Top Video Games of 2016 How Much Bandwidth Is Required to Play?
Living in the country for most people means a love affair with the outdoors which includes hunting, fishing, farming, hiking, photography and enjoying the open space filled with ponds, lakes, streams, forest and animal life. For entertainment, most rural dwellers wrap themselves into video streaming or playing the top video games.
Where cable and DSL are unavailable, rural users must resort to gaming on a mobile broadband, bonded broadband or satellite internet connection. Mobile broadband comes with internet connections limit – with monthly data caps, satellite internet comes in at a much higher latency which takes the fun out of playing MMOs, while bonded internet can become a very expensive solution. To avoid throttling or, worse, overage fees, gamers should be aware of approximately how much data their game of choice uses.
Crowd Sourced Statistics on Bandwidth Requirements
We crowd sourced statistics on bandwidth requirements from X Box Live, Play Station 4, and PC gaming. Users generated engagements forums to build a reference sheet for the 5 top video games of 2016: Dark Souls III, Ratchet & Clank, ReCore, Doom, and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.
Bandwidth Usage Results for Top Video Games of 2016:
1. Dark Souls III | Developer: FromSoftware | Publisher: Bandai Namco | Release date: March 24 | Gaming Console: PS4, XBox One, PC
Like the other Dark Souls games, the third Dark Souls uses bandwidth very efficiently. On multiple gaming boards, users reported the game using between 20 and 30 MB of data per hour [1, 2]. Since there are 1000 MB in 1 GB, a gamer could play over sixty hours of Dark Souls per month on a 2 GB mobile broadband plan. This number can also be used as a rough estimate for the other games on our list.
The Dark Souls III download is approximately 17.3 GB large, so actually downloading the game, like downloading most games, will strain connections with very limited bandwidth [3].
2. Ratchet & Clank (PS4) | Developer: Insomniac Games | Publisher: Sony | Release date: April 12 | Console: PS4
The Ratchet & Clank (PS4) download is approximately 24.5 GB large, so consider connecting to a fast, unlimited connection, like a friend’s cable or DSL internet, to download instead of using a limited bandwidth connection [4].
3. ReCore E3 | Developer: Armature Studio, Comcept | Publisher: Microsoft Studios | Release date: September 13 | Console: XBox One. On June 12, a source leaked the box art and official release date of this highly anticipated game. Information about the download size and data use of the game is not, however, yet available.
4. DOOM (2016) | Developer: id-Software | Publisher: Bethesda | Release date: May 13 | Console: XBox One, PS4, PC
The DOOM download is approximately 45 GB large, so actually downloading the game, like downloading most games, will strain limited bandwidth connections [5]. If you’re using satellite internet, consider starting the download when bandwidth usage is unregulated at night (if your provider offers this). On a slow connection, however, DOOM could take more than 12 hours to download [6].
5. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End| Developer: Naughty Dog | Publisher: Sony | Release date: April 26 | Console: PS4
The Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End download is approximately 50 GB large, so not small. The game also made headlines for a big, 5 GB patch that adds multiplayer support, bonus features, and “Encounter Select” [7].
You Can Track Data Use in Real Time
Because data use varies widely based on settings, conduct your own test using traffic monitoring software for an accurate estimate of hourly bandwidth use. There are plenty of freeware traffic monitoring applications, like the PRTG Network Monitor and the Netlimiter 4, available online to check your bandwidth usage playing the top video games of 2016.
