Sub-Zero

Considering that both the upcoming Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 are including an SSD, I have read a lot of articles saying that the SSD are going to be a real "game changer" for the upcoming next-gen consoles. However, in terms of actual game play, how much of difference will there actually be? The most commonly mentioned gains with an SSD is of course near instant loading, as well as not having to "hide" loading with things like the forced slow walk through a corridor or something like that. Now don't get me wrong, I like the idea of greatly reduced load times, but really, how much will an SSD actually change the game play in upcoming video games compared to current gen games? Thanks to anyone that replies.

Groucho

Overall, I don't know if it's a "game changer" but it does allow for devs to do cool stuff like jumping from world to world in this trailer:

K&AJones

I'm not a super "Geek" in terms of Tech numbers and stuff...but with all the talk on the various internal parts of each system....it's the SSD that has taken center stage...well at least with the PS5. I've read several article about all the parts and what they mean but I've seen far more on the Custom SSD. This is a good read on the PS5 one and how it ties in with the Memory, CPU, Flash, Compression, Expandable Storage....

Understanding The PS5's SSD: A deep Dive into Nex-Gen Storage Tech .....https://www.tweaktown.com/news/71340...ech/index.html

Rob V

Considering how long is takes Assassin's Creed Odyssey to load it's a game changer IMO

RichC2

As long as Bloodborne-style load times are a thing of the past, I'm cool with it.

NVMe is ridiculously fast in any standard, the PCIe NVMe 4.0 that the PS5 is supposed to be using can apparently read at 5.5 - 9 GB/s, so I could see that having a very strong effect on these upcoming systems, install times will be bottled necked by disc read speeds/download speeds. By comparison, the PS4 shipped with a 5400 RPM hdd that read at a maximum of 116.5 MB/sec / 40.4MB/s non-sequential. With a SSD in the PS4, it capped out at 300 MB (PS4) - 600 MB (PS4 Pro).

Decker

Yes, in the sense that if you are playing one game and then decide you want to change and play another, you'll have to delete it to make space and download the next one.

Decker

That may be, but Ghost of Tsushima, another huge open world game loads almost instantaneously. It's weird.

RichC2

Start saving now for that $200 2TB expansion.

The Questyen

If you have like 20 games on your system than maybe. I always delete games as soon as I'm done with them anyways.

K&AJones

AMEN...but may end up even higher than that. When Sony releases their "Certified SSD List", we can expect prices for those to go up along with a more demand for SSD NVMe anyways....heck right now a decent 1TB sets you back about $120-$140...the 2 TB models are $220 and above....portable are no cheaper either...those getting a PS5 might need to look ahead at the cost of adding space....won't be no-where generous as a USB 4/5TB WD with space and cost wise you have with the PS4 now...

maxfisher

I’m currently ~110 hours in on this and it was the first thing I thought of. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say I’d only be ~105 hours in without the load times.

Sub-Zero

Thanks for all of the replies, and the SSD in the upcoming PlayStation 5 certainly sounds impressive. Hopefully developers will be able to think of lots of innovative ways to the use the SSD to help make true next-gen games that are not possible to make on current consoles because of technology limitations.

Michael Corvin

I played through Strange Brigade a month or so back and the load times were bonkers. So I'm definitely looking forward to the load times going away.

story

I've never played a Ratchet and Clank game but I liked that preview. Is the series a continuing storyline?

Decker

Not really. There are recurring characters but this isn’t a plot heavy series. You could catch up pretty easily.
And there’s also a movie you could watch. I can send you the Movies Anywhere Screen Pass if you ever want to watch it.

Sub-Zero

Before the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 were released, there were a lot of bold statements about the SSD being able to essentially eliminate load times in games for those consoles:

Sony’s New PlayStation 5 SSD Won’t Just Reduce Load Time, It’ll End It

For those that have an Xbox Series X and/or a PlayStation 5, has the new SSD lived up to the hype?

Adam Tyner

For my money, anyway, it doesn’t exactly live up to the hype. Massively, undeniably faster, without question, but talk of near-instantaneous loading after deaths or between levels doesn’t quite reflect my experience so far on either console. (With some exceptions, like Miles Morales.) But maybe my expectations were unrealistic, or maybe it’s because I’ve mostly been playing cross-gen games. I’m thrilled with the improvements, though, and I shudder to think how painful it’ll be when I fire up one of my older consoles again.

It’s unreal how quickly both consoles boot up, though.

Maxflier

Yes, it has. The slot in PS5 for the extra SSD for expanable storage however has not since it STILL has not been enabled....

fujishig

Just count your blessings, because I still feel like the (non souped up) external drive is causing a lot of issues with the PS5, so I don't exactly trust them to enable a second SSD and have everything working right. I'm not sure if this hardware overall is just too complex, or they rushed it out, or both (probably both).

maxfisher

It probably falls short of the hype, but I’ve found it extremely noticeable and welcome. When I got my Series X, I moved my old Xbox One X to the living room. On the handful of occasions I’ve used the old system in the last several months, the load times feel like they take forever after getting used to the speed of the Series X.

GoVegan

It sounds stupid, but anything that gets you to spend less time in a game, waiting in an elevator, seems like a gamechanger.

Dan

My half-serious prediction is that the extra SSD slot never gets enabled.

(but we all know that wouldn't happen...)

Music

They still haven't enabled moving PS5 games to external drives for storage either right?

dsa_shea

I'm not sure this will happen. Have they talked about it? Also, they need to start moving on getting the SSD expansion up and running.

The Questyen

Getting back to the actual topic: I wouldn't call it a game changer just a great feature to have. Switching between Switch games with 45 second load times and PS5 games where the load times are around 5 seconds adds up.