WD’s Khalid Wani discusses the significant impact of storage on gameplay, with 51% of gamers blaming slow loading for bad gameplay.

The gaming industry, both as a professional career and as a hobby, has grown strongly over the past decade. In the game industry, the popularity of content producers has grown considerably, and new AAA games have been born, which has turned previously fantastic concepts into concrete experiences. While these games continue to evolve technologically and expand, the demand for more powerful hardware has steadily increased, especially with the rise of competitive gaming.

When building a PC, gamers often get overwhelmed with components like graphics cards and chipsets, while neglecting other important components like physical storage. To clarify the importance of storage devices in gaming, Khalid Wani, Head of Sales, Western Digital India, in an exclusive interview with ReturnByte addressed various issues related to the expanding market of storage devices.

We ask him about the most important points to keep in mind when buying storage devices, how the company’s WD_BLACK portfolio is developing and whether the company is building platforms for the gamer community.

ReturnByte: How important are storage devices in online gaming? Please break it up.

Khalid: The gaming industry is undergoing a significant transformation, supported by visually stunning games with ever-increasing file sizes. AAA titles, known for their high fidelity, can reach sizes of over hundreds of gigabytes. In addition, constant updates and additions, such as improved plots and updated maps, add to the growing size of the games. Our survey “Insights into Next-Gen Indian PC Gamer” revealed that 51% of gamers attribute poor gameplay to slow loading times, while 39% and 36% cite screen loss and visual stuttering respectively. Slow storage, cited by 57% of respondents, has the most obvious impact on gameplay.

Recognizing gamers’ demands for customized solutions, our WD_BLACK range offers premium, purpose-built storage solutions designed to meet the evolving needs of the industry. Among these, the WD_BLACK SN850X NVMe SSD stands out, which utilizes NVMeTM technology and offers a read speed of up to 7,300 MB/s, which guarantees top-class gaming experiences with minimal loading times.

With a storage capacity of up to 4TB, this drive empowers gamers and offers important features such as the WD_BLACK Dashboard for monitoring drive health. Additionally, it includes advanced Game Mode 2.0 features (Windows only) such as predictive charging, cap balancing, and adaptive thermal management. Our WD_BLACK range includes a range of SSDs and HDDs specifically catering to the gaming community, regardless of platform, further reinforcing our commitment to improving gaming performance and satisfaction.

ReturnByte: What should players keep in mind when choosing storage devices?

Khalid: When choosing storage devices, players should prioritize three key considerations: speed, capacity and intelligence. Speed ensures smooth gaming by delivering data quickly to the processor and GPU. As games grow, with some exceeding 200GB, ample storage capacity becomes crucial, including efficient access to external libraries. Smart storage solutions resemble the fuel tank of a racing car, anticipate and adapt to game requirements.

The intelligent SSD optimizes performance and reliability and reflects the flexibility and precision of a high-performance racing car. Our WD_BLACK range embodies these principles, offering speed, capacity and intelligence fine-tuned to meet the needs of today’s gamers, ensuring a seamless experience and maximum enjoyment.

Our flagship product, the WD_BLACK SN850X NVMe SSD, is equipped with Game Mode 2.0 features (Windows only) such as predictive loading, cap balancing and adaptive thermal management.

ReturnByte: What’s new in the WD_BLACK portfolio and what type of players is it designed for?

Khalid: Our WD_BLACK range is specially designed to meet the needs of the rapidly growing gaming industry. We have a wide range of game storage solutions for the most popular gaming platforms, designed for professional and casual gamers and their unique needs and devices, and we continue to add innovative products to our award-winning WD_BLACK gaming portfolio to give gamers more options to enhance their gaming experience.

From game enthusiasts to professional players, we have storage solutions that meet the needs of every player. For example, our WD_BLACK SN850X NVMe SSD is designed for the gamer who wants to invest in a premium gaming machine. The WD_BLACK SN770 NVMe SSD with PCIe Gen4 interface and offers up to 5,150 MB/s read speed (1TB and 2TB models) is for the gamer who wants a powerful mid-level gaming device. Our WD_BLACK SN850P NVMe SSD is officially licensed for the PlayStation 5 console. With a storage capacity of up to 4 TB, players can store more titles with a worry-free installation.

Uutiset18: What are Western Digital’s initiatives to develop platforms to support the gamer community?

Khalid: At Western Digital, we work with various stakeholders in the ecosystem to create platforms that help promote professional gaming and eSports in India. Over the past few years, WD_BLACK has created several programs for players to participate in and showcase their skills and knowledge. One of them is the WD_BLACK Cup esports tournament to support the esports community. This flagship event provides a platform for gamers to showcase their expertise, compete and learn new techniques alongside well-known gaming influencers and esports players.

WD_BLACK Cup has become one of the biggest esports tournaments in India, with participation increasing every year. The fourth tournament featured top Indian players and offered substantial prizes, including a total prize pool of around 13 lakh rupees. As the participation of women in such events has increased, we have also introduced special tournaments for women called LUNA.

ReturnByte: What are Western Digital’s future plans for gaming devices and how will they adapt to consumer needs?

Khalid: In today’s market, consumers are looking for fast, compact storage devices with high capacity. Our WD_BLACK range is specially designed to meet the needs of the rapidly growing gaming ecosystem, be it PC, console or handheld gaming. Our WD_BLACK range includes products such as WD_BLACK SN770 NVMe SSD, WD_BLACK SN850X NVMe SSD, WD_BLACK SN850P NVMe SSD for PS5 consoles, WD_BLACK P40 Game Drive SSD and WD_BLACK P10 Game Drive to name a few. Our wide selection of game recording solutions is designed for every player on different devices.