Is there a need for game data utility if you created an iso for the game?

[HTBandicoot]

I just got HEN on my system recently and I'm trying to squeeze out every last gig of memory I have left. I don't see the purpose of keeping the data utility when I believe I can still play them just fine. Is that true, or do I still need these for performance reasons?

 

[MasterEn]

it seems that game data utility is the data that games install to decrease load times.
here's a gamefaqs post about it.

What exactly does deleting game data utility do? - PlayStation 3

For PlayStation 3 on the PlayStation 3, a GameFAQs message board topic titled "What exactly does deleting game data utility do?".

gamefaqs.gamespot.com

edit: i meant decrease, not increase load times.

 

[HTBandicoot]

it seems that game data utility is the data that games install to increase load times.
here's a gamefaqs post about it.

What exactly does deleting game data utility do? - PlayStation 3

For PlayStation 3 on the PlayStation 3, a GameFAQs message board topic titled "What exactly does deleting game data utility do?".

gamefaqs.gamespot.com

Thanks for your help! I may not be able to do very much extra stuff on the system like I would have liked lol. I might have enough if I'm lucky to get all the isos created from my physical games, and that will be cutting it close haha.

 

[nobitakun]

You will need the game data utility as long as you use ISO's, because those are like discs. If you just want to have the game installed in your HDD you will need to use PKG files.

I suggest you use something like pkgi app in PS3 to download the packed games directly to the console and install them. It's very convenient and even if you can't find a game you can add lists from other sites.

It's been years since I don't use it, but it was pretty much easy to use.

 

[MasterEn]

Thanks for your help! I may not be able to do very much extra stuff on the system like I would have liked lol. I might have enough if I'm lucky to get all the isos created from my physical games, and that will be cutting it close haha.

you're welcome. the ps3 is a rather complicated system. it's one of the few systems that hasn't been fully emulated yet.
there's still plenty of stuff for the community to explore and check out so we can one day get the full potential out of the ps3.
don't forget that you can play games off of flash drives and hard drives; there will be a bit of a longer load time, but that can help save some space on your ps3 for the games that you like to play the most.

 

[HTBandicoot]

You will need the game data utility as long as you use ISO's, because those are like discs. If you just want to have the game installed in your HDD you will need to use PKG files.

I suggest you use something like pkgi app in PS3 to download the packed games directly to the console and install them. It's very convenient and even if you can't find a game you can add lists from other sites.

It's been years since I don't use it, but it was pretty much easy to use.

Thanks. I just installed PKGi recently. My hard drive is too small though, so I don't know if I can do very much with it. I wanted to create ISOs of my physical games because the blue ray reader struggles from time to time. So this is a nice solution. However, I won't have room for anything more haha.

 

[nobitakun]

Thanks. I just installed PKGi recently. My hard drive is too small though, so I don't know if I can do very much with it. I wanted to create ISOs of my physical games because the blue ray reader struggles from time to time. So this is a nice solution. However, I won't have room for anything more haha.

Ahh, because you went with the HEN solution I thought you were just keeping your discs safe, then downloading the games through internet. So I thought downloading PKG instead of ISO in this case would be the solution.

How big is your disk? isn't there any chance you can get at least 1TB HDD? I've seen them around internet second hand for 10-15€. Of course, the ideal scenary would be to get an SSD, but 1TB SSD even second hand can cost around 30-40€, if you're very tight on budget and don't mind HDD slowness, then size would be the priority.

 

[HTBandicoot]

Ahh, because you went with the HEN solution I thought you were just keeping your discs safe, then downloading the games through internet. So I thought downloading PKG instead of ISO in this case would be the solution.

How big is your disk? isn't there any chance you can get at least 1TB HDD? I've seen them around internet second hand for 10-15€. Of course, the ideal scenary would be to get an SSD, but 1TB SSD even second hand can cost around 30-40€, if you're very tight on budget and don't mind HDD slowness, then size would be the priority.

If pkg files take up less space then maybe I’ll change to them over isos. It was just easier to do with multi man.

I don’t have it pulled up, but I think it is like 149 gb or so total.

That’s an external hard drive? Is it easy to play games from there? I thought I saw somewhere that you couldn’t save games more than 4 gb, so I didn’t know how you could use them that well.

Or I may just end up deleting some of the ISOs for now, and just leave the isos I’m gonna play often. And if I want to play another game more, then download an ISO for that one. It’s not ideal, but that would leave me freedom to play a little more with what’s available.

 

[MasterEn]

If pkg files take up less space then maybe I’ll change to them over isos. It was just easier to do with multi man.

I don’t have it pulled up, but I think it is like 149 gb or so total.

That’s an external hard drive? Is it easy to play games from there? I thought I saw somewhere that you couldn’t save games more than 4 gb, so I didn’t know how you could use them that well.

Or I may just end up deleting some of the ISOs for now, and just leave the isos I’m gonna play often. And if I want to play another game more, then download an ISO for that one. It’s not ideal, but that would leave me freedom to play a little more with what’s available.

pkg files are about the same size or slightly small than isos or Jb folders, but your ps3 needs to be activated to use pkg files. as long as you have made a ps3 account and you have downloaded something from the official psn store, you can use them to your hearts content.

the 4gb limit is for fat32 formatted systems. if, for example, you wanted to copy over soulcalibur 4 to a fat32 flash drive, you'll need multiman to prep the game before copying it. multiman will divide the game up into 4gb sized isos and then copy them to the flash drive. this isn't necessary with ntfs types of storage drives.

i think it's possible to swap the internal hard drive, but it's much easier to use external ones; especially since you can customize those to your liking. i use a 1tb hard drive to store the games and i copy over the game that i want to play.

 

[nobitakun]

PKG files need the license files, called RAP files. For every PKG file you find, there is one RAP file, so don't worry, just get the way they get installed. Once you install a PKG, you can completely delete it from the disk and only the installation data remains.

My suggestion is: Use an external HDD to store the PKG files to install and everything installed into the internal HDD. You will get way better performance from internal disk than external. You can swap the HDD anytime, but make sure you create a backup first or if you don't care about what's inside, swap the HDD, put your PS3 into recovery mode and let it do its thing to prepare the new disk. It's simple, and with the right tutorial you will get it in no time :)

 

[HTBandicoot]

@nobitakun @MasterEn if I bought a flash drive, could I also store games here. For example, the ISOs I took from my discs, could I move here instead of the internal drive. And then when I want to play them, copy them over?

I ask because a flash drive is more affordable for me at the moment.

 

[MasterEn]

@nobitakun @MasterEn if I bought a flash drive, could I also store games here. For example, the ISOs I took from my discs, could I move here instead of the internal drive. And then when I want to play them, copy them over?

I ask because a flash drive is more affordable for me at the moment.

yeah, a flash drive will work perfectly. the flash drive can hold isos, pkg and jb folders. just make sure to get one with some space; 64 gb or larger. you need double the space of the file size in order to copy it over. if you game is 5gb, you'll need 10gb to copy it over.

 

[HTBandicoot]

yeah, a flash drive will work perfectly. the flash drive can hold isos, pkg and jb folders. just make sure to get one with some space; 64 gb or larger. you need double the space of the file size in order to copy it over. if you game is 5gb, you'll need 10gb to copy it over.

Great, thanks! Yeah, there is one at 256 gb at a decent price that I might consider.

 

[MasterEn]

Great, thanks! Yeah, there is one at 256 gb at a decent price that I might consider.

that's a good find. definitely get 2 or 3 if you can. you could also use one for a nintendo wii or wii u to play wii/wii u isos on it.
you're welcome. :)

 

[HTBandicoot]

that's a good find. definitely get 2 or 3 if you can. you could also use one for a nintendo wii or wii u to play wii/wii u isos on it.
you're welcome. :)

Can you play those on a ps3 too?

 

[MasterEn]

Can you play those on a ps3 too?

no. not yet anyway.
you can soft mod a wii or wii u to also emulate older games from the psx/n64 era and back as well as play gcn, wii and wii ware games on a wii and all of that plus wii u games on a softmoded wii u. and there are mods and hacks available as well.
i think there is a ps3 version of retroarch, so you can play nes, snes, gb/gbc/gba, and some older systems on there as well. i only tried it out for a couple of minutes a few years ago so i don't remember off handedly on what all it does.
there's also a program that can convert ps2 games into pkg files so you can play ps2 games natively on the ps3. i think it works on psx games as well, but i haven't tried that out yet.

 

[HTBandicoot]

no. not yet anyway.
you can soft mod a wii or wii u to also emulate older games from the psx/n64 era and back as well as play gcn, wii and wii ware games on a wii and all of that plus wii u games on a softmoded wii u. and there are mods and hacks available as well.
i think there is a ps3 version of retroarch, so you can play nes, snes, gb/gbc/gba, and some older systems on there as well. i only tried it out for a couple of minutes a few years ago so i don't remember off handedly on what all it does.
there's also a program that can convert ps2 games into pkg files so you can play ps2 games natively on the ps3. i think it works on psx games as well, but i haven't tried that out yet.

Oh okay I see. Yeah, I got Retroarch installed. I mean, PKGi has enough games to last many lifetimes . But yeah, I know what you mean to play other systems. Too bad dolphin doesn’t work through the Retroarch emulator. I have a couple Wii games on dolphin for my MacBook.

Is it complicated to play a ps2 disc on HEN? I thought it would be simple but apparently they have to be converted to classics or something like that.

 

[MasterEn]

Oh okay I see. Yeah, I got Retroarch installed. I mean, PKGi has enough games to last many lifetimes . But yeah, I know what you mean to play other systems. Too bad dolphin doesn’t work through the Retroarch emulator. I have a couple Wii games on dolphin for my MacBook.

Is it complicated to play a ps2 disc on HEN? I thought it would be simple but apparently they have to be converted to classics or something like that.

yeah, ps2 classics. i couldn't remember what it was called. for actual discs, i don't know. my ps3 doesn't read those. the pkg versions, they seem to work. i tried dot hack infection on my ps3; a couple of graphical glitches, but it ran just good just like the psn store copy of harvest moon a wonderful life.
yeah, converting is quite necessary for games from different systems. each system. for all intents and purposes, has its own language that it communicates in. this is also why it takes a while to make emulators to use on computers and phones. the devs have to figure out how to get the games to "talk" to the new system. sometimes this is impossible. the first 2 banjo-kazooie games had to be rebuilt from the ground up for the xbox 360 because it could never really interact with the n64 game data correctly.

 

[nobitakun]

If you plan to buy a 256GB USB, it's ok for the PKG, but the problem here is that the ISO format is a format that emulates a disc, hence you should have it present + the installation.

Think it like this: using ISO you need 2 times the space of the game (more or less), using PKG you only need the space of the game.

And yeah, PS2 classics can be used to play PS2 games, but not PS2 discs. Converting a PS2 game to a PKG means you're adding the emulation layer to the game. On the other hand, you can insert PS1 discs directly and they will work. For more info, you have a compatibility list of the PS3 emulator for PS2 classics:

PS2 Classics Emulator Compatibility List - PS3 Developer wiki

Playstation Development Wiki - PS5, PS4, PS3, PS2, PS1, PSP, Vita Information

www.psdevwiki.com

Retroarch will give you some fun, but PS3 is a limited hardware and probably a low budget mini PC or second hand SSF cheap computer would give you much more power to do the task.

 

[HTBandicoot]

If you plan to buy a 256GB USB, it's ok for the PKG, but the problem here is that the ISO format is a format that emulates a disc, hence you should have it present + the installation.

Think it like this: using ISO you need 2 times the space of the game (more or less), using PKG you only need the space of the game.

And yeah, PS2 classics can be used to play PS2 games, but not PS2 discs. Converting a PS2 game to a PKG means you're adding the emulation layer to the game. On the other hand, you can insert PS1 discs directly and they will work. For more info, you have a compatibility list of the PS3 emulator for PS2 classics:

PS2 Classics Emulator Compatibility List - PS3 Developer wiki

Playstation Development Wiki - PS5, PS4, PS3, PS2, PS1, PSP, Vita Information

www.psdevwiki.com

Retroarch will give you some fun, but PS3 is a limited hardware and probably a low budget mini PC or second hand SSF cheap computer would give you much more power to do the task.

Thanks for the info!

Post automatically merged: May 25, 2025

If you plan to buy a 256GB USB, it's ok for the PKG, but the problem here is that the ISO format is a format that emulates a disc, hence you should have it present + the installation.

Think it like this: using ISO you need 2 times the space of the game (more or less), using PKG you only need the space of the game.

And yeah, PS2 classics can be used to play PS2 games, but not PS2 discs. Converting a PS2 game to a PKG means you're adding the emulation layer to the game. On the other hand, you can insert PS1 discs directly and they will work. For more info, you have a compatibility list of the PS3 emulator for PS2 classics:

PS2 Classics Emulator Compatibility List - PS3 Developer wiki

Playstation Development Wiki - PS5, PS4, PS3, PS2, PS1, PSP, Vita Information

www.psdevwiki.com

Retroarch will give you some fun, but PS3 is a limited hardware and probably a low budget mini PC or second hand SSF cheap computer would give you much more power to do the task.

The easiest way to extract my discs was by creating ISOs in multi man and then playing from there.

Is there an option in multiman to create a pkg file instead? If not, this doesn’t seem like a bad option. It’s much better than using the discs that always gave me troubles.

 

[nobitakun]

Thanks for the info!

Post automatically merged: May 25, 2025

The easiest way to extract my discs was by creating ISOs in multi man and then playing from there.

Is there an option in multiman to create a pkg file instead? If not, this doesn’t seem like a bad option. It’s much better than using the discs that always gave me troubles.

No no, what I meant is instead of putting the disc in the drive, search the game in internet and download its PKG. Install it and delete the PKG, as you don't need it. This way the game you own is not needed, although it is not needed anyways because you can't read a disc into a PKG directly.

So, in a nutshell: Keep your disc safe, do not use it. Write down the name of the game on internet, search the PKG, download it through your computer, put it in the USB together with the RAP file (they are usually together to download), install the PKG, place the RAP in the corresponding folder inside the PS3, run the game.

 

[HTBandicoot]

No no, what I meant is instead of putting the disc in the drive, search the game in internet and download its PKG. Install it and delete the PKG, as you don't need it. This way the game you own is not needed, although it is not needed anyways because you can't read a disc into a PKG directly.

So, in a nutshell: Keep your disc safe, do not use it. Write down the name of the game on internet, search the PKG, download it through your computer, put it in the USB together with the RAP file (they are usually together to download), install the PKG, place the RAP in the corresponding folder inside the PS3, run the game.

Technically, once I created the ISO..the disc isn’t needed either. At least that’s what I’ve found so far from trying it ou

No no, what I meant is instead of putting the disc in the drive, search the game in internet and download its PKG. Install it and delete the PKG, as you don't need it. This way the game you own is not needed, although it is not needed anyways because you can't read a disc into a PKG directly.

So, in a nutshell: Keep your disc safe, do not use it. Write down the name of the game on internet, search the PKG, download it through your computer, put it in the USB together with the RAP file (they are usually together to download), install the PKG, place the RAP in the corresponding folder inside the PS3, run the game.

Technically, just the ISOs itself have solved the problem I’ve been having. I’m able to launch each game from multiman without the discs. So I guess it’s a matter of preference too.

The difference I’m seeing is mainly the file size, right? And also PKG files don’t need data utility installed? So I guess less memory overall is a main reason for using PKG files.

 

[MasterEn]

Technically, once I created the ISO..the disc isn’t needed either. At least that’s what I’ve found so far from trying it ou

Technically, just the ISOs itself have solved the problem I’ve been having. I’m able to launch each game from multiman without the discs. So I guess it’s a matter of preference too.

The difference I’m seeing is mainly the file size, right? And also PKG files don’t need data utility installed? So I guess less memory overall is a main reason for using PKG files.

since pkg files are digital, i guess that it doesn't need to install things to the data utility section like a disc would. data installs are supposed to help reduce load times; since the system can read data from at least 2 different areas at the same time. if all of the data comes from the disc, the game's speed will decrease since everything is coming from one direction through the disc reader's laser.
dissidia final fantasy and mgs4 have a data install feature, [mgs4 required it] and after i did that for dff, the load times were super quick; less than 5 seconds or even less than that.
i think ps3s use a solid state drive, which are like flash drives in ultra instinct mode. they are insanely fast, so the pkgs may not need to make use of the data utility feature because of that.

 

[nobitakun]

mmm, I don't know if this is making a bigger confusion altogether. PKG files are the same as buying the game on the digital store. You don't use any disk, you download the PKG then the console installs it and then the source PKG file is deleted. All the game complete is installed in the HDD and no other data is present, so you can play with only the data of the game installed.

The ISO format is like a disc, you load it through whatever app you want, and then it installs. Some games install less data and others install a lot of data. But then you have the ISO, which is the complete game information and the installed data, and you need both for running the game.

Let's make it with an example:

You have a 10GB game in ISO format, and the same game in PKG is also 10GB. Both are the same.

1 - You copy the ISO in your HDD, and run it. The game starts installation, which is 5GB. The total space for running the game in ISO format is 15GB (10GB + 5GB). You can't delete either the ISO nor the installation in this case.

2 - You copy the PKG in your HDD and run it. The game starts installation, which is the complete game, 10GB. Then you can delete the PKG file, as you don't need it anymore. You copy the RAP file (a few kb's) to the corresponding folder, then you can run the game. The total space for running the game is 10GB.

ISO -> 15GB
PKG -> 10GB

I can't possibly explain it in an easier way...

 

[HTBandicoot]

mmm, I don't know if this is making a bigger confusion altogether. PKG files are the same as buying the game on the digital store. You don't use any disk, you download the PKG then the console installs it and then the source PKG file is deleted. All the game complete is installed in the HDD and no other data is present, so you can play with only the data of the game installed.

The ISO format is like a disc, you load it through whatever app you want, and then it installs. Some games install less data and others install a lot of data. But then you have the ISO, which is the complete game information and the installed data, and you need both for running the game.

Let's make it with an example:

You have a 10GB game in ISO format, and the same game in PKG is also 10GB. Both are the same.

1 - You copy the ISO in your HDD, and run it. The game starts installation, which is 5GB. The total space for running the game in ISO format is 15GB (10GB + 5GB). You can't delete either the ISO nor the installation in this case.

2 - You copy the PKG in your HDD and run it. The game starts installation, which is the complete game, 10GB. Then you can delete the PKG file, as you don't need it anymore. You copy the RAP file (a few kb's) to the corresponding folder, then you can run the game. The total space for running the game is 10GB.

ISO -> 15GB
PKG -> 10GB

I can't possibly explain it in an easier way...

Thanks for the explanation!