A Hat In Time On Switch Has A Bigger File Size Than Other Versions Of The Game

Nintendo needs to lend other publishers their handy file compression techniques. Smash Bros. Ultimate somehow has a file size that is smaller than the Wii U game.

I thought they added in DLC that wasn't on other platforms by default.

@Smash_kirby That could be a factor.

It's only going to get bigger with all the patches this port is going to get. And this port desperately needs them.

I have a 400GB micro SD card so I didn't give it a second thought really. Took a while download though.

@NintonicGamer : One of the key reasons for that is because Nintendo skimped on the audio quality. Now, I'm no audiophile, but the music is sorely lacking in depth/range. Nintendo squeezed 30 hours of audio to just 1.4GB. Likewise, Smash Ultimate has only very, very few pre-rendered cutscenes, while the Wii U was a tad more generous owing to the 25GB capacity of Wii U discs.

I had a suspicion that this would have happened as even Nintendo themselves evidently prefer to use the smallest cartridges possible. Being an "evergreen" title, I was hoping that Nintendo would lead the charge by making Smash their first 32GB cartridge game and not compromise on any aspect of the game, particularly as any increase in cost would be offset by aftersales such as amiibo, DLC etc.

Audio and texture quality, as well as compression of pre-rendered cutscenes are among the easiest ways to bring file sizes down. I suspect that many Switch games look and sound worse than their contemporaries due to publishers wanting to cut costs on cartridges, as opposed to being attributable to any technical limitation of the Switch itself.

For digital releases, absolutely, Nintendo ought to keep file sizes down as users should not have to accommodate extraneous data due to developers being lazy in cleaning up unused data from their games, but in this particular instance, I don't think that Nintendo deserve to be showered with praise when they have cut corners to the detriment of the overall quality of the package.

It just annoys me that the Switch is capable of so more than what we are given, and there were no excuses for such heavy compression for a mega seller like Smash of all games. Similarly, Just Dance 2017 shipped on a 16GB cartridge and looked great. Ubisoft cheaped out by shipping subsequent instalments on 8GB cartridges and the compression in the videos are immediately apparent. The irony is that the Wii U versions are likely to look and better than the "next gen" version.

That just means there’s more to love

getting that sweet physical edition, babey 😎

@Silly_G You make a good point, it's not really a good thing that Smash's file size is smaller. But also Hat in Time certainly could have reduced their file size.

@NintonicGamer That's probably because Smash for Wii U uses very high-bitrate BFSTM audio files, whereas Ultimate uses low-bitrate Opus audio files. While Opus is an incredible compression codec, it does have its limits, which causes the music in Smash Ultimate to suffer greatly (I would've appreciated if the sample rate might've been lowered to have a higher overall quality at the same bitrate, but RIP). Also, Smash Wii U has a heckton of high-quality videos (fighter reveal trailers n stuff).

I have the physical pre-ordered, wonder if it is all on the cart.

@Silly_G Don't forget that Nintendo did not make Smash Ultimate; Bandai Namco did.

Bamco made two great titles last year: Soulcalibur 6 and Smash Ultimate. Both under 16gb.

Something is wrong, Assassin Creed 3 + Liberation = 11.9 GB. How can this cartoony game be that big? Even Bayonetta 2 is only 12.4 GB.

I was already planning on buying the physical copy eventually. But dang even if the original release of the PS4 and Xbox One versions were builds of a release that is earlier than the launch build of the PC version, I doubt the file size of the Switch version which is clearly a way newer build should be this big.

Maybe they put the game with the least compression possible to cut short the loading times?

@Trajan : Nintendo ultimately calls the shots though. It would have been at their behest that Bandai would have compressed the assets to squeeze the game onto a 16GB cart. I specifically noted that decisions concerning cartridge size lie with the publisher, not the developer.

Holy crepes, I'll be holding out for the physical then!

Played this at EGX yesterday and unfortunately the graphics were a complete mess. Since looking at some YouTube videos I suspect what I played was an older build, but with all the reviews mentioning frustrating load times and frame stutters in the final product, I’m worried that this is one of those cases where the developer made the least possible effort. The huge file size could be a result of that.

@neufel compression typically leads to faster loading times, as the decompression can happen in the background while more assets are loading. Less loading means faster loading times.
They probably switched to a different format for switch, maybe they used the entire cartridge space allowance.

Never a good reason for taking more space for the same assets though

Alriiight, pulling out the Game Graphics Engineer card here:
(if anyone from the team is reading this, feel free to correct me)

I have a fair few ideas on how this enormous increase could have happened. Most of them to do with making sure deadlines are met, while also achieving a functional game that looks presentable.

To put it bluntly, the team is likely to have been pressured for time, deciding to solve technical challenges by adding more single-use assets. Meaning, the game now contains some of the same sound files, textures, level-geometry, and animations many times over, where other versions have been able to combine, separate, alter, and otherwise re-use them.

That's my assumption at least. And this also means that the structural shortcuts taken far outweigh any of the good that further compression could bring.

All this said, I hope enough people still decide to buy in, so that a more streamlined version won't be considered a waste of time by Gears fo' Breakfast.

So i was either going to grab this or yooka laylee and impossible lair digitally but after i remembered what the file size was, I went with yook.

@Super_Macchan Indie devs are notoriously bad at optimization.

I have it on Steam and som DLC is several GB each. If all is included, then it explains the size.

@Yorumi
I'd assume this to have happened when the game was imported into the version of Unity that Nintendo distributes with the Switch development kits.
The structure of the project is likely to have been compromised, and many assets that were used multiple times in the game now exist as many separate versions. The clean-up of such a mess is likely time that was not accounted for in the budgeting of this port.

Hopefully they get around to it eventually.

I’ll be waiting for the physical edition because of this.

edit: also because I can’t afford any of editions at the moment 😂

@NintendoByNature tell me what you think of YOOKLay I want that game but I don’t get paid until the job is done

@Nedtendo no prob. I'll crack it open tonight. Only played the intro level last night but I plan on getting really into it later.

@NintendoByNature I don’t have that kind of time. Can you get back to me sooner?

@Nedtendo good things ( or news) come to those who wait. Thought you need to get paid first before buying it anyway? Lol

@NintendoByNature The job is almost done so we'll see

@Pod Thanks for this comment! Just wanted to give a heads up that I referenced it/you in an article I wrote which is further extrapolating why the file size could be so enormous =]

Here is a link, if you (or anyone) would enjoy giving it a read!

https://fyx.space/2019/10/a-hat-in-times-switch-file-size-is-huge-heres-my-best-guess-as-to-why/

@neufel That's my thinking too. It has been said multiple times that sometimes the files are bigger on Switch to avoid the overhead of decompressing them on the fly.

@Nedtendo so ive played 4 chapters and one in a backwards fashion( essentially the level you played turned to Ice so it's like playing a new level) I absolutely love it and highly recommend it if you're into dkc games

@NintendoByNature thanks for the update! I might just pick it up.

@Nedtendo no prob. It's been very fun. I'm close to the end at this point and it's well worth $30. Its an easy 9 out of 10.

A pity that they couldn't make it smaller.