Are PSN versions of games any different at all from their blu-ray counterparts? I mean clearly most are not 25-50 gigs when you buy them on PSN because that's still way too much to download for a single console game. I guess what I'm asking is do the download versions use lower quality compression for sound, textures, and video? Or are they limiting the quality of the disc version for the sake of consistency between the purchasing avenues?
 
For games based on regular old DVD, which clocks in around 9 gigs, having parity would not be as much of an issue since that's not an absurd amount of data to download. I remember when Darksiders came out on PC and was like 30 gigs because it had the high quality cutscenes of the PS3 version, but then people complained about the download size so they changed it to the 360 versions of the cutscenes which turned it into a just over 9 gig download instead. As much as I prefer to download things instead of pop in discs, I think I would rather put up with it to have the higher quality assets... if the disc version does indeed have any.

@Zaxex: I don't know if this helps but when the PSN outbreak happened and we got our Playstation free games I downloaded the full gam InFamous and it was about 3GB and as I only had to remove 3 different games installed states (the things that games ask to install to increase load times etc... on the machine) which were each about 1000mg so together they were about 3GB. Mass Effect 3 is probably bigger but I would assume it would still be under 5GB.

I feel like there's 500 different kind of weapons you can get from pre-ordering through different stores.

I'm not even talking about being pissed since I won't get X weapon because a pre-ordered on Y store. It's just a mess, they are going overboard.

At least that's the impression I'm getting. Granted, I'm not following ME3 coverage way too much.

@MrKlorox said:

Are PSN versions of games any different at all from their blu-ray counterparts? I mean clearly most are not 25-50 gigs when you buy them on PSN because that's still way too much to download for a single console game. I guess what I'm asking is do the download versions use lower quality compression for sound, textures, and video? Or are they limiting the quality of the disc version for the sake of consistency between the purchasing avenues?

http://www.examiner.com/video-game-news-in-national/sony-reveals-size-for-mass-effect-2-psn-download

This says Mass Effect 2's download size was 12GB

And PS3's version of ME2 used ME3's engine and came with most of the story DLC.

Steam's Digital Deluxe edition was 15GB

I can't find any information on the size of Mass Effect 2 on disc though.

This sounds neat and all, but at the end of the day I rather have a physical copy.

@Shun_Akiyama: Sony has been known to update specific things on the store outside the usual timeframe.

Offering themes and stuff to compensate for the lack of a box and the like is the right way to go about this.

I lose my gaming room in August when m0nty Jr comes along. I would love for Sony and Microsoft to go full digital distribution. Give me a 2TB HDD in your new consoles and a full download service. The games I have here are just taking up way too much space. I even chose to sell everything more than twelve months old and still don't have space.

If I could get this on XBLA, I absolutely would. I STILL move a lot and the less clutter I have, the better.

I wish the xbox would let you do thing.

The WHOILE reason we have to punch in 20 codes and download gigs of data even with a disk is because of people like Gamestop or Game in the Uk.

I'm done with disks. and i'm fed up with the pre owned market destroyign the industry.

This actually tempts me to get the PS3 version of the game even though I don't even like my PS3, if only to support this kind of thing.

I hope this is the future. Walking into a Gamestop is like going to a car dealership. Makes me feel like a dirty idiot for buying games. I buy everything online or from my local supermarket.

@Dixavd said:

@Zaxex: I don't know if this helps but when the PSN outbreak happened and we got our Playstation free games I downloaded the full gam InFamous and it was about 3GB and as I only had to remove 3 different games installed states (the things that games ask to install to increase load times etc... on the machine) which were each about 1000mg so together they were about 3GB. Mass Effect 3 is probably bigger but I would assume it would still be under 5GB.

That's weird. I thought PS3 games would be much bigger, given the blu-ray capacity. That might explain why games are so similar between Xbox 360 and PS3, also why Microsoft haven't added a blu-ray drive yet; it might not be worth the cost yet. With large enough hard drives and a decent download speed this stuff could really catch on.

I coulda swore that said mass effect 3 for the vita psn

I really wish the 360 version was like this. I'd cancel my collectors version. just for it.

Still getting on disc, sorry. Don't trust digital enough, especially from the Evil Antichrist.

@Zaxex said:

@Dixavd said:

@Zaxex: I don't know if this helps but when the PSN outbreak happened and we got our Playstation free games I downloaded the full gam InFamous and it was about 3GB and as I only had to remove 3 different games installed states (the things that games ask to install to increase load times etc... on the machine) which were each about 1000mg so together they were about 3GB. Mass Effect 3 is probably bigger but I would assume it would still be under 5GB.

That's weird. I thought PS3 games would be much bigger, given the blu-ray capacity. That might explain why games are so similar between Xbox 360 and PS3, also why Microsoft haven't added a blu-ray drive yet; it might not be worth the cost yet. With large enough hard drives and a decent download speed this stuff could really catch on.

Well, multi-platform games will always be bottlenecked by the 360, as publishers want the least trouble between platforms possible. You see the true power - and media capacity - of the PS3 when dealing with exclusives like MGS4 or the Uncharted games.

Makes me want to buy it just to show that I would buy big digital games, but all my progress is on XBox.

If only my ISP didn't just recently enact a 250GB/month bandwidth limit, otherwise I would be happy to download all my console games.

@YukoAsho said:

@Zaxex said:

@Dixavd said:

@Zaxex: I don't know if this helps but when the PSN outbreak happened and we got our Playstation free games I downloaded the full gam InFamous and it was about 3GB and as I only had to remove 3 different games installed states (the things that games ask to install to increase load times etc... on the machine) which were each about 1000mg so together they were about 3GB. Mass Effect 3 is probably bigger but I would assume it would still be under 5GB.

That's weird. I thought PS3 games would be much bigger, given the blu-ray capacity. That might explain why games are so similar between Xbox 360 and PS3, also why Microsoft haven't added a blu-ray drive yet; it might not be worth the cost yet. With large enough hard drives and a decent download speed this stuff could really catch on.

Well, multi-platform games will always be bottlenecked by the 360, as publishers want the least trouble between platforms possible. You see the true power - and media capacity - of the PS3 when dealing with exclusives like MGS4 or the Uncharted games.

Infamous IS a Sony Exclusive though...it makes you wonder if making games that makes use of the full capacity of Blu Ray might not actually be a great idea since it would be hella expensive to make such a game and thus it would be too big of a gamble per se.

After seeing how Bioware/EA are butchering the game for DLC, skipping it for the time being. Not going to support bullshit business practices like ripping entire storylines out to charge me more for later. F that.

@Krakn3Dfx said:

After seeing how Bioware/EA are butchering the game for DLC, skipping it for the time being. Not going to support bullshit business practices like ripping entire storylines out to charge me more for later. F that.

Michael Gamble posted this not too long ago on the bioware forum.

As most of you know, yesterday there was a leak that revealed the upcoming DLC “ME3:From Ashes” on the

Xbox LIVE Marketplace. This leak took place before we were prepared to make an announcement about the details of that pack (slated for this Friday).

There has been a lot of discussion about the DLC offering but we wanted to clarify a few things...

- “From Ashes” includes the Prothean squad mate, an adventure on Eden Prime, a new weapon, and an alternate

appearance for every squad mate. Note that these alternate appearances are in addition to the ones already advertised in the CE.

- The Collectors Edition has been advertised from the beginning as containing a bonus character/mission, but we were not at liberty to provide the details. The Prothean is optional content that is certainly designed to appeal to long-time fans, which is why he is part of the CE offering (the version many fans would be likely to purchase). Mass Effect 3 is a complete – and a huge game - right out of the box.

- The content in “From Ashes” was developed by a separate team (after the core game was finished) and not completed until well after the main game went into certification.

- The Collectors Edition has been sold out in most places for some time now, and is becoming very hard to find (many players prefer not to purchase the digital version). As such, we wanted to make this content available so that SE buyers could also incorporate the Prothean into their game.

We’ll be releasing someimages and video about this pack in the coming days.

As always, we are extremely thankful for all of your support. We pulled out all of the stops to make Mass Effect 3 the best game ever, and we can't wait for you all to experience it.

Mike

http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/323/index/9403705

@Demon_Sandwich said:

I really wish the 360 version was like this. I'd cancel my collectors version. just for it.

Ditto, but I do want that sweet N7 Patch :)

@GaspoweR said:

@YukoAsho said:

@Zaxex said:

@Dixavd said:

@Zaxex: I don't know if this helps but when the PSN outbreak happened and we got our Playstation free games I downloaded the full gam InFamous and it was about 3GB and as I only had to remove 3 different games installed states (the things that games ask to install to increase load times etc... on the machine) which were each about 1000mg so together they were about 3GB. Mass Effect 3 is probably bigger but I would assume it would still be under 5GB.

That's weird. I thought PS3 games would be much bigger, given the blu-ray capacity. That might explain why games are so similar between Xbox 360 and PS3, also why Microsoft haven't added a blu-ray drive yet; it might not be worth the cost yet. With large enough hard drives and a decent download speed this stuff could really catch on.

Well, multi-platform games will always be bottlenecked by the 360, as publishers want the least trouble between platforms possible. You see the true power - and media capacity - of the PS3 when dealing with exclusives like MGS4 or the Uncharted games.

Infamous IS a Sony Exclusive though...it makes you wonder if making games that makes use of the full capacity of Blu Ray might not actually be a great idea since it would be hella expensive to make such a game and thus it would be too big of a gamble per se.

MGS4 was stated to have reached the 50GB limit on the Blu-ray

@Krakn3Dfx said:

After seeing how Bioware/EA are butchering the game for DLC, skipping it for the time being. Not going to support bullshit business practices like ripping entire storylines out to charge me more for later. F that.

Nothing is being ripped out. What are you assuming? The DLC character was MEANT to be a collectors edition exclusive, since its conception. I preordred the CE knowing I'd get a exclusive character and mission. Whatever stake he holds to the higher fiction is unknown.

@SethPhotopoulos said:

@GaspoweR said:

@YukoAsho said:

@Zaxex said:

@Dixavd said:

@Zaxex: I don't know if this helps but when the PSN outbreak happened and we got our Playstation free games I downloaded the full gam InFamous and it was about 3GB and as I only had to remove 3 different games installed states (the things that games ask to install to increase load times etc... on the machine) which were each about 1000mg so together they were about 3GB. Mass Effect 3 is probably bigger but I would assume it would still be under 5GB.

That's weird. I thought PS3 games would be much bigger, given the blu-ray capacity. That might explain why games are so similar between Xbox 360 and PS3, also why Microsoft haven't added a blu-ray drive yet; it might not be worth the cost yet. With large enough hard drives and a decent download speed this stuff could really catch on.

Well, multi-platform games will always be bottlenecked by the 360, as publishers want the least trouble between platforms possible. You see the true power - and media capacity - of the PS3 when dealing with exclusives like MGS4 or the Uncharted games.

Infamous IS a Sony Exclusive though...it makes you wonder if making games that makes use of the full capacity of Blu Ray might not actually be a great idea since it would be hella expensive to make such a game and thus it would be too big of a gamble per se.

MGS4 was stated to have reached the 50GB limit on the Blu-ray

...only because Kojima insisted on using uncompressed audio :S

@SethPhotopoulos said:

MGS4 was stated to have reached the 50GB limit on the Blu-ray

...only because Kojima insisted on using uncompressed audio :S

A big FUCK YOU to the guy that posted spoilers of the DLC. Should have known better than to read comments on a ME3 topic.

@Vegetable_Side_Dish: That quote came from a Destruction article that added duplicates up for some reason. Written to grab headlines.

@isles: I totally agree. Based on who From Ashes-character is, NO Mass Effect fan is going to want to miss out on this part of the game. They may as well have cut out part of the main story arch.

Now, had this been DLC released two months after launch it would have been different.. I don't care about the usual "different team" tripe from the marketing mouth-piece; they planned from the start to nickel and dime their fans for something this fundamental to the story and lore. Basically, you get to buy the game, then fork over another $10 at launch if you want the whole game.

ME3 was already looking to be the most heavily monetized game in video game history; but they really hit it out of the park with this one.

I'm quite happy PS3 owners will get this day one, unlike ME2.

Mass Effect 2 came out on PSN the same day the PS3 version was released. It was the first full game on PSN to have a simultaneous release. The only new thing about ME3 is the fact that you can now preorder it and get per order bonuses.

@NHLmaniac said:

Mass Effect 2 came out on PSN the same day the PS3 version was released. It was the first full game on PSN to have a simultaneous release. The only new thing about ME3 is the fact that you can now preorder it and get per order bonuses.

True, but it came out a full year after the original PC and 360 launch. This is day and date with the other consoles, so I think that makes it a bigger deal.

How many gigs are we talking about here 20 maybe 30 gigs. I would imagine it's quite a lot. Not only is it gonna take ages to download it, it also takes up a lot of room. I think I just stick with the regular old boxcopy with this one.

Considering the time at which PSN updates on tuesdays lately, anyone who preorders can expect to be sitting around waiting until at least 8pm PST before they can download the game, and then have to enjoy shitty download speeds as everyone else who preordered starts their downloads too. 
 
I really love the idea, but its actually just a huge inconvenience. I was planning to preorder via PSN initially, but after waiting all night for the SSX demo to go live, I realized that I don't want to be sitting around all day waiting to download a 10-20gb game at 10pm, when I could have just bought it at the store earlier.
 
So, let us preorder AND preload the game, and unlock it earlier in the day. There's no reason you can't just let it go live at 12:01am Tuesday morning. Lack of advance downloading is the biggest bummer though.
 
Anyways, awesome that they're doing it, hope they can fine tune the experience going forwards. I'd love to be able to get some games digitally, especially ones I'll be playing a lot of multiplayer in. Less disk swapping when I wanna jump in!

Good. This is extremely uncharacteristic of EA to be moving forward like this, though, but of course I approve.

The lack of preloading really turned me off.

I remember buying ME2 on PSN.

Took over 12 hours to download and install if I remember correctly.

"...across the Mass Effect galaxy..." And to think that all those maps made me think t

My PS3 is where i do most of my console gaming due to liking the d-pad a little more but also because online gamimg is free. For the maybe 2 hours per week that i may play games online, the ps3 seems like a better deal....

...but i still have my origimal fem shep from ME1 on the X360, so thats where i will probably stay for this game as well.

Anybody know if PSN charges for preorders now, or at release date?

Please be available at midnight.

It will be.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/03/05/playstation-plus-in-march-early-journey-access-free-sly-cooper-street-fighter-and-more/

Look at the comments.

@Chango: Good. After I preordered I said "oh, shit, i'm going to have to wait till wednesday to play" I work at 5am so i'm always asleep before the store updates. This is great news!