E3 2012

Sony was apparently considering a download-only successor to the PlayStation 3, but curbed the idea due to unstable nature of worldwide Internet connections. In an age where downloadable and streaming content makes up a sizeable amount of the average person’s entertainment collection, the move is inevitable, but not for Sony’s next console.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Sony ultimately went against the download-only route because large game files would take ages to download, whereas the disc format is still the most accessible form of distribution. That’s not even citing the huge data storage necessary for such a console, as most triple-A franchises would take up several gigabytes of hard drive space.

Sure, 320GB might seem like a lot, but when you’re using your console for games, movies, and TV shows in addition to any other apps you’re running, space gets tight pretty quickly. When Sony does eventually do the download-only and streaming method, you can expect that the hard drive capacity will have to double at the very least.

Source: Wall Street Journal