In the wake of Rockstar’s forewarning concerning the Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto V, Digital Foundry has unearthed notable performance issues with the PlayStation Network version of the game, too. The matter is illustrated in a comparative video, which you can check out below, where the digital release has discernible pop-in issues and other texture problems due to the game’s streaming. The footage is captured from the opening segment of the game and contains no spoilers.
As you can see, the stuttering is similar to that reported on Xbox 360 copies of the game after both discs were installed. With both consoles struggling to stream the game straight from the respective internal hard drive, it appears Grand Theft Auto V runs much more smoothly at 30fps with both the disc and hard drive as its source. Digital Foundry even went so far as warning players against the digital copies of the game, claiming that it detracts from the gameplay experience.
“At this point in time we cannot recommend the digital download version of Grand Theft Auto 5, as it introduces streaming/pop-in issues that are simply not an issue in the retail disc version of the game. While the issue isn’t ever-present, this shot selection demonstrates some of the problems. In all cases, we find that the retail disc game offers the superior GTA5 experience.”
Given the granular detail on display within Grand Theft Auto V, Rockstar will be disappointed that the PlayStation’s digital version of the game has been hampered with problems. These include textures on buildings failing to load in time when driving at high speed and, at one point, an entire skyscraper visibly glitches as the player drives by. In terms of the Xbox 360 version of GTA V, DF recommended installing the ‘Play’ disc to a USB device to prevent any further performance issues.
Have you experienced any of these problems with the digital version of Grand Theft Auto V on PlayStation 3? If so, let us know in the comments below.
