As the PS5 and Xbox Series X loom closer to launch, more details about the new generation consoles continue to appear in some form or another. With games being as big as they are and needing as much space as they do nowadays, storage is becoming an increasingly important factor in many players’ purchasing decisions. Both Sony and Microsoft have confirmed that the next-gen consoles will feature solid state drives, SSDs (as opposed to HDDs), to support storage needs and to facilitate a much faster gaming experience.

The storage capacity of these SSDs, and whether or not there are multiple SKUs of the consoles to purchase from, are still details that have not been divulged to the public. It’s entirely possible that both companies are still determining those very details and are simply not ready to announce anything, as Sony hasn’t even shown off the form of the PS5 yet. There are a lot of factors that Sony and Microsoft must consider in determining storage space for these consoles.

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Modern History of Console Storage

ps4 ui

During the lifetime of the PS3 and Xbox 360, the storage space featured for those consoles had some of the most flexible options that the industry had ever seen. Both consoles featured options for storage capacities that ranged from 20 GB to 500 GB and beyond (although neither console was able to support a full TB of data). The drastic increase in the available amount of data that console manufacturers permitted was a sign of the bloating of game install sizes that continues to this day.

The PS2 and Xbox had games that were generally around under 12 GB. The PS3 and Xbox 360’s games certainly increased in size but games in that generation didn’t fully install to the HDD (with the disc versions, as the PS4 and Xbox One do) as the storage drive was mainly used to offload files from the disc in order to make games run smoother.

The PS4 and Xbox One both featured a 500 GB HDD at launch which was an attempt at remedying the increase in game sizes and the new requirement that games fully install on the drive. But game sizes quickly caught up and have gotten out of hand as the average game install size nowadays is at least 30 GB. Blockbuster titles like Call of Duty Modern Warfare are at least 60 GB. One infamous offender of storage is Red Dead Redemption 2 which requires at least 100 GB or a fifth of the launch HDD size.

PS5 and Xbox Series X Storage Predictions

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With things going the way they are, fans should not hope to expect the next generation of consoles to launch with anything bigger than one TB. SSDs are still fairly expensive, so it’s highly unlikely for Sony or Microsoft to put in such a pricy unit in each console, especially if the consoles are to remain competitively priced, as this would only cost the companies more money.

2 TB wouldn’t be unprecedented, as both the PS4 and Xbox One had specific models that came with that much storage but, again, the consoles’ HDDs are significantly cheaper. Although a recent rumor claims that the PS5 will have 2 TB of storage, the selling price for SSDs still ranges in the few hundreds so that rumor can be marked as unlikely.

The change from HDD to SSD in the upcoming console generation is a significant one that indicates the two console makers are much more interested in load times for the PS5 and Xbox Series X. There are a few reasons for why this is a smartly placed priority. First off, there are easy solutions to the problem of hitting a storage limit. Users can just delete the games they’re no longer playing for more space or buy an external, or bigger internal, hard drive.

Second, users can’t upgrade load times in games the same way they can upgrade storage capacity, and SSDs are a proven way for data to be accessed quicker so it’s sort of a win-win situation. Although it isn’t ideal, one TB can still at least provide space for 10 copies of Red Dead Redemption 2.

The PS5 and Xbox Series X are scheduled to launch holiday 2020.

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