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Xbox 2 To Feature Removeable Hard Drive
More details are emerging on Microsoft's next console, set to release this fall. GamesIndustry.biz has word that the Xbox 2 will have a removable hard drive as part of its feature set. From the article: "It's been assumed for some time that this means that Xbox 2 will be sold in at least two basic configurations - with and without a mass storage unit - and today's report seems to indicate that it will be possible to upgrade between those models by adding the hard drive."
The PS2 hard drives did sell well until Sony discontinued it due to the CDloader software. It allowed people to load games permanently on their HD.
1.) You get super fast loading times
2.) you never have to put in a CD, just load from disk
3.) your playstation life span has expanded by many years since you no longer need to spin the CD.
4.) you can just rent any game and OWN it
5.) supposedly you can load some foreign/import games too
Except FFXI sucked. Hopefully the XBox 2 will have games that make the hard drive worthwhile. There are tons of features that can make a hard drive worth it:
1) Downloadable maps/levels
2) Downloadable new models
3) Downloadable new weapons/items
4) Updatable games - get new features
5) Custom music - upload your MP3s/WMAs and listen to them while gaming
6) Larger save games, allowing more user-created content
There's plenty that could be done with a hard drive. That Sony blew it and FFXI sucked ass is not a reason to write off a console hard drive. Sony basically released the US PS2 hard drive for six months before upgrading the console to a new version that can't use it. And if the thing didn't come with a game that no one in their right mind would want to play, making it $50 cheaper, people might have been willing to shell out for the upgrade. The US release of the PS2 hard drive is a perfect example of how not to release new accessories.
The only problem is that if the hard drive is optional, there's a chance no one will develop for it. But Microsoft should be capable of making it into a compelling addon, so I expect that they'll have much more success with a hard drive addon than Sony has had.
There's plenty a hard drive can do in a console. Sony just blew it with the US PS2 release. Apparently the Japanese release went much better.
My 1GB flash keychain reads/writes at ~10MB/sec. Certainly fast enough for caching and savegames.
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