@fluggy That's the worst kind of ethic. Increasing data size just so it'll look good in the locker room is not progress.

Do we forget that every bit of data is a piece of everlasting waste and pollution? That is, there are entire buildings housing perpetually humming mega-servers with climate control aggressively cooling them 24/7. This is a proliferating dilemma our younger generations need to be far more mindful of in this digital information age. Especially us gamers whose hobby is increasingly establishing itself as a significant and unsustainable contributor to global warming, ozone depletion, and the sort.

With the ever-expanding power demand of each new generation of consoles, the push towards the digital, and the prevalence of online gaming, this little hobby has become a worry-some, needless drain on our world's resources. We mustn't ever forget that this virtual recreation is purely entertainment (enjoyed by a disproportionate few) while these resources are essential (to all).

With all that said, we should commend companies who strive to keep our hobby ecologically and economically manageable (while still maximizing gameplay and appeal). To me, it's pretty audacious to foist a massive, indulgent piece of digital escapism on the world in hopes of profit and/or fame.

EDIT: Further, it should be noted that the growing data sizes are contributing to a squeeze on the industry. It could be argued, there is a point in development where the worth of data and employees intersect. That is, the "content" evolves into such a beast that the cost to maintain it creates complex decisions weighing that data against the very people who constructed, or are tasked with governing it.