PS4 vs Xbox One: Which takes longer to install games?

Gaming blog Kotaku ran tests in which some Xbox One games took longer than 16 minutes

Killzone: Shadow Fall (above) is one of the launch titles available for the PS4.

Games on the Xbox One are reportedly taking several times longer to install than on their counterpart console, the PlayStation 4.

Gamers eager to play on Microsoft’s next-gen console are apparently having to wait longer than 16 minutes for some games to be sufficiently installed, whereas for PlayStation 4 owners, it’s taking less than a minute.

The claims are coming from the gaming blog Kotaku, who ran a series of comparisons between the two consoles.

Using normal consoles connected to a Wi-Fi delivering speeds of around 9 to 11Mbps, Kotaku timed how long it took from the disc being inserted to when the game was ready to play.

For each game tested, the PlayStation 4 clocked in at under a minute, whereas the Xbox One took considerably longer.

Kotaku noted that each time a new game was to be installed on the Xbox One, an update needed to be downloaded in order to begin the installation of the game itself. A similar update is required for the PlayStation 4, although this can be done in the background, or just whenever it is needed (i.e. for online play and so on).

Microsoft has attempted to remedy the lengthy installation times. On the Xbox support forum, an official support agent under the name of Mister Cerb offered advice: disconnect from the network, turn the console on and off again, then retry the installation without connecting to the network. Once done, gamers can reconnect and download any necessary updates.

This isn’t the first time Xbox gamers have encountered problems. There have been reports of faulty disc drives on some consoles, although Microsoft has taken steps to make up for this by offering free digital downloads to those affected.

As for the PlayStation4, which launches in the UK tomorrow (November 29), there’s been the so-called “blue light of death” to deal with.