MTV Multiplayer has an interesting article discussing why some PS3 games force hard disc installs on eager players. Why do you have to wait around for twenty minutes after you first insert the disc so that it can fill up your hard drive space with necessary data? And why do some offer it as option and others get round it entirely?

The reasons vary significantly, but they're basically dependent on how the game developers choose to manage the data on the Blu-ray discs. Blu-ray, despite offering considerably more storage space than DVD, suffers as a result of only being able to move at a single speed. That means that accessing all that data can take a fair old while, which may result in unacceptably long load times.

The ways around it are quite fascinating. Some devs choose take the more obvious route of optimising the streaming techniques. Others simply dump multiple copies of the data on the disc so that there are more areas to seek from at any one time. But the fastest method is to move the core data to the console's hard drive where it can be accessed extremely quickly. That's what requires an install.

Personally I don't have an objection to waiting around for a few minutes for install as long as it only happens once and it results in a better gaming experience overall. But then I'm a PC gamer too and kicking my heels waiting for an install just comes naturally.

The problem is probably exacerbated by the fact that some games, e.g. Uncharted, require no install, load quickly and still look amazing. Then others come along, leave you waiting for an install and don't even look or run that great afterwards. Perhaps Sony just needs to insist on a standard approach for all PS3 game devs to take. It doesn't have to rule out hard disc installs or anything, not by a long shot. But if you were given a choice and maybe some pretty pictures to accompany the install, that would certainly help ease the pain of waiting.

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