The PlayStation 5 is available in stores now – well, depending on stock, of course – and it successfully takes gamers to the next level of experiences, based on what we’ve talked about in our review of the system. That said, it does have one minor drawback, and that’s storage.
While the PS5 does come with a speedy Solid State Drive that loads games up rather quickly, it only has a capacity of about 1TB. That may sound like quite a bit at first, but as the games reach storage levels of around 50GB or higher, it can fill up quick.
So how can you get around the storage problem when it comes to PlayStation 5 games? Well, there’s no easy answer at the moment, as the system doesn’t have a separate SSD that you can use for storage purposes. However, there is other stuff you can do. Here are some suggestions!
Delete And Re-download Games You Aren’t Using
It is nice to have an immediate library of games to choose from, so you can hop from one to another without missing a beat. However, with so many available to download, you might need to take the option of deleting games you aren’t using and re-downloading them later. This is especially true for titles like Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and NBA 2K21, which can easily take over 100GB in storage apiece. If you’re not playing those, you might want to move them aside in favor of other games like Sackboy and Spider-Man: Miles Morales, which are quite a bit less.
The only major downside to this is if you’re on a data download plan with your Internet provider that comes with a cap. If you can only download so much at a time, you may be facing a fee for doing too much in a month. That said, you may want to consider sticking with a few games that you know you’ll play over time, and then scooting on to the next only when you’re ready to move on. Data management can go a long way here, so take advantage of it.
External Hard Drive Does Serve A Purpose, Somewhat
If you’ve upgraded from PlayStation 4 to PlayStation 5 like several of us have, then you’re fully aware that about 99 percent of the previous system’s library can be played on the new system. For good measure, some of the games are even enhanced, like Ghost of Tsushima and God of War. So there’s more than enough reason to re-download and experience them again.
That said, it wouldn’t hurt to have an external hard drive handy. With this drive, you can download all your PS4 games to it and boot them up from there. And there’s a number of models available, including a spiffy 8TB one for around $200 that can take quite a few games and not let up. That’s the best option to go with, especially if you have a large digital library.
Ah, but there’s a catch. With the external hard drive, PS5 games won’t work. PS4 games will work just fine, but to enjoy PS5 titles, you need to have them on your internal SSD.
It’s not the end of the world tho, as a 1TB SSD drive and an 8TB external hard drive can go a long way to expanding your game library. Even a smaller model, like around 1TB to 2TB, can help things out immensely.
Do some shopping around and see what models best suit you. The WD Black is an excellent model for just under $200 USD; and Seagate has a spiffy 8TB model that sells for even less than that.
Wait It Out For SSD External Support
This might be the last option you’d consider taking with all the games that are coming out for PS5. However, if you really want an SSD-based expansion for the system akin to what the Xbox Series X offers with its memory card, then the option will come. You just have to wait for it.
In the Road To PS5 video that debuted earlier this year, Mark Cerny explained that expansion options based on Solid State Drives were in the works. However, they’re being scheduled for “a bit past” the launch period. That means we likely won’t see an update until, at the very least, sometime in 2021.
This is the best way to go, as you’ll be able to download several PS5 titles and pick up and play them in practically nano-seconds. For now, though, you’ll have to deal with the 1TB size. But as you can see above, there are options when it comes to getting the most out of your favorite titles.
