Grand Theft Auto 5 publisher Rockstar Games has advised against installing the second disc of the game's Xbox 360 version, and a new video from Eurogamer's Digital Foundry demonstrates why.
The Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto 5 comes on two discs, although you'll never have to switch discs while playing the game. The first disc must be installed to the Xbox 360 hard drive or an external USB flash drive, and after that, you play off the second disc. However, Rockstar said earlier today that users shouldn't install the "play" disc because doing so can affect performance, and added that "more info" will be available on Rockstar's support page soon. We've reached out to the company for additional details, and will update this article with any information we receive.
Digital Foundry's video offers a side-by-side comparison of footage from the Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto 5, with the game running off the "play" disc on the left and off a hard drive installation of that disc on the right. The latter version exhibits pop-in problems for both objects and textures, although the issues tend to be less noticeable at regular speed than when the video is slowed to one-third its normal speed.
Users still have an option if they want to prevent the game from running off the "play" disc (and thus, reduce wear and tear on the Xbox 360's disc drive): According to Digital Foundry, the game takes no performance hit if the "play" disc is installed to external flash memory while the mandatory installation goes to the hard drive.
Grand Theft Auto 5 will be released tomorrow on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Check out our full review, with video, here.
[Thanks, jzga!]
