id Software revealed yesterday that the PlayStation 3 version of Rage will require an 8GB install, a fact that has shocked many. They have now commented on what was clearly a bold move, and the comment may surprise you.
id Software’s Tim Willits expressed appreciation to Sony for letting their team explore disk space to maximize the Rage experience. He stated to Eurogamer:
Sony was great. Kudos to Sony for letting us do that. They don’t allow every game to do that. So definitely, hats off.
Willits then explained why the move was important:
What we were able to do is install all the textures to the highest level. What is nice about the PS3 platform is that it’s just one platform. Everyone has one Blu-ray drive, one hard drive, it’s all the same. Some of the other systems you have… should I install it on my 360? Should I not install it? So yes, it’s very nice.
The last time we saw such an enormous install was with Gran Turismo 5, which has surprisingly grown substantially since its release almost a year ago due to large content patches. This install may pose a problem for those with smaller hard drives on their PS3, but thankfully Sony hasn’t sold boxes with less than a 160GB in over two years. Even then, PS3 owners have the luxury of installing their own 2.5″ hard drive, which are now available with thousands of megabytes of space. The install might sound unreasonable, but id Software has a history of delivering quality experiences, and if this is what it takes to make the PS3 version the best it can be, then so be it.
