Download a game on the Xbox 360 or the Wii and youâre good to go. You can play it. Download a game on the PS3 and you just might have to then tell the PS3 to install it.
You have to manually install any game that you have downloaded in the background. This is strange, sort of like the PS3 is getting back at you for being an efficient multi-tasker. By allowing background downloading, the PS3 is respecting your time and not forcing you to sit through a download. But by requiring you to find the bubble icon that represents the game you just downloaded, click it and install the game, itâs just finding a different way to hassle you. Why do I need to tell the PS3 I want to install the game? What else does this system think I want to do with the game I just downloaded??
This wouldnât be so annoying if installing a decent sized game on the PS3 didnât take a couple of minutesâand block the PS3 from doing anything else while the installation is happening. Ugh.
Sony seems to know this is an annoying requirement. It automates installation if youâre downloading the game regularly (not in the background). It installs games automatically if youâve set your PS3 to shut down via the shutdown option in the systemâs cross-media bar. (Thanks for that tip, Twitter friends!)
Why does this requirement exist? I never remember to ask Sony people, but I have a theory: you probably have to install background-downloaded games manually because the installation process takes over the PS3 when it starts. As annoying as the installation process is, it would be worse if it kicked in and took over the PS3 while the person operating the PS3 was using the system for something else. Hey, your background-download is done! Weâre installing the game now, so you just sit tight and donât mind the long interruption!
Six years in, this is one of the PS3âs just-deal-with-it flaws. Every system has its annoyances. Donât get me started on the 360âs miserably slow Game Library interface. PS3, your mandatory installations are your worst! (Oh, and I wish the machine would remember that I want the Y-axis inverted. My 360 does.)
This post was part of Anger Management, the label we give for all of our belly-aching and some of yours. Anger Management stories run on Friday evenings, mostly.
