I just picked up my retail copy of Heavy Rain during lunch. It took me about 15 minutes to download the latest update and install the game on my PS3. I know some of you have been having issues with PSN download times, so I wanted to see what your experiences were like with this particular title. If you pick up the game today and have a moment, please list how long it took you get the game up and running.
@Iceman There are usually day one updates for big titles and they require a download. Many games also require a hard drive install. I haven't had any problems with updates and installs, but I've read some complaints. I don't understand why some people are having issues and some aren't for the same games.
The install took me about 15 minutes as well. Heavy Rain came with an origami art paper that the game instructed me through while it installed. I put the origami together.
@Iceman
Ray pretty much summed it up. The Blu-Ray drive has a slow disc reading speed so some games require an install to compensate. Now, Smartguy and Nightshade say some downloads take them 3 to 5 hours. I don't understand that. Something is definitely wrong there.
@Raymond Padilla
Did you make the origami art?
I also want to say that the game has surpassed my expectations. It has it's hooks deep in me and won't let go. Brilliant.
@RRODisHere I actually didn't. I was working on the site as it installed.
Since the subject is kind of up (I'm surprised I never mentioned it before):
I went to get cigarettes a week or 2 ago and by the place I get them at is an electronic/computer repair center. I had some extra time, so i thought I'd check it out. I walk in, and I happened to know the guy behind the workbench. We hadn't seen each other in a while and he invited me back in to his workspace so we could catch up.
He was repairing a PS3. I asked him "What's wrong with it?" He said "Basically, the same thing that's wrong with all of those. Red and yellow lights." He then pointed to a nearby shelf that had easily 200 PS3's on it. I said "DAMN…. I bet you see more 360's though, right?" he said "These are the 360's here." and pointed underneath his workbench where there was like 5 or 6. I was taken back in disbelief.
However, I thought about it on the way home. I figured it had to do with the warranties. Xbox has a much better warranty due to the huge failure rate they amassed. PS3's however, get burned out as well but Sony doesn't take care of their consumers as well. At least that was the only thing that made sense to me.
If someone doesn't believe me, I will go back and take pictures. My friend said that's all he does all day. Je was originally hired to do work on PC's and Macs (I originally got along with him because we'd hang out at a coffee shop and talk Apple), but he said they quick switched him to consoles because of the huge workload they had.
He also said he gets through between 5 or 6 PS3's a day, but they just keep coming in. I still have trouble believing it myself.
It took me almost dead on 20 minutes to download and install the 226mb update and then right at 10 minutes to install the game. I didn't notice the game install though because I was busy following the instructions on how to make the bloody origami crane. As soon as I finished the install finished soon after. Good idea on keeping the player busy.
@N8R
I still have yet to actually meet anyone who has had a PS3 god bad. I am not saying it doesn't happen but…
That is interesting though and I think you are right about it has to do with the warranties.
So wouldn't the BD drive read faster on the new PS3 Slim models? Is the new PS3 slim a better machine than the old PS3 fat?
-M
@ Slicky
That's the only logical conclusion I could come to. I'm sure if MS didn't have the warranty it has, he'd have rooms full of 360's.
@iceman
no, the drive being faster wouldn't matter since there is so much uncompressed data. Some game engines cache data on the HDD regardless. It happens on the 360 as well. Halo 3 doesn't run as well if ran from the HDD.
The Slim vs the Fat is a relative preference. I like the abundance of ports the Fat offers. BC is another perk, but I am using it far less the further we move into the PS3 era. Supposedly the sound is better on the slim, but my sound system sounds great with the Fat. (5.1)
@Slicky
a friend of mine had his 60 gig model brick on him when he bought GTA4. Whatever it was Sony couldn't fix it and replaced it with the 80 gig sku. Only instance of ps3 failure I know of.
@ Smartguy
Curious… I run Halo 3 from my HDD and it runs just fine. I've honestly never tried it uninstalled.
I Install whatever game I'm currently playing just to keep the heat and the noise down.
According to the infamous (and completely unscientific) Game Informer article that claimed the 360 was running as 60% failure rate, the PS3 was also running something like as 15% failure rate….which is still pretty high if it's true. Clearly that's not nearly as unacceptable as the 360's rate, but really anything in the double digits isn't good. I think that the 360's issues are just much more publicized because of how prevalent they are (as they should be). but it does seem like the PS3 gets a relatively free pass for a similar problem, even if it's not nearly as severe.
@N8R
That Halo info was from Bungie, not endusers.
Not buying it. But the demo took 5 hours to download. The first 150 minute DL was corrupted, so I had to download it twice.
This may seem like a stupid question, but in light of my never-ending quest to become close to intelligent, I need to ask (as a future PS3 owner):
What’s the deal with all this I hear about a PS3 game’s load time? Do these load times have to do with installing the game onto the hard drive or is it just an update? Do all PS3 games have a “mandatory update” that takes several minutes to install or is it just the big, huge, AAA games? Does this have to do with the console’s architecture or is it something inefficient on the side of the developer? Seriously, what gives? I want to know everything I can about this issue. PS3 owners and tech geeks, please share.
-M
@Iceman
It seems that depending on where you are, that your downloads of any material over PSN will run like syrup on a cold day. It took close to 3 hours to download the Heavy Rain demo for me. Others on here proclaim half an hour tops. It’s a huge disparity, and really very frustrating. Luckily I have not encountered the answer of “just leave it on during the day or at night and let it download.” I’m glad that people here understand that I am using a broadband and not dialup connection and shouldn’t have to utilize such measures. No ports on the router are closed, and all is fine connection wise.
Like I said initially, it isn’t just updates that take forever, it is all content for me. I did get an update for MAG pretty fast though. That could mean Zipper is paying for bandwidth.
(you are an east coast guy, so I’d imagine that it would go fast for you. RROD and Thundercracker seem to have good luck.)
@N8R
what was he fixing on them?
@ Smartguy
I’m not exactly sure. He said some most of them flashed a red light and some flashed a yellow light. That’s as far as I got.
It might have something to do with this area. I do live in the desert and the heat can get unforgiving.
@ Smartguy
Whoever said it, I've had no problems that I've seen.
Fallout 3 would sometimes say the disc was dirty or scratched (off the HDD) but no issues with Halo 3. Could a patch have fixed that?
Mmm I wasn't paying much attention to the install time, but I'd say roughly about 15min. I couldn't do the day one update b/c my internet was having weird issues, b/c my pc was even having a craptastic time getting on the simplest of sites. So I'll do that today.
And remember, mine bricked on me a few months back. I have a 60g and they just replaced mine with another. Sony never told me what was wrong with mine, but I know it wouldn't stay on for more then literally 3 seconds before the yellow light blinked and it went back to the red off light. I played that thing 30+ a week lol, mostly games but it's also became our primary dvd/blu ray player too. So basically I think I ran mine into the ground.
And, did anyone get to the first time you see Madison? That was a trip lol.
@N8R
no clue. Loaned my copy out and never got it back. I had issues with orangebox and the first L4D.
@N8R
The PS3 has a $150 repair fee and the 360's is free. I bet he makes a killing repairing the PS3 though. Also, Halo loads slower off of the HDD. You won't get any performance issues though. Gears does this too.
Not long enough to have me do the origami "thing" correctly. However, I'd still probably be working on it, had I not given up. White Men Can't Origami.
@Justin
My Origami was wrong also, but I checked it twice and the part with the shaded square on mine was in a different spot than theirs when I compared the blood stains. I had to rotate mine 90 degrees at the step you have to fold the first piece backwards to get the blood stains to end up in the correct spot.
That wasn't the origami puzzle, guys. You folded up your warranty information.
@N8R
I thought it was odd they had me burn it afterward.
Actually if you fold the Origami Crane perfectly it should read out "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine"
or self destruct.
wow, i haven't looked at ppl of walmart in a while. good laughs. i needed those.
i have to wait 240 mins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1142mb update???
sonovabitch has been an hour and counting
I'm installing heavy rain on my ps3. It's taking 108 minutes to install with all the updates equalling about 11324mb… It's taking some time all right. :(
About 4 hours for the 1145 MB for me. Ridiculous. All PS3 downloads are horrid for me. Thats why i barely even turn the damn thing on anymore. Every time there is an update that takes a half hour or more to download.