Ars analysis: We’re spending less time downloading games on average ~ USA Latest Games

Fig. 1: Dividing average PS4 game file sizes by average broadband speeds shows decreasing download times in recent years. [credit: Ars Technica ]

Anyone who downloads games regularly probably has a complaint about just how long it takes to download some of the bigger big-budget titles these days. Unless you want to buy your games on a physical disc or cartridge (or use a streaming gaming service), playing a new game these days means budgeting time for the raw files to get onto your system from centralized servers.

At a quick glance, it can feel like this problem is getting worse over time. Take a look at Red Dead Redemption 2 and Final Fantasy VII, for instance; two recent high-profile games that each push past a whopping 85GB for their PS4 downloads. The coming release of The Last of Us Part 2 continues the trend with marketing materials warning that players will need 100GB of hard drive space. That's a big change from 2013, when a 50GB PS4 game download was considered shockingly large.

Those examples notwithstanding, though, the data shows that US console gamers are generally spending less time than ever downloading popular console games. In fact, an analysis conducted by Ars confirms that average broadband download speeds in the United States have been increasing faster than average game sizes for years now.

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