PlayStation 5 Changes How Games Are Installed

The PlayStation 5 is going to give its owners more control over how they download and install [...]

The PlayStation 5 is going to give its owners more control over how they download and install their games, a welcome feature for those who have had to micromanage how they store things on their PlayStation 4. Since Sony's next console has a solid-state drive and differs from the PlayStation 4 in that regard, users will have access to a "more configurable installation" process, according to Wired's latest look at the PlayStation 5.

Wired had a lot to say about the next PlayStation thanks to a discussion with Sony and some time spent with the new console with much of the talks dominated by the console's technical aspects. According to Wired, Sony's using the SSD in the next PlayStation as a way to change its storage approach to give people more control over their installations.

"Rather than treating games like a big block of data, we're allowing finer-grained access to the data," system architect Mark Cerny told Wired.

What this means for the everyday PlayStation 5 user is that they'll be able to install parts of a game rather than waiting for the whole thing to install so that they can play the part they want. If you want to hop right into multiplayer, install that part of a game first. If you've finished the single-player portion of a game and want to clear up some space, remove it from your console while keeping the multiplayer portion intact.

It's a remedy to what's become only a mild inconvenience on the PlayStation 4 but is more so a valuable feature for anyone who wants to maximize the storage capabilities of their PlayStation 5. Take the new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare for example. A game like that will most likely start installing on a PlayStation 4 with a break shown in the progress bar that'll indicate when the program will be playable after enough of it has been installed. This would typically mean the single-player portion would be playable even if it was only up to a certain point, and not all the social and online features would be present until it's fully installed. The PlayStation 5 would allow users to skip the first part of this installation so that you can get right to the multiplayer and return to the single-player part whenever you're ready.

We also learned more about the plans for the PlayStation 5's controller within Wired's article and we also know when the console will be released.

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