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Rockstar and Sony are likely to face calls for refunds after it was found that the digital download version of Grand Theft Auto V performs badly compared to its disc-based equivalent.
Remember, too, that while the digital version cost 49.99 and Blu-ray SKU could be had for just 34.99 from Amazon.
A video from Eurogamer below demonstrates the difference between the two releases. It also seems that older PS3 models suffer to an even greater extent.
In our testing we saw contrasts between the disc and digital PS3 releases, where the Blu-ray version has clear advantages that make it the preferred buy,” the site said.
The opening montage across Los Santos’ beaches reveals some glaring issues. Cutting rapidly across several areas, the digital version has ground textures popping in half a second late – plus delays in the drawing of shadow maps and objects like grass. For the disc release, these issues don’t manifest to nearly the same extent, with the odd delay in rendering a plant or chair being the worst we see during several retrials.
Within five minutes of freely coasting around Los Santos’ busier Downtown streets there are major instances of geometry bursting into view and textures taking too long to fully resolve. In one case we see an entire skyscraper fizzle in and out of sight, while buildings to either side struggle to update their textures. Our many hours of disc-based testing produced nothing like this.
For a game occupied with drawing in new objects and textures while hurtling through Los Santos’ more detailed districts, it’s clear that the extra bandwidth from allowing the game to stream from both disc and hard drive offers a clear improvement compared to the digital edition.
The site added that the performance of the PSN version is not as bad as that seen on Xbox 360 when users install both the ‘play’ and ‘install’ discs found in the box.
These are not the only issues surrounding GTA V’s digital release, either – many users are still unable to even install the game.
Here’s the comparison video:
