'Final Fantasy XIII has created a heated debate among fans of the PS3 and Xbox 360, because the use of three DVDs on the console Square Enix has forced Microsoft to implement a high compression of the assets, resulting in a lower resolution. The rivalry between the two
fanbase, of course, has brought comparisons to the extreme, making it more a matter of pride that a true comparison between the technical media, often diverting attention from the pros and cons of the solutions implemented on the two consoles, and their actual impact on gameplay.
Blu-ray disc used by the console Sony has a capacity of 25 GB for single layer discs and 50GB for double layer discs (used rarely). This is clearly a significant advantage over DVD-9 used the Xbox 360. More disk space means more assets with a higher resolution for games, less compression, and the ability to store even more great games on one disc.
One thing that many do not know is that the original capacity of DVD-9 (8:54 GB) is not even fully used the Xbox 360. Considerable area of \u200b\u200bthe disc surface is in fact occupied by the anti-copy, which leaves about 6.8 GB of usable space.
This makes the difference in ability between the two media even more extreme.
But we do not prematurely passed off the DVD. There are more factors involved than just ability. The Sony console has a Blu-Ray 2x, with a speed of 72 Mbit per second (equivalent to 9 Mb / s). This is actually a read speed relatively low, only partly offset by the fact that its speed is a constant linear velocity (CLV), the speed of reading is the same whether the data are read on the inside or the outside of the disk.
On the other hand, the 360 \u200b\u200bbenefits from the maturity of the DVD, it features a 12x DVD player that reaches 129.6 Mbit per second (equivalent to 16.2 Mb / s). However, there is a minor inconvenience, as the DVD spins with a constant angular velocity (CAV). This means that the DVD player reads data at a variable rate that depends on how far the data are placed from the outer edge of the disc. Only data located near the outer edge will be read at the maximum speed quoted above, while the data recorded near the inner edge will be read at a speed that is approximately half of the maximum, ie 64.8 Mbit per second (8.1 Mb / s).
Considering that the most frequently accessed data can be stored outside on purpose, however, it is easy to see how the DVD-9 is considerably faster than the Blu-ray. E 'slower than rival only when reading the innermost area of \u200b\u200bthe disk.
Obviously Sony is due to endeavor to find a solution to this problem, or the console you would find herself crippled by the slow pace of its optical drive.
I have found two.
The first solution is combined with the Blu-ray Hard Disk, and this is the reason why no model PS3 they have never been lacking. Installing of the most frequently accessed data on the hard disk, which has a much higher rate of streaming, the system may compensate for the slowness of the reader. This, of course, brings a disadvantage, as the compulsory fitting of so many people complain. Especially when associated with the small hard drive of some of the old models of PS3 (20 GB), can quickly become a problem.
Fortunately, the PS3 supports any generic Hard Drive 2.5 ", making the replacement with a more capacious a relatively inexpensive solution.
The second solution is to rewrite several times frequently accessed data on Blu-ray disc itself, allowing the reader to access them more quickly by minimizing the transition between the different areas of the disk. This solution removes the need for installation on the hard disk, but obviously decreases the capacity of the disc, while maintaining a significant advantage over the 6.8 GB available DVD-9. In essence we
25-50 GB of space on the PS3, with a potential compulsory installation and 6.8 GB of space for each disk on the Xbox 360.
The difference in ability between the two media is often negligible, especially with smaller kids. Many shooters and action games (Genres that are the bread and water of the Xbox 360) are relatively small and short, and go easy on the DVD-9 without any difficulty, rewarding the most economical and fastest adopted by Microsoft.
On the other hand we begin to see more games that fully utilize the storage capacity of the PS3, with less compressed music, textures, wider, more complex models and spectacular graphics in general. Uncharted 2 (using 25 GB), God of War III (35 GB) and Final Fantasy XIII (37.6 GB PS3 version) have surprised a bit 'all with an impressive presentation graphics ever seen on rival consoles.
Obviously, many argue that the difference is not so far, and games on a single DVD graphics are also very acceptable, so in the end it all comes down to personal claims and how important it is for you ultra-detailed graphics. The main
harangue in favor of DVD-9 is that developers can simply print more of their games on a disc, in fact, removing the limitations of space.
According to this argument, the only problem resulting from this solution is that the user is forced to change discs once in a while during the game. If it were really the only problem would be a very significant (more or less comparable, in my opinion, the mandatory installation of some games PS3).
Unfortunately things are not always so simple, because there are lesser known but more serious problems hidden behind the solution of multiple discs.
First of all, when allocating a game on multiple discs, a developer must ensure that all assets required at all times are on each disc. This means the data on the characters (textures and models), sound effects and applicants more or less everything that is included with the player of the game from start to finish, must be placed on each disk. This adds to the overall size of the game, making the limit of 6.8 GB per disc even more restrictive.
course, this means that each environment to be revisited by the player in two different disks to be copied also, unless the developer wants to force the player to constantly change the disc when you move from one area to another, as happened with Star Ocean 4 on 360. Change the disc once or twice, as mentioned before, is a tiny problem. Constantly changing it becomes annoying.
data to an area tend to be very large because they include geographic data, all texture, all the characters, all the enemies, their effects on any audio file and so on. Not cheap.
why developers are often forced to make the games longer (Eg J-RPG, especially when the assets are very large to ensure a better presentation graphics) to be divided across multiple disks almost entirely linear, or at least many areas need to be "closed" when the story continues in the next disc .
This is where lies the true limit of the DVD-9, because the format actually limits the developers in their ability to freely decide the course of history and the fluidity of their games, constantly having to overcome the limits of space and boundaries of each disc, preventing the player from going back after moving.
Have you ever wondered why the only area of \u200b\u200bnon-linear Final Fantasy XIII is made to fit comfortably in a single drive Xbox 360 and the rest of the game is 100% linear? Now you know.
Now you also know why games that allow large exploration completely non-linear and returning to each of the areas previously visited, as White Knight Chronicles, are currently only possible on PS3.
obviously a developer may further increase the number of disks, so you have more space to copy multiple locations and assets, but this creates even more fragmented, and therefore require more recycling of data, in a vicious circle that puts software house in an uncomfortable position. A position that becomes even more awkward when you consider that the policy of Microsoft makes things worse, forcing third party developers to pay higher royalties (some say prohibitive) to deploy their games on more than three discs.
This is basically the reason why any games beyond that limit, and this is the reason that forced Square Enix to compress the data Final Fantasy XIII so that it can not support high resolution.
The only case of a game that went beyond the limit of three discs is Lost Odyssey , but being published directly by Microsoft was not the issue of royalties.
There is a solution to this problem? Of course there is, and is the same that Sony used to solve the problem of the slow Blu-ray.
The solution is to use the Hard Disk. Now that Microsoft is releasing its 250-GB hard drive might consider the option of allowing developers to implement mandatory installation in their games.
developers would be able to install on the hard disk at least a substantial part of the data that previously had to be copied, beautifully eliminating the problem of space limitation of the DVD-9.
Although feasible, this solution raises a number of problems mainly related to public relations and markenting. Microsoft has more or less an amputated arm issued only when the base model Xbox 360 Arcade promising that a hard drive would never be required to play games the Xbox 360.
remains the word would certainly be a blow to the company's public image, economy and reduce the value of Xbox 360 Arcade, making it less attractive to consumers because it would not be able to run any game on the market . In the most extreme case would force Microsoft to cease production of the model.
The millions of users who have an original 360 with only 20 GB (like me) would be in a position only slightly better, as the mandatory installation quickly exhausted the available space on Hard Disk.
Above all, the price of too much hard drive for Xbox 360 owners would make the replacement very expensive problem.
Basically Microsoft has two options: bite the bullet and pull out of the cul-de-sac in which it was crafted with the lack of hard drive of the Arcade model, or live with the limitations of the DVD-9 for the rest of the generation .
Personally, I would choose the first option. After all, most games that require more disk space are hardcore games, and not many hardcore gamers never buy an Xbox 360 without a hard disk. The users of the Arcade model will probably not fall within the target of such games. In my opinion the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages, removing a barrier to development on the Xbox 360 that could become increasingly evident over time.
Obviously, I am sure many would disagree with this idea, but then the decision is not mine. We have to wait and see what happens in the months to come.
Another problem with this incident is that this limitation does not affect only users of the Microsoft console, but also the PS3.
While the PS3 exclusive games often use all available space on Blu-ray, few developers ever multi-platform third party would take into consideration the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating a different set of assets for the PS3 version of their games (understandably, a lot would increase production costs), leaving much of the unused space on the Sony discs. At least with
Final Fantasy XIII Square Enix has made a version of the game with the biggest assets to better exploit the potential of Blu-ray, but it is difficult to dispel the nagging doubt that the game could be very different (and much less linear) if the course of history had not had to adapt to the multi-disk configuration of the Xbox 360.
Eventually, of course, almost everything comes down to personal preference.
people who have no interest in plots breathtaking graphics set to ultra-God of War III and high-fidelity audio will face this problem, and will be satisfied with what the DVD-9 has to offer. Others probably would like to see the passing of this rock, so as to ensure more creative freedom and room for maneuver to their favorite developers.
Ultimately this decision will be taken by those responsible, and a plot twist could come at any time or never. Unfortunately we can only watch what we take the E3 and below. '
Joseph Nelva
[From site Classy Gamer . My translation.]
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