It you about the license version of game?
At us in Russia NFS_MW the piracy (not license) version (2,5 $). MW it is started in general without DVD (uses daemon347 and nfsmw.mdf _ (700Mb))
Total occupies on a hard disk 4.43 Gb.
Working files of game borrow(occupy) 3.7 Gb., so she(it) can not be started at the size (C:\Program Files\Need For Speed - Most Wanted) equal 450 Mb!