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Xbox 360 Update Will Lock Out Unauthorized Storage
itwbennett writes "The other shoe has dropped on the upcoming preview program for the next Xbox 360 update and it's going to cost you. In a post on the Major Nelson blog, Xbox's Larry Hryb reveals that this next update will lock-out unauthorized storage devices. As blogger Peter Smith reminds us, 'the Xbox 360 comes in two (currently) SKUs, one with a hard drive, and one without. The drive-less Xbox 360 Arcade unit is cheap ($199) but to realistically use it, you'll need to buy a "Memory Unit" (basically a proprietary USB stick) or an Xbox hard drive.... A 512 MB Microsoft branded Memory Unit goes for $29.99 at BestBuy.com. A 2 GB third party Memory Unit from Datel goes for $39.99, and the Datel unit is expandable using microSD cards....If you bought the Datel and it's full of data, between now and the launch of the new update you're going to have to run out and buy 4 of the Microsoft units at $29.99 each, or more likely, pick up the $99.99 60GB Live Starter Pack for Xbox 360.'"
This vendor lock-in is annoying.
My PC games are better than my 360 games anyway.
I think I have finally been nudged out of the console market.
Yeah, that Xbox 360 hacking scene is _really_ jumping... Microsoft threw down the gauntlet and pretty much have had their way with the hackers. It can certainly be done, but it's hard enough that only the really hard-core (small, small minority) do it. Compare this to the original Xbox which had a pretty thriving hack community.
It is not anti-competitive at all. The Sony PS3 and Nintendo Wii platforms are free to approach the same issue in a different way and Microsoft can do nothing about it. Also, syousef, you could launch your own game platform company and open up you game console to 3rd party storage. If this topic is really something that consumers care about then they'll beat a path to your door.
yeah, that might easily be the case, if they were a monopoly.
hey, it's still 1000x better than PC compatibility issues.
Any standard handsfree headset, huh?
How many wireless headsets are there for the Xbox 360 that doesn't require a dongle on the console or the controller?
What? How many? Oh, just the one from Microsoft. Hey, atleast you can use it as a standard headsfree handset for your cellphone or other devices? No? I see...
As for ripping music to the PS3, quite a few people do this, since they can throw in a 500 gig HD (for a lot less than the 120 gig MS disk).
Having the option of storing it as MP3 is very useful then, since you can easily transfer it to portable players.