'll just get the games I want and be done with it, I've put up with it this long after all.

But yes the reaching of astounding graphical fidelity has definitely come with some unfortunate consequences, such as those I've mentioned above and the joy that is the PS4's jet-like fans for every Naughty Dog level game.

@MrGawain

Umm, if the Switch wasn't a hybrid, I'd probably say PS4 version simply because I upgraded my HDD to 2TB and have a PS4 Pro that outputs 4K and HDR. That said, I had to sell off all my multiplats on PS4 and repurchase them for Xbox One, because the PS4 doesn't take external drives and therefore caps upgrades to 2TB (1.76TB usable space). So my PS4 has used up 1.2TB now just from exclusives and VR games alone, and the occasional multiplat I buy due to other games in the series being exclusive to PS4 and wanting to keep the series all together on one console (like Final Fantasy).

But, the Switch is a hybrid. So if I had a choice I'd choose Switch every time. Thankfully I don't have to choose though. I already bought it for PS4 and will happily purchase again if it comes to Switch.

Plus, having AAA games all squeezed into a cartridge is really freaking awesome.

There are lots of variables that come into play.

• Best visuals and performance.
• Cheapest copy.
• Your favourite controller.
• Where all my friends are (playing).
• The system it was built/created from ground up on.

For conveniences sake, I will continue to buy third party games on the PlayStation 4 (seeing as the Nintendo Switch isn't going to offer the best visuals or performance) and play the exclusives on their respective platforms. That's how it was when I had a Wii and Xbox 360 for nearly five years.

I'd buy the Switch version. It isn't so bad on the XBO using external storage but the PS4 storage is a joke. Download times are also horrendous on the PS4, so I'll go NS or XBO for any multplat.

Most of those download updates you can just ignore if you want to play things straight away.
The only examples I've found of where it completely locked me out of the game was Rise of Tomb Raider and FF15 (I think that was installation not downloads though)

I love the PS4 saying a game is ready to play but isnt.

Also love the online verification for stuff too. Swore they said PS4 wouldnt do that.

I just slapped a 1TB HDD onto my Wii U. No fuss. Fast formating. Downloading everything. Took 4 years to need that upgrade.

My PS4 though? That sod is having its piddly little laptop hard drive devoured. It to this day confuses me how Sony expects users to take apart their system for a new hard drive, and yet the alleged backwards to technology Nintendo has external support.

As for Switch internal storage. Micro SD are cheap and cheerful. I know you cant find a Vita card for less than 50p per GB. I see no reason we cant be expeted to do a little SD Card Tetris, as those are fairly inexpensive, whenSony champions the concept to its core.

Id say buy a multiplat on Switch if available, unless Sony shows how deep its pockets are regarding its major profitable business and buys exclusive crap for it just to wave its terafloppy at Microsoft some more.

I openly enjoy sony but...god they are confusing sometimes. At least their fans are adamant the switch will fail.

If I were you, id do whats best for you. Dont let the world dictate whether your purchases are meaningful or not. I did that once. Ended up medicated. Almost sold my wii u as a result.

As @Dezzy said, I have yet to encounter a game that doesn't let me play straight away. So far, every game I've played allowed me to play the game as soon as I popped the disc in.

As for storage capacity, yeah, it's stupid that Sony doesn't support external hard drives, but I haven't filled mine up yet, so I haven't encountered that problem either. One thing is sure, HDD is lot cheaper than SD storage, so I hope the Switch allows for some kind of HDD support if it doesn't come with a whole lot out of the box.

Just as adamant as you are in thinking that every "PS4 fan" is the same and they all hate Nintendo?

Who's saying this exactly? I'm absolutely a fan of Sony, from the gaming perspective (don't care about any other branch of their business).
I think the Switch will probably be a moderate success. I don't think it'll be as big as the Wii but I'm thinking it'll probably be a 50-70 million lifetime sales kinda deal.

@Dezzy Our good friendo Sammy Barker said the Switch wont have many games at launch in his video.

@Octane Most of the PS4 folks i know are like that sorry to say. Ill say within my sample group of users

I know they arent all like that. But the ones that are are like bad sonic fans. Noisy and the rest of us want em to shaddap so everyone can enjoy what they like.

How havent ya filled that internal up yet? Stupid question given ive only just filled a Wii U. Just hope when it comes to swapping out that internal i dont cock-up like when i added RAM to my laptop and my PC gamer friend failed to properly reconnect my sound card...

@BLP_Software

Who's our good friend Sammy Barker?

And the Switch might not have many games at launch. Most consoles don't! I'm not sure what that says about it either way?

@Dezzy well he gave the impression that it wont have games akin to the wii u droughts and that was a good thing. Iunno. He confuses me.

@BLP_Software

Well that'll depend partly on how well it does. If it sells well enough, they shouldn't struggle to get developers interested.
Also, it seems likely Nintendo will be merging their console and handheld divisions so the Switch will get more first party games than most previous consoles have.