After MeinMMO author Sven Galitzki recently had to frustratingly delete games on his PS5 just to install an update, expanding the fast SSD storage has become one of his biggest wishes regarding the PlayStation 5.
My current perspective on the PS5: The PlayStation 5 has been on the market for over half a year now, but it is still damn hard to get. Not all interested parties have managed to purchase Sony’s newest console yet. And Sony is still not keeping up with the demand.
But those who manage to get a PS5 can rejoice. Because the console offers an overall fantastic experience for gamers – whether with next-gen titles, older games with better quality and performance, or significantly faster loading times for PS4 games through the backward compatibility feature.
Aside from occasionally loud fans or coil whine, there are no major issues with Sony’s latest console. I myself am not even affected by that. My PS5 is rarely heard – and that only very minimally. But one thing annoys me greatly – and it is getting stronger.
Please don’t delete 2 games just to install an update
Sony, this is annoying: I don’t have a particularly large number of games on the SSD of my PS5:
- ESO
- Destiny 2
- The Division 2
- Call of Duty (only MP from Modern Warfare and Warzone)
- Ghost Recon Breakpoint
But even this limited selection regularly becomes an issue for me. All of these (maybe apart from Ghost Recon) are live games that are regularly supplied with fresh updates. Sometimes really big updates. And as soon as I have to download and install one of these updates, it almost always means: delete games from the SSD.
For example: In the last ESO update, it was only one game. For the new Season 4 update of Warzone, 2 games had to be temporarily removed from the drive. Once the patch is downloaded and installed, the deleted games can usually be put back.
The problem: The usable free space on the PS5 is really tight, considering how large some games like Call of Duty are nowadays. The PS5 has an ultra-fast internal SSD, but users effectively only have 667 GB of free space for games, apps, or media. And that fills up sometimes faster than you can blink.
For my taste, it is the biggest downside of an otherwise really good new console.
Additionally, other mysterious data make the already tight storage even tighter – sometimes with over 100 GB. This leaves even less space for PS5 games at times.
What about storage expansion? In short: Generally, an expansion of the fast internal storage of the PlayStation 5 is planned via a special slot for a PCIe 4.0 M.2 NVMe SSD, but currently, this is not possible –only through a later update. Sony has also been saying for a while that they want to publish a list of certified SSD models that are suitable for storage expansion for the PS5. Until then, Sony advises against buying SSDs for the PS5.
On Sony’s side, there is still complete silence on this topic – even though insiders claim it should have been ready by summer. But currently, the expansion is sadly still not in sight, and this is noteworthy more than half a year after the console’s launch. By the way, with the Xbox Series X, storage expansion has long been possible.
And yes, I know: One can also connect external hard drives or SSDs to the PS5 and also outsource PS5 games to them. And PS4 games can also be played from those external drives. But only on the internal PS5 SSD can PS5 titles be played, as they are designed for its high speed, and the significantly shorter loading times with other games can honestly only be noticed there. I want to keep everything on my PS5’s fast SSD – after all, the ultra-fast loading times are one of the reasons why I chose to get a PS5 in the first place.
My current biggest wish for the PS5: Unfortunately, I frequently face the issue of having to delete games, and therefore one of my biggest wishes for the PlayStation 5 is that an official storage expansion in the form of a similarly fast, compatible SSD finally comes to market. And I am not alone in this. Especially among fans of service games, you often hear them complain about this circumstance – as for instance in a popular Reddit thread about the last update for Call of Duty Warzone.
Having to constantly delete games just to load a new update – that is really annoying! And once in a while, I would like to enjoy a few more titles as well, which I can currently only do to a limited extent due to the tight storage.
What do you think about this topic? Do you also long for an expansion option for the fast storage of the PS5? Or do you get along well with the available storage? What is your biggest wish for the PlayStation 5 – aside from better availability? Let us and other readers of MeinMMO know in the comments.
By the way, if you are still on the hunt for a PS5 or an Xbox Series X – visit our live ticker: Buy PS5 in June 2021 – Keep an eye on these retailers from now on
