Grand Theft Auto V – better as physical media?

Warnings have appeared not to install disc 2 of the Xbox 360 version of GTA V, leading to concerns that the PS3 download may not work as well.

Rockstar has advised against installing the second ‘play’ disc for GTA V, with warnings that this could decrease the performance and create more texture pop-in problems than if it wasn’t installed.

As described in our GTA V FAQ the Xbox 360 version (and likely the PlayStation 3 version as well) requires a mandatory 7.7GB install. This is handled automatically by the game and after it’s finished you don’t need the first ‘install’ disc any more.



However, as with all Xbox 360 games you do have the option of installing all the discs, whether the game wants you to or not. This is what Rockstar suggests you don’t do.


@mfw For optimal performance, we recommend not installing that disc. We will have more info on our Support Site at launch. — Rockstar Support (@RockstarSupport) September 16, 2013

They won’t say why exactly but Digital Foundry suggests that it ‘impacts the game’s ability to stream texture data, resulting in regular pop-in of in-game objects and textures.’

As noted in our GTA V review the game already has a small problem with pop-in – background objects appearing out of thin air relatively close to you, or low res textures being displayed until the last minute. However, it’s a minor issue and there are many other big name games that are much worse.

The Digital Foundry video below illustrates the difference installing and not installing makes but this creates a question: what about the downloadable PlayStation 3 version that has no option of a disc?

GTA V isn’t available on demand on the Xbox 360 but it is on the PlayStation 3, where fans have already been upset to find the pre-install was put back from Friday (although till Sunday rather than Monday in the end).

Could this mean that on top of this they actually end up with the inferior version? Nobody will be able to tell until tomorrow when the game is officially released.

Thoughts? Email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk or leave a comment below