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Xbox 2 Storage Supplier Says No Hard Drive
Loadmaster writes "Dov Moran of M-Systems, who recently closed a deal with Microsoft to provide 'customized memory units' for the next Xbox, spills the beans. He says Xbox 2 will not have a hard drive in an interview with the Israeli website Globes Online. No details on how their memory solution will replace the HDD, though." Regardless, Moran seems pretty confident in the agreement with Microsoft, so it's likely that the Xbox 2's storage system is now in M-System's hands. S!: Also worth noting is a GameSpot story which has an Xbox spokesperson claiming: "Mr. Moran is aimlessly speculating... we've made no such announcements about future Xbox products and services."
I for one would love to see more solid-state parts used in these game consoles. The more moving parts a thing has, the more likely it is that those things will break. By removing them and replacing them with solid-state devices, it makes the failure rate of the these things due to hardware failure drop considerably.
But that's just the consumer's POV.
More to the heart of the matter, Microsoft would likely be doing this because of the inability of hackers to easily replace the contents of a DOC with their own personal OS image, be it Linux or NetBSD. The reprogrammable DOC is great in its ease of update, if you've got the programming hardware. Otherwise, you have to find a way using the existing OS to update the OS image. You can be sure that MS will make that close to impossible.
But then again, I've never really cared about Linux on the XBox. It always seemed like one of those Everest platforms: you do it because it's there.
I have been pwned because my
I wouldn't rule out MS putting in a re-writeable dvd drive.
I would. Large rewritable removable media is the last thing that MS wants. Built in DVD-R just screams for piracy. Besides, it's also a hassle to consumers that would have to switch discs frequently.
Look for extra game content to be stored online and distributed in a somewhat peer-to-peer model in the vein of BitTorrent. Be it a new multiplayer map or a single player campaign, the first user would download the content from the servers and the rest could get it from peers.
They [rewritable DVD drives] retail under 100 bucks these days, so if they struck a deal with some company it could be rather cost effective.
True. They may well be less than that in quantities but that doesn't automatically mean that they are cost effective. MS is finding the additional price for the built in hard disk drive in the current Xbox isn't cost effective and they probably get great deals on those.
Games didn't really use the HD much anyways.
From an end user standpoint, you're right. There are games that create obscenely large save games and a bit of downloadable content for others but aside from these (and custom soundtracks) the HDD doesn't seem to get much use.
The truth is that many games, mostly first and second party games, use it for virtual memory or for spooling data. A good chunk of the Xbox OS, such as the dashboard, is also on the drive. Granted the Xbox 2 will have much more than 64MB of RAM but developers will just have to deal with no HDD. Those that are programming for multiple platforms may not even notice.
An add-in hard disk drive could still be a viable option for games that absolutely need it but people will just have to plunk down more cash for it. Heck, people are already paying $200+ for Steel Battalion. Sony is banking on Final Fantasy XI to sell the PS2 HDD; MS could simply make it a requirement for Halo 3 if they want a maximum install base... and it's a bonus if it includes the ability to play old Xbox 1 games.