Has any MMO game ever had a successful launch? Probably not in a long while as not every game will be perfect at launch. With DC Universe Online now available on the PS3, it’s no surprise that the game will face some serious issues that may be a hindrance to anyone who will be playing this game.
One of the known issues on the PS3 version is the long loading screen that will result in locking the console and resetting itself. This is one of the known issues for the PS3 gamers, as I experienced it myself. In addition to the long loading times, the game will also introduce a HUGE download installation that can eat up a lot of your time. Make sure you have at least 15GB of free space on your PS3 hard drive as that’s the amount you will need to install this game.
What’s the point of the Blu-Ray disc if we have to download the data off from the server? Why can’t they just put all the basic files on the Blu-ray and download a partial patch from the server? Well let’s just hope that SOE will eventually fix this as we would like to get past the loading screen at least once.
DC Universe Online is now availableexclusively on the PS3 and PC. Look forward for our review in several days.
[UPDATE 1/12 8:34AM PST As less gamers are currently trying to collect the data from SOE, the server has become far more stable and plays very smoothly with minor infrequent hiccups. ]
bob
January 11, 2011 at 9:36 PMOk saying it is “unplayable” is an overstatement. A game occasionally freezes… that makes it annoying but not unplayable. What major mmo have you played that you didn’t need to install it? The game wouldn’t be able to load data from the blu ray fast enough
Flox
January 11, 2011 at 9:49 PMWith all due respect, only a moron with zero patience (and common sense) would attempt to jump into a MMO on launch day.
A bonehead move like this could be forgiven in 1999, but not today.
Mark Fajardo
January 11, 2011 at 10:07 PM@bob
what does unplayable mean? When it freezes, what do you call that? Isn’t it “unplayable?”
As for the install issues, there are differences between the “install” and the “download”. When you install, you are installing the game’s data directly from the disc and not downloading it from the server like what DC Universe Online is doing.
If we have to download the data off from the server, then what’s the point of manufacturing the game on Blu-Ray? Isn’t it the 25GB worth of data on Blu-Ray would be pointless if all it does on the PS3 is act as a “launcher” to download the game from the server?
Dustin
January 11, 2011 at 10:47 PMJust got the game, I have a 20 gig hard drive, and it won’t even come close to playing…
Time for a new ps3 :)
Steven D.
January 11, 2011 at 11:02 PMWell, who honestly would buy this for the PS3, XD.
Kyle
January 11, 2011 at 11:12 PMThe first download is extracted and installed from the disc, not the servers. It’s connected to the servers, of course, but the only thing that’s downloaded is the 2GB patch. It took about 40 mins for the first install, which was about 11GBs in total– while the 2GB patch took me almost two hours. That doesn’t balance out, especially since I did this twice– once for my console and then again on a friends console. Same amount for both to download. And I wouldn’t let install times deter me from playing this game.
It’s definitely playable, so that whole bullshit you were spouting earlier doesn’t hold up at all. I’ve been playing the beta for over a week and have only had it freeze on me two or three times out of the dozens and dozens of times I have booted the game up. And that’s not that bad considering it was in beta form at the time. You should give it more time before making such harsh statements. It’s only been a day since it was released. They’re undoubtably working on a fix.
Grant Gaines (大将)
January 11, 2011 at 11:34 PMCome on… Its Marks job to report the news. He even has an editor note! The content of the post is more informative than destroying this game… Now if he goes into this on the review, I might jump ship but seriously… Cut him some slack for trying to save some on the fence people a horrid experience. This one post could SINGLE HANDEDLY save hundreds of new players from having issues and assuming it auto fails.
Kyle
January 12, 2011 at 12:44 AMI might have been a little harsh on him, but I think his title is EXTREMELY misleading and could easily be misinterpreted. It’s nowhere near unplayable– honestly, I think he’s kind of an idiot for putting that in his header. It’s the same kind of yellow journalism that trash heaps like the National Enquirer use to lure in readers. And his facts aren’t all sound…
“Why can’t they just put all the basic files on the Blu-ray and download a partial patch from the server?”
That’s exactly what it does. The loader simply connects to the servers first, before installing the files from the disc, whereas the second download is the patch that comes straight from their servers.
“One of the known issues on the PS3 version is the long loading screen that will result in locking the console and resetting itself.”
While I’m sure this might have happened to some, it has not happen to me or the five other dudes from work I have grouped with. We have experienced a couple freezes, but none of which has frozen the PS3 itself… I have always been able to back out to the menu and re-launch the game with no problems. I’m not saying this isn’t a big problem, but from what I have experienced– it doesn’t seem to be effecting a whole lot of people… but I could be wrong? Has anyone else on here experienced it?
Steve
January 12, 2011 at 2:07 AMthis article is bull, i just finished playing it on my PS3 got to lvl 9 and everything too. So this article is a definite lie. Whoever reads this don’t believe a single word.
Johnny
January 12, 2011 at 2:31 AMI have to agree with Kyle right here. The title is VERY MISLEADING. There are so many words besides “unplayable” that you could have used. Unplayable means the game doesn’t work at all.
iconcur
January 12, 2011 at 5:28 AMAwesome comment Kyle, we don’t need an editor of a magazine killing a game that just came out because he has little or no patience plus he needs to get his facts straight before he prints his crappy article.
The game is amazing and since its only just launched in time you can expect to see further patches (JUST LIKE ANY PC GAME).
Greg
January 12, 2011 at 7:12 AMYeah I received the game yesterday, I expected some sort of download time. It was about 2 hours to download all data which wasnt terrible but theres nothing anybody can do about it. Once I was in I played non stop for about 3 hours, no freezes, very little lag, no crashes of any sort. Your clearly a WoW fanboy and dont want anybody jumping ship. You should edit this pile of shit article to say “I have not played this game past beta, I dont know shit about anything, and the I should seriously consider killing myself”
Filthy
January 12, 2011 at 8:19 AMi picked up the game on my lunch break went home started the install and returned to work. when i returned home after work game was installed and ran perfect for 6 straight hours. load times were not bad at all and this game rocks.
Al From The Poconos
January 12, 2011 at 9:08 AMSeriously, your headline is a nice attempt to grab the attention of people in search engines. The game is NOT unplayable. Secondly, its an MMO, how delusional do you have to be to think A: You’re not going to have to download a large patch on the first day? It has NOTHING to do with Blu-Ray. Every. Single. MMO in the past 10 years has had a launch day patch.
Oh well, you’re getting the attention you wanted. I agree with Kyle and Johnny.
Laura B.
January 12, 2011 at 9:33 AMNot too impressed with your writing or (pre) reviewing skills here Mark. It’s a shame that this article is the first one that pops up on Google when you type in “DC Universe Online review.” Two tips: 1) Don’t repeat certain words, phrases and ideas so much. For example, you use the word “launch” twice in the first two sentences. Also, not only do you repeat the word “known” in the first two sentences of the second paragraph, but you essentially say the same thing twice as well. (Before you lambast me for using the word twice twice, notice I said “certain” words.) 2) Far worse is your calling the game “unplayable” because you have to wait for an install. This is misleading and amateurish. Not to mention slightly libel in the attempt to fashion a catchy headline.
Adam
January 12, 2011 at 10:46 AMfar from it, i’ve been having a good experience so far with the ps3 edition of the game. everything said here, could have been said about the beta. this site needs to stop posting stupid shit before everyone else for hits. it’s in poor form. all it takes is one article like this to keep people from buying a game you clearly didn’t try outside of the beta.
Jason
January 12, 2011 at 11:00 AMI participated in the PS3 beta and fell in love with the game, despite the bugs.
I bought the game yesterday and while I was a bit dissapointed that it took well over an hour to download a 2 gig file (side: wtf! is up downloading on PS3? My PC gets download speeds close to 20 Mbps but my PS3 is soooooooo slooooooow).
Once I got over the frustration of slow download, I was off creating characters and saving the world.
I have only had two “issues” in the 6 hours I played yesterday, both times it was, essentialy, the same thing: “falling through” the floor of a building (there’s probabaly some technical term, but I don’t know it). Both times this happened, I warped to a rally point and that took care of it.
I will gladly pay $15 a month, as long as the developers live up to their end and fix bugs and keep new content coming out.
BTW: This is my firt MMORPG.
Matt
January 12, 2011 at 11:25 AMThis article sounds more like something that should be reserved as a twitter post, as opposed to a headlining article. SERIOUSLY?! AN MMO WITH ISSUES AT LAUNCH…MY HEAD IS GOING TO EXPLODE. Chill out. Such a large game will definitely have bugs to work out come launch. I was part of the beta and I feel that the game (while not perfect) is definitely worth checking out. The action-oriented combat is very refreshing in an mmo.
Matt
January 12, 2011 at 11:29 AMAnd to be honest, I agree with Laura B. this article seems to be very biased. If you haven’t played an MMO before, it’s ok. You can admit it.
Adam
January 12, 2011 at 12:40 PMwould also like to add that i really hope that people that read this article also read the comments.
Allan Muir
January 12, 2011 at 12:44 PMI have the game and in the middle of the first collector fight the game file got corrupted. I doubt I’m going to waste a couple more hours reinstalling the game.
empak
January 12, 2011 at 1:22 PMAlthough I agree with most of the comments said regarding the use of the author’s word “unplayable”, give him a break. He just made the mistake of thinking the bugs of the beta would carry over to the retail version of the game. The author was also kind enough to acknowledge this and strike out the word unplayable from the title.
joec
January 14, 2011 at 7:52 AMi just got this game and after the initial play i cant get past the loading screen. anyone have this?or a remedy?
Dom666
January 14, 2011 at 9:20 AMI’m closing in on 12h and a half of installation and it’s still not done i’m at 95% i’m about to go crazy especially when I read that it took you guys about 2h my shitty connexion is done for i’m changing supplier for god’s sake! I just hope that the game is worth the wait!!!!!
Chris666
January 15, 2011 at 4:15 AMIm downloading the 2go patch right now.Im at 25% right now for 20 mins.Not bad :) So if it’s constant it will take 1 hour .Nice nice nice.Cant wait to play this :P
Chris666
January 15, 2011 at 4:17 AMHummmm no sorry 1 hour 20 mins lol sorry
pao
January 15, 2011 at 5:20 AMit keeps on freezing on us after every five minutes. we’ve had to restart the ps3 countless times. sometimes we can play properly, most of the times we can’t (even if the servers are full or not). so unplayable… i would say it’s close to that.
daman
January 21, 2011 at 10:22 AMwell i waited paitently for 7 farken hours and it was 6 percent done :l
oliver
January 22, 2011 at 6:32 AMI am having the same freeze problems as some others. I can make a toon, watch the movie, all good. I start the game and can usually kill all the drones before it locks up, sometimes not even that far. I’m in Australia for what it’s worth, I’ve heard our downloads are slower than other places, but the 2 gig patch only took 1 hour 25 mins for me, so I’m not sure it’s my connection speed that’s really the issue here.
As a WOW player i can understand new-game issues, but as an introduction to MMOs and subscription gaming to many “noobs”, this could really have put a dampener on what could have been “the perfect game”. While I Myself will wait till the issue is resolved, I am not happy that i am paying money for a product that does not work, and most “noobs” i have talked to about the game are not going to continue playing if the issue persists.
I am somewhat disappointed in SONY however, while you can argue that new MMOs always have issues, I argue that MMOs are not new anymore and that is not a valid excuse. When WOW came out, it was 2004 (i’m pretty sure, correct if not) and there wasn’t a billion MMOs (graphical, not MUDs) around to learn from. As a prominent figure in the industry, representing one of the biggest comic franchises in the world, introducing the world to subscription, fast paced MMOs on the PlayStation, they would have wanted to make a good impression, so far, in my opinion, they have not.
I eagerly await the resolution of my issues, as from the sounds of it, the game frickin ROCKS!
shirty
February 25, 2011 at 1:51 AMI was not impressed with the 10 hours it took me for install and initial download. Have played the game for about 10 hours all up now which was good. Now a second download 2.2GB just when I wanna play the bloody thing. Now halfway through download after 2 hours, seriously not impressed. Why can’t the download happen after I played rather than right when I wanna play it. Computer says no.
ben
March 9, 2011 at 8:44 PMwhats up with the 244 mb download that keeps reseting itself?? cant get past 200 before it craps out and says the servers to crappy to handle it or it just restarts on its own and goes back to 244mb? anyone else having this problem?
Justin
April 10, 2011 at 6:27 PMThe game is UNPLAYABLE on the PS3 now, since update 2. Download 2gb, start the game up, MASSIVE LAG, PHANTOM STEPS, ALERTS AND VAULT FREEZE the game. Buddy might of been harsh on the game on release day,but he could have some real fun with it now. I quit playing. No more 15$ a month from me. They are pushing rushed content forward to justify 15$ a month. Its not working so well. I really liked playing this game too. But I dont want to pay 15$ a month to log on and find out the new monthy content made the game unplayable for me. And its not just me, there are threads and posts and in game talk about it. The phantom steps seem to be the big problem, not everyone is having alert troubles. But either way, even when they fix this, new content next month. New issues. BLAH. I wash my hands of you DC Universe.
donovin
July 26, 2011 at 7:43 PMafter a long installation for the game i find out that i come to another screen where it says i have to down load even mores stuff except now it goes so SLOW!!!! then i turned the game back on and it keeps freezing and not going up what do i do?
Chaz
February 18, 2012 at 2:53 PMI hope that you are all doing better with this issue!
Solo
June 1, 2012 at 10:52 AMit wont let me play in a group or in a clan as soon as i join it kicks me off my internet connection
gaminsince 94
March 26, 2013 at 7:03 PMYou are all tools im far more of gamer the 90% of you an i have
Ps3 downloaded dc uni f2p an startd madd kickd for inactivity
An now it wont load it gets to bat man an wonder woman it then loads m goes black
Over it im brother in law is related to
Web
April 23, 2013 at 4:43 PMI stay at my university but I also go home every now and than and I want to know why is that everytime I move my ps3 to my house or dorm I have to wait 5 hours for it to reinstall
WaRdyy-666-
May 24, 2013 at 7:53 AMI DL DC Universe, i created a character etc. As soon as i went to start the game it brought me to a loading screen then said I was unable to play since i’m not connected to the psn server when I am -_- anyone else have the same problem?
Tannx
December 13, 2014 at 11:13 PMStill loading. I’m not sure I’m going to live long enough to play this game
Miguel
February 21, 2015 at 3:08 AMI just download dcuo from ps store for my ps3 . After I make my character it starts to load then says I need seo to sign in . Why doesn’t psn work instead and how do I get seo on the ps3 to play if that’s what I need to do .? Please help as I just download 20 fb for the game and dnt want it to be a waste of time or downloads cheers