Blue Dragon to Ship on 3 DVDs

Microsoft's stubborn approach to HD-DVD games might settle those not willing to splash out on another peripheral just to play games, but that shouldn't mean that the games that spill onto more than one DVD shouldn't also appear on HD-DVD, surely?

Mistwalker's much anticipated Blue Dragon comes on 3, and whilst that obviously won't mean lots of swapping (come on, surely it's split into three acts or something) it's still a call for a large media solution...

[BlackCountryBob]

No big deal, RPGs are always big, FF7 was on 3 disks too, didn't ruin the game experience at all! The extra price of next gen storage media is to high for the slight advantage it provides, i'll be happy to just change disk every 8-10 hours of gameplay!

[Daewoodrow]

I had a feeling a japanese developer would be the first to try it. I mean, how could their vision be realised without five hours of FMV footage of children crying.

[calderra]

Page back to Enchanted Arms- the developers originally said that game would take !FIVE! (as in, 5) DVDs. Yes, Japanese devs need to work on cutting down on the discs.

And yes, games like FF7 are on multiple discs, and no, it doesn't ruin the game. Most of the time in RPGs, you swap discs when the world blows up and you can't revisit the old areas, makign the disc change part of the epic nature of what's going on in the game. You have to switch to this brave new world that's being created in the game... manually.

And yes- Oblivion barely pushed the available space on one disc. Gears of War is probably tiny. Halo 3 will fit on one disc easily. Fable 2 and Forza 2 will both probably fit way under one disc. Mass Effect and Too human- probably one disc.

Meanwhile, Lost Oddyssey will probably wind up on 2-3 discs.

Just a guess.

[BOOSTIN]

the developer of enchanted arms said that he would have liked to ship the game on 2 discs instead of 1, but they didnt have enough time to do everything they wanted with the game. M$ was anxious to have a game ready for the japanese market so enchanted arms was rushed. its still a great game though.

[calderra]

There was a point during eA development when the devs did say the game was going to have trouble fitting on 5 discs. It wound up being kind of silly when they did realize the core game easily fit on one disc with little effort.

You can see another example with Small Arms- the developers were worried the game would take up 2GB of space and never fit on Live Arcade. 'Til they ran some compression, etc, and found it it easily fit under 50MB.

Whoops?

[OutLaw]

I always knew that this was going to be the answer to not having the Hd DVD drive but like BlackcountryBob said no big deal it doesn't take away from the experience.

[shysun]

If done right it wont....but if you've ever played TW golf on GC you'd know it can be a pain in the ass!A few courses on disc one the rest on disc two.....Tournament HELLL!!!What about back tracking in games?If this game is like FF12 expect to loose 20lbs from swapping those disc bro....but thats bad case scenario.

[Tempo]

Get ready for fanboy invasion on this one..ppl like DJ gametime and kingboy are soon gonna be tellin'us what to think and whats good for all.

[Grown Folks Talk]

nobody complained about all of the 4 disc ps1 games. and guess what you have to do every time you play something different, change the disc. takes the same amount of time. i'm sure though, that they will place the switch right in the middle of a key moment, which will of course ruin the whole game.

[Mr Murda]

The reason that I don't want HD DVD or Blu-Ray to be standard is that they are unproven, and the raw costs of the discs will drive up the cost of games. Keep it on DVD9 and it will end up being the best deal, $ wise, for gamers. Changing discs is not an issue, and I would bet there wont be any issues with having to swap a disc in the middle of a battle or anything. Not an issue for me.

[likeaboss302]

...why it's a big deal to release it on both DVD and HD DVD. They release PC games on CD and DVD so why can't the 360 go dual format? I think it's stupid for Microsoft to limit the storage choice to just DVD. I could understand people being upset if they bypassed DVD but nothing would be wrong with both choices.

[PS360WII]

I'm happy that this is having more than one disc. Because now you know that this is one long game and many different things involed in it. You'll probably have 20+ hours on each disc before switching to the next so yeah it's no problem to get up and swap discs in that amount of time. All I can say is awesome and can't wait

[0ldb0y]

Any possibility of uploading some of the game data from disc to the HDD so that you don't need to swap discs as often?

If Blue Dragon is indeed on 3 DVDs, that is certainly a setback for MSFT. I know people hate disc swapping, but I always thought of it as getting more (discs) for my money, and didn't really mind that much.

[AuburnTiger]

Before it was DVD-9 is fine, there's no way they would ever exceed 8 gigs, extra storage is not needed. And now that we have proof that this format is not enough for large games, all you people can say is now is "it's cool", "no problem".

Also in the article it's saying that 360 gamers wouldn't mind having games on the HD-DVD format. Well i'm sure they wouldn't mind but the people who do not wish to buy the $200 add-on we'll be left behind.

All and all Gears of Wars looks pretty cool.

[Sidherich]

3 DVD's is perfectly ok for me as long as the game is linear (JRPG's tend to be that).

Ah that reminds me of times:

Wing Commander IV (6 CD's)
Gabriel Knight II (6 CD's)
Phantasmagoria (7 CD's)
11th Hour (4 CD's)
...

[death monk]

Was Wing Commander IV the Heart of the Tiger? I used to love that game.

[Sidherich]

Heart of the Tiger was Wing Commander III

Wing Commander IV was Price of Freedom

[The Snake]

Baldur's Gate (5 CDs)

[power of Green]

Get your lazzy asses up and change the disc, it's funny people are peed off as if BR was an industry standard longer than a few days. lol

[shotty]

This is not a big deal with an RPG. RPGs are linear games for the most part so after about 15 hours of gameplay you switch discs, no biggie. With oblivion or something that would have been akward swapping in-between cities but that worked out fine and oblivion was only actually 5GB in size.

Its good to know japanese developers aren't holding back on the FMV squences.

[tackleb0x]

I'll swap disks on one game to avoid having to pay $200 more for a console, thank you.

[kingboy]

uumm! what happend to the HD drive ?oh! it doesn`t support games too..payback is a b*tch ain`t it
no more words for ps3 yet?

[ernande]

Apparently the Japanese don't have a word for OPTIMIZATION. If Oblivion can fit on one disc, Blue Dragon shouldn't be a problem.

[BIadestarX]

One thing I used to love when a game would come in multiple disk is that I could lend a friend the first disk when I was up to the second or 3rd (My friends and I shared games like MGS and FF for the PS1). I also liked on the PC for example when Command and Conquer would come in 2 disks and would be able to run it in 2 computers and play against one of my friends. I honestly prefer having to get up to switch a disk after 20 hours of game play and have these options.
I really hope most 360 RPG games come in multiple disks.
PS3 fan boys should try a more valid argument about the need to higher capacity for the 360 games and how the PS3 is better when it comes to this. I wouldn’t trade longer load times, being able to share games with my friends because the game is partitioned, etc. Maybe the next generation when a game would take 6 DVDs, they it would be a need. But 1-3 DVD is not a problem for any gamer. Need prove? PS1 games came in 1-4 disks and it dominated the game industry. As matter of fact; I used to be exited to see that a game had 4 disks since it showed that the game was nice and big.

[GamerX2]

Count me in on that deal!!..LOL

[FreeMonk]

Remember that people said that Oblivion would be released on 3 DVD's due to it's immense size, but released on 1 DVD, so this may be a load of rubbish.

Even if it's on 3 discs, there's plenty of previous games like FF7, MGS1, Chrono Cross etc that have appeared over a number of discs.

As long as you only have to switch the disc over once, it won't be a major problem, and like someone has mentioned, if it saves me $10/£10 having it on 3 discs compared to 1 HD-DVD/BluRay disc, I'll take the 3 discs anytime!!

[lalaland]

PS3 and X360 games were priced similarly although PS3 games got the benefit of more storage space...

[Grown Folks Talk]

but you pay $100 to $300 dollars more for the system, which we also would have done with the 360 if it was built in. of course you knew exactly what he was refering to, but admitting to understand his logic wouldn't justify your position now would it?

[DJ]

pays for a superior system with unrivaled value, power, and functionality. If you don't mind inferior power and a lot less functionality that requires expensive upgrades, the 360's definitely for you and there's no need to bother with the PS3.

PS3 and Xbox360 titles are the same prices because Blu-ray only cost 10 cents more to manufacture per disc than DVDs. PS3 titles, however, get the luxury of 5 times more storage capacity.

[Grown Folks Talk]

seeing as how i don't like final fantasy, metal gear, tekken, virtua fighter, gran turismo, katamari, socom, jak & daxter, ect, ect, the ps3 isn't much value to me. with assasins creed coming to the 360, there is absolutely no reason for me to get a ps3. so value depends on your preference in games. i'm also tired of sony fans acting like you HAVE to buy everything that comes out for the 360 to play a game on it. my 360s are in the same room as my modem. guess what? didn't buy the wi-fi adapter. don't care about hd movies. guess what? didn't buy the hd-dvd add-on. wanted the camera, bought it. see how it works dj? you get what you WANT to get. and if i want to get something, i expect to pay for it. if i don't want something, i really don't want to pay for it. so i will not bother with a ps3 because every game i WOULD get for it, i already have or will get for my 360. if you want a ps3 and not a 360 i could care less. i'm not you and i don't have your tastes. simple as that. and lastly. why didn't you choose the superior, more powerful xbox? oh i forgot...when the ps2 was the weakest system specs wise, it was all about the games then. seeing as how none of these systems will be pushed to their limit, power can kiss my @ss. as long as games that i like keep coming out, i'm good. I'M FORMER QUESTIONMARK, AND I APPROVE THIS MESSAGE.

[DJ]

Software is a completely different subject matter. And yes, the PS2 had power advantages over the Xbox, and vice versa. As for PS3 vs. 360, just wait and see.

[Grown Folks Talk]

if i don't like the software, the hardware is irrelevant. which means the hardware has no value. it's like having a car that gets great gas mileage, has power steering, anti-lock brakes, and chicks dig it but you don't know how to drive. hardware doesn't do you much good if you can't or have no desire to use it. besides the hardware doesn't make the games, the devs do. last i checked, devs put out a lot of sub-par garbage that in no way pushes the power of these systems. i'm not saying the ps3 isn't good hardware, it just holds no value at this time to me.

[HaKeRsCanRotINHEL]

It's no big deal, as long as the game is fun who cares .

[Mikey_Gee]

NEVER hurt me before. No reason why they will hurt me now.

[DJ]

RPGs are traditionally linear experiences, so disc swapping isn't that big of an issue. Swapping discs every time you have to go to a different part of the game world however might be, when you look at free-roaming titles. Multiplayer options make it even harder to do multiple discs since it would require loading two different discs depending on which game mode the player wants to use. You can see where this is going.

But that won't happen since developers have no choice but to work around the limitations of the 360.

[Marriot VP]

and the answer is folks....downloading the extra DVD content onto the hard drive. Equals no disk swapping. What the PS3 has in effect, but for a different reason

[NextGen24Gamer]

Disc space will never be an issue. If a game needs to be 30 gigs...with the proper compression and a couple discs....Walla...You got the same content as a game on HD dvd or blu ray. Developers for the 360 will never be limited with disc space. Why? Because they could easily put any game on multi discs if needed. I'm glad to see Blue Dragon will pull it off flawlessly and most likely be the biggest Rpg in this next generation for years to come.
Thanks Microsoft.

[Grown Folks Talk]

mass effect for $1000 alex.

[Aflac]

why did you use this link: http://arstechnica.com/news... did you really think no one would look at it and see how it can be used to prove that the 360 is superior to the ps3 at gaming???
The 360’s OS uses only 3% of its CPU time on Cores 1 and 2, while Core 0 is free altogether, and 6.25% (32mb) of its 512mb RAM, this means that the 360 has more processing power available for in-game graphics and physics. Meanwhile, the ps3’s OS…
“In the case of the PS3 this equates to 12.5% of the available Cores on the CPU always reserved, an additional 12.5% sometimes taken by the OS, 12.5% of the available RSX memory and 25% of XDR Cell memory. Balancing these out, one could argue that Sony has removed up to 25% of the available CPU power and 18.75% of RAM for these features as well as others that are not mentioned here or will be added in future updates to the PS3 Operation System.”
Wow, 18.75% (96mb) of the ps3’s 512mb of total RAM, vs. 6.25% (32mb) of the 360’s 512mb RAM, say, that means the ps3 has 416mb RAM left vs. the 360’s leftover 490mb RAM for graphics…
I could be wrong, but isn’t 490mb greater than 416mb???
Sources:
http://arstechnica.com/news... <--the link you posted DJ, LMFAO!!!
http://ps3.qj.net/Inside-th... <--another unbiased source that states the same exact ps3 information from your link DJ, and also describes the 360 and compares them.
DJ, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT, ANYTHING YOU SAY CAN AND WILL BE USED AGAINST YOU...

http://news4gamers.com/News... 2.3 - That information's really old though.
DJ - 20 Hours ago | Let him/her speak
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find any follow-up articles on what the final OS requirements are. Have you seen anything recent? I just remember a few devs saying that final OS requirements are smaller than what companies originally lay out, but I'm not sure by how much. With PS2 it was a 50% reduction in CPU/RAM requirements, but considering how much multi-tasking the PS3 has to do there's no easy way to predict.
"It's probably still 6 SPEs and the PPE available for game functions, but they might've freed up the 7th SPE for game functions (only devs know). "Sony is not considering having the OS periodically demand a second SPE." The 5 SPE possibility was shot down pretty fast.
http://arstechnica.com/news... That's the article in case anyone wants to see it. The info's 7 months old, but still a good read."