NXE highlights problem with MS's little 360 hard drives

[Zeus]

Aussie website Gameplayer indicates that the New Xbox Experience highlights the major problem with the small sized Xbox 360 hard drives. Essentially, installing a few games on the hard drive will be just too much for most Xbox 360 owners, and it will be virtually impossible to throw in some movies or DLC.


Filthy greenbacks aside, let’s get back to the topic of available space. The Xbox 360’s attach rate last Christmas was 7 games (up from the previous year’s 5.3). Therefore, if a 20 GB owning punter is planning on installing seven of the latest Christmas releases they’re in trouble (for example: Gears 2 (6.7 GB), Fable II (6.8 GB), Dead Space (6.6 GB), Fallout 3 (5.9 GB), Call of Duty: World at War (6.5 GB), Midnight Club: LA (6.0 GB), and Fifa 09 (6.0 GB). That list comes to an utterly McStupid 44.5 GB - and it'll essential overload most people’s HDDs. Especially when you factor in that the average Xbox 360 is already crammed with music, videos, demos, and every XBLA trial game know to man, from ‘Arkadian Warriors’ to ‘Zuma’.

God forbid you want to download some movies, or any DLC.

Now some people may argue, "why would you have seven games installed at one time anyway? Who plays seven games all at once?". Plenty of people, smartarse, plenty of people. Jumping between different parties/multiplayer games is the culture that MS is desperately trying to sponsor - especially in the face of Sony’s impending Home. As you can no doubt see, this ‘overly expensive, under regulation size’ HDD problem will quickly become a significant problem for the big M in the battle ahead. What can they do to fix the problem? We’ll be watching with keen interest...


News Source: <A href="http://www.gameplayer.com.au/gp_documents/081127Harddrives.aspx?Page=3" target="_blank">GamePlayer</a>

[skweezer]

no one said you have to install to the hdd.

[iLLNESS]

as i recall, the 20gb was the launch size. the fact that its held up this long is amazing. sonys gone through how many different hard drive sizes already.. 20gig, 40gig, 60gig, 80gig, and now 160gig.. can you buy the 20gig ps3s anymore? **** no.. 60 gig? **** no. soon enough 80gig will probablybe phased out as well..

and it aint like this wasnt noted ahead of time the 20gig will be too small for some of the features. m$ fucked up with the 20gig, or the inability to upgrade (easily).. but whatever deal with it. go out and spend $60 on a 120gb hdd, flash the bin and away you go.

[Social-Zero]

What MS is gonna do about it? They don't have to do anything, bigger harddrives are available so this article is complete bullshit!

[pezjono]

No one is forcing you to install to the hard drive. It is a completely optional feature. Not to mention the 360 has the most easy to use upgrade option for hard drives.

Instead of wasting peoples time b!tching about how your hard drive is too small, how about you just go out and buy a bigger one? Many users will still feel that the 20GB is more than enough, some others have nothing better to do than complain.

[tech3475]

I have a 20GB. I plan on never upgrading because I wont spend £100 (or 2 games and 2100 XBL points) on a 120GB HDD.

The installs are optional but still, I wish MS would give us a cheap upgrade option since having to redownload stuff (e.g. expansions/XBLA/demos) is annoying and I like the install simply because I like having less noise when play gears 2.

I wish MS would let us use own own HDDs like on the PS3 if possible- but they probably make too much money.

[Hootermancs]

I've got a 20 gig drive, and I'll be sticking with it. I don't buy anything on Live, and any media (pics, movies, music) that I want to watch on it I stream over my network, so all I use it for is demos and saved games.

I really don't even care to install games to it. The time it saves seems to small to bother. And the only time I hear my 360 disc drive spinning is during silent load screens, during gameplay my surround sound drowns it out quite nicely.

[Convienient]

Read the article, you rage you lose.

[buddha]

[QUOTE=pezjono;1077902]Not to mention the 360 has the most easy to use upgrade option for hard drives.QUOTE]

Most easy way for M$ to rip the money out of you pocket with totally overpriced HDD´s you mean ?

[dwrecording]

I have a 20GB. I plan on never upgrading because I wont spend £100 (or 2 games and 2100 XBL points) on a 120GB HDD.

The installs are optional but still, I wish MS would give us a cheap upgrade option since having to redownload stuff (e.g. expansions/XBLA/demos) is annoying and I like the install simply because I like having less noise when play gears 2.

I wish MS would let us use own own HDDs like on the PS3 if possible- but they probably make too much money.

It come with a transfer cable you do not have to DL anything again. Also movies, profiles and game saves can just be put on a external usb drive no need to upgrade.

[Wanted_nz]

+1 here for a 20Gb not upgrading this article is bs etc etc...

[EliteStance]

No one is forcing you to install to the hard drive. It is a completely optional feature. Not to mention the 360 has the most easy to use upgrade option for hard drives.

Instead of wasting peoples time b!tching about how your hard drive is too small, how about you just go out and buy a bigger one? Many users will still feel that the 20GB is more than enough, some others have nothing better to do than complain.

Actually I'd argue the PS3 has the most easy to use upgrade option. 360 is proprietary and still limited to fairly small sizes. PS3 is standard laptop HDD so you can buy the size you prefer from broad selection of very inexpensive laptop HDDs.

[Hootermancs]

This clearly proves that the Xbox 360 console and it's hard drive are obsolete, deprecated and doomed :(

lol, yes, that's exactly what this clearly proves.

[d889]

theres no need to put anything on the drive in the first place, all movies and music can either be streamed super easily, or just popped onto a memory stick.

the marketplace is a total ripoff also so good luck getting me to spend money on anything in there.

personally i dont care if i can only put 1 game in the drive at a time, games are so expensive i usually am just playing 1 game a lot anyway.

and i wanna throw this out, the ps3 allows you to put any drive you want in, but honestly a majority of people arent even going to want or know how to do this (not everyone with a ps3 is computer savvy), the xbox's drives are designed to be literally popped out and put into another xbox in seconds (why? honestly i dont know, nor will i ever do this, but im just point it out that there IS a reason, partly (mostly) due to profits for ms, but also to make things easier for consumers.

[rupter13612]

This clearly proves that the Xbox 360 console and it's hard drive are obsolete, deprecated and doomed :(

Seriously, where do all you retards come from?

[chyottone]

Actually I'd argue the PS3 has the most easy to use upgrade option. 360 is proprietary and still limited to fairly small sizes. PS3 is standard laptop HDD so you can buy the size you prefer from broad selection of very inexpensive laptop HDDs.With a little cable cutting and a cheap external PSU I think I read somewhere that you can use a regular 3.5" SATA HDD on the PS3 as well.

The HDD swap on the 360 is fairly easy to do. People who got or can get their hands on the 20gb HDD can change it to 120Gb, which is more than enough for just about everything.

[lenselijer]

Just change your 20gb harddrive to 120gb, total cost: 50 euro :)

Western Digital Scorpio laptop harddisk works perfect and i installed all my favorite games, so no loadtimes or noise from the dvd drive anymore.

[kneehighspy]

This clearly proves that the Xbox 360 console and it's hard drive are obsolete, deprecated and doomed :(

apparently you missed the 'optional' hard drive installs (360), compared to the 'mandatory' hd installs (ps3).

hell i purchased the original 120gb ms drive, copied the hdd sector and purchased two 120gb bev drives and use my personal hdd sector for those, so if one drive is full, i'll swap one for one of the other two. pretty simple way around things.

[kneehighspy]

Seriously, where do all you retards come from?


unfortunately, there are still some vaginas around the world that still seem to spit out these types of offspring, kinda have to live with them.....

[Sepioth]

Just change your 20gb harddrive to 120gb, total cost: 50 euro :)

Western Digital Scorpio laptop harddisk works perfect and i installed all my favorite games, so no loadtimes or noise from the dvd drive anymore.

With a little cable cutting and a cheap external PSU I think I read somewhere that you can use a regular 3.5" SATA HDD on the PS3 as well.

The HDD swap on the 360 is fairly easy to do. People who got or can get their hands on the 20gb HDD can change it to 120Gb, which is more than enough for just about everything.


Too bad it's not as simple as buying a 20gb 360 HDD and replacing it with a 120gb standard HDD from a store.

First it requires you to OPEN the 20gb HDD case (Voiding the warranty)
Second you will need to buy a VERY specific laptop drive .. not any 120gb will do.
Third you will need to get a hold of an official 120gb HDD's security codes. You can get it off the net but this leads to the possibility of a ban.
Fourth using this on your 360 will also void the warrant on that as well.

So this is FAR FROM easy to do. Maybe to the computer literate it is easier but to average Joe I don't think so.

I would rather pay $135.00 USD and have peace of mind I won't get banned than spend $60-$75 for a laptop drive and go through all the steps to get it to work.

[kneehighspy]

Too bad it's not as simple as buying a 20gb 360 HDD and replacing it with a 120gb standard HDD from a store.

First it requires you to OPEN the 20gb HDD case (Voiding the warranty)
Second you will need to buy a VERY specific laptop drive .. not any 120gb will do.
Third you will need to get a hold of an official 120gb HDD's security codes. You can get it off the net but this leads to the possibility of a ban.
Fourth using this on your 360 will also void the warrant on that as well.

So this is FAR FROM easy to do. Maybe to the computer literate it is easier but to average Joe I don't think so.

I would rather pay $135.00 USD and have peace of mind I won't get banned than spend $60-$75 for a laptop drive and go through all the steps to get it to work.


you have a point, i do wish it was alot easier on the 360. hell i just paid $115 for a 500gb 2.5" drive that i'm now using in my laptop and i ordered another one for my ps3, you can't beat $115 for a 500gb laptop drive.

[chyottone]

Too bad it's not as simple as buying a 20gb 360 HDD and replacing it with a 120gb standard HDD from a store.

First it requires you to OPEN the 20gb HDD case (Voiding the warranty)
Second you will need to buy a VERY specific laptop drive .. not any 120gb will do.The WD drive is a fairly good laptop HDD, certainly better than what's in the 360 to begin with.Third you will need to get a hold of an official 120gb HDD's security codes. You can get it off the net but this leads to the possibility of a ban.No reported bans to this date. Again, if one person gets banned, then everyone using the same hddss would get banned. Only way you'll get banned is by telling Microsoft you're not using their drive. Even then it would be kinda dodgy banning everyone who has that 120Gb HDD. Imagine some dumbass sticking a modded 120Gb HDD to someone's Xbox and then it gets banned. Would be kinda drastic.Fourth using this on your 360 will also void the warrant on that as well.The Microsoft's HDD only has 1 year warranty, so who gives a damn? btw. Why did you list voiding the warranty twice? :)So this is FAR FROM easy to do.You're basing this on... absolutely nothing? It is easy to do, just follow the guide. Sure, you can mess it up, but not if you read the tutorials/guides and do as you're told.

EDIT: Oh, now I see what you meant by voiding the warranty on 4th. Too bad it doesn't apply at least in some parts of Europe. You're not altering the Xbox 360 itself, the Xbox 360 will have full warranty even if you mod your HDD. They can however ban you from using Xbox Live for breaking the ToS, but the warranty on the console itself will NOT be voided. There's just no way they can do that legally. :D

[Captain N1]

M$ should allow you to toss any 2.5'' HDD you want just like the ps3 does.

a xbox360 with a 320 gig drive would be nice.

[KainXS]

M$ should allow you to toss any 2.5'' HDD you want just like the ps3 does.

a xbox360 with a 320 gig drive would be nice.

USE HDD HACKER AND PROBLEM SOLVED

i got an 120gb hdd for 50 bucks using that

[kilodelta]

whats next, maxconsole?

headline: MICRO$OFT CHARES XBL GOLD FOR NETFLOX ?


seriously, quit with the flamewar-baiting articles. :mad:


(all spelling errors included in this post are purely intentional)

[loliix]

It would be ludicrous to call the XBOX360 obsolete because of this.

But you will have to agree that this really shows how Microsoft policies for blocking generic self-upgradeable hard drives is obsolete -- and hurting to the whole "New Xbox Experience".

We know there are (easy) ways to hack the system and get a generic WD laptop hard drive working, but that doesn't overcome the fact that, by policy, you are risking a ban on XBL if you get caught doing so (doesn't matter if the key is public or not, although chances of being caught rise exponentially with public keys) and that this method wont exactly be described in a flier to the vast majority of XBOX360 owners who want to fully enjoy their NXE without breaking the bank for a 120GB hard drive.

[beterweter]

It would be ludicrous to call the XBOX360 obsolete because of this.

But you will have to agree that this really shows how Microsoft policies for blocking generic self-upgradeable hard drives is obsolete -- and hurting to the whole "New Xbox Experience".

We know there are (easy) ways to hack the system and get a generic WD laptop hard drive working, but that doesn't overcome the fact that, by policy, you are risking a ban on XBL if you get caught doing so (doesn't matter if the key is public or not, although chances of being caught rise exponentially with public keys) and that this method wont exactly be described in a flier to the vast majority of XBOX360 owners who want to fully enjoy their NXE without breaking the bank for a 120GB hard drive.

the hdd is a removablepeice of hardware,wich can be put in every drive.
just because you made one doesnt mean you use it for illegal purpouses,your just usung a non licened product.
for them to ban your console,the console needs to be modded or they can't ban you.
maybe they can develop a way to ban the hdd,but it will be of no use cause you can do the process all over and use it again.

[GrYnder]

I have a 20gb hdd, and with all of my Arcade games and downloadable content (Namely Rock Band :|) I am down to 5-6gb. That's hardly enough for one game install. But I don't really care. It doesn't improve loading times DRASTICALLY, so it's really not my top priority to go and buy a new HDD for this feature. Eventually I'll want to, since space for things like demos, DLC, and arcade games is dwindling. But I knew that'd happen when I got my PRO console. If you bought your 20GB XBox really thinking 20gb was gonna last you through your consoles life... Pah. You are a fool.

If you REALLY need to shave off like 7 seconds from your loading times, BUY A BIGGER HDD. Don't sit around and complain about it. No one feels sorry for ya. Fuckin' whiners.

And anyway, that article clipping makes it seem as though they NEED to install games in order to play them. Or, as if installing them suddenly means that they don't need to swap game discs when they want to switch games. It's a small fucking difference for a large amount of HDD space.

[haki]

Seriously, where do all you retards come from?

he just some nerd with no life

[faceless]

Now some people may argue, "why would you have seven games installed at one time anyway? Who plays seven games all at once?". Plenty of people, smartarse, plenty of people. Jumping between different parties/multiplayer games is the culture that MS is desperately trying to sponsor - especially in the face of Sony’s impending Home. As you can no doubt see, this ‘overly expensive, under regulation size’ HDD problem will quickly become a significant problem for the big M in the battle ahead. What can they do to fix the problem? We’ll be watching with keen interest...


i don't understand their conclusion. how does installing games to the hard drive aid in jumping between different parties and/or multiplayer games?

is the author under the mistaken impression that installing the game means they won't have to insert the disk when jumping between different parties and/or multiplayer games?

[strcmp]

as i recall, the 20gb was the launch size. the fact that its held up this long is amazing. sonys gone through how many different hard drive sizes already.. 20gig, 40gig, 60gig, 80gig, and now 160gig.. can you buy the 20gig ps3s anymore? **** no.. 60 gig? **** no. soon enough 80gig will probablybe phased out as well..

and it aint like this wasnt noted ahead of time the 20gig will be too small for some of the features. m$ fucked up with the 20gig, or the inability to upgrade (easily).. but whatever deal with it. go out and spend $60 on a 120gb hdd, flash the bin and away you go.

Hehehe, PS3 FTW. You fail.

[DSnoob]

buy a 500GB unofficial drive for the price of a 120GB official one, and mod it to work on the xbawks, problem solved.

[d889]

sadly there is only one drive that works, a BEVS 120 gig.

no matter what though you are limited to 120, so even if you managed to stick a 500 gig or whatever, your stuck at 120.

honestly its not a big deal, everyone blows **** like this out of proportion on the internet, but the fact is you can all deal with it since nothing is mandatory.

you have to get up and change the disc anyway if you are in a party thats switching games so who the **** cares?

[zymologist]

m$ fucked up with the 20gig, or the inability to upgrade (easily)..
I think you mean cheaply. upgrading the 360 hdd is easier than even the ps3. you dont even need a screw driver. plug in the new one with the transfer cable to copy the data, pop off the old drive and plug in the new one. it could not be any easier.

the cost however, is bullshit. MS would earn a lot of karma (in my eyes at least) if they dropped the checking of the hdd's security sectors (allowing you to use any drive) and started selling cheap empty 360 hdd shells with transfer cables.

[Devil Dan]

I can instal one game at a time with my DLC. Not a big issue since the instal takes about ten minutes and all games can still be plaied from disc. I guess I'll upgrade once the DLC gets too much.

[Mikeyy]

i don't understand their conclusion. how does installing games to the hard drive aid in jumping between different parties and/or multiplayer games?

is the author under the mistaken impression that installing the game means they won't have to insert the disk when jumping between different parties and/or multiplayer games?

Why would'nt you wan't to install it to the HDD? the HDD is simply Faster then the DVD-ROM.

I don't have a 360, but I have read reviews, that installing GTA4 to the 360 HDD removes the popup issues. Infact, theres been multiple reports of possitive benefits from installing, Seems worth it to me, why are 360 owners so afraid of change? HDD installs is a Positive step forward for the 360.

You guys act like this is a nerf...

[loliix]

sadly there is only one drive that works, a BEVS 120 gig.Actually it's not just one particular drive but all the WD laptop hard drives that are SATA. (like you later admitted by stating the case of a capacity over 120GB)

[loliix]

the hdd is a removablepeice of hardware,wich can be put in every drive.
just because you made one doesnt mean you use it for illegal purpouses,your just usung a non licened product.
for them to ban your console,the console needs to be modded or they can't ban you.
maybe they can develop a way to ban the hdd,but it will be of no use cause you can do the process all over and use it again.I tend to agree with that view, that this is just an unofficial accessory with legit purposes, but do also remember their policy regarding unofficial accessories.

I can tell you this, it's rather clear Microsoft doesn't want us to be upgrading hard drives, otherwise you wouldn't have change the disc to a particular one with authentication key.
What concerns me most is that they already have show proofs in the past of "corporate stupidity", so until a proper ok is given from their side be prepared for *anything*.

[beterweter]

I tend to agree with that view, that this is just an unofficial accessory with legit purposes, but do also remember their policy regarding unofficial accessories.

I can tell you this, it's rather clear Microsoft doesn't want us to be upgrading hard drives, otherwise you wouldn't have change the disc to a particular one with authentication key.
What concerns me most is that they already have show proofs in the past of "corporate stupidity", so until a proper ok is given from their side be prepared for *anything*.

if they ban my console for that reason,i will seu them.(my legit console)
but i honestly think,they know they schouldnt do this.
there not that stupid.
modding your console gives them the right to ban,modding an addon,well if they ban you for that,then other people who you plug your hdd in can gat banned too...so its a little risky for them to wave the hammer on that one...

hahaha! fuckin xbots stuck with their overpriced piece of crap hdds. I put a 500gb drive in my ps3! 94% free space bitches!

see you next name...

[showstopper]

hahaha! fuckin xbots stuck with their overpriced piece of crap hdds. I put a 500gb drive in my ps3! 94% free space bitches!

Yeah cause you cant afford the games to install them to your PS3!!

[beterweter]

Yeah cause you cant afford the games to install them to your PS3!!

nice one:p

[Sepioth]

The WD drive is a fairly good laptop HDD, certainly better than what's in the 360 to begin with.

Where did I say anything about quality??

No reported bans to this date. Again, if one person gets banned, then everyone using the same hddss would get banned. Only way you'll get banned is by telling Microsoft you're not using their drive. Even then it would be kinda dodgy banning everyone who has that 120Gb HDD. Imagine some dumbass sticking a modded 120Gb HDD to someone's Xbox and then it gets banned. Would be kinda drastic.

That is why I said possibility. Chances are you never will. Look at all those HDD's on eBay. How many are authentic? How many have had drives replaced? So yeah the likely hood is fairly high you won't get banned but it is still a possibility non the less.

The Microsoft's HDD only has 1 year warranty, so who gives a damn?

True ... but it was another reason I could add :)

Why did you list voiding the warranty twice? You answered your own questions ...TY :D

You're basing this on... absolutely nothing? It is easy to do, just follow the guide. Sure, you can mess it up, but not if you read the tutorials/guides and do as you're told.

Easy for who ?? You?? Just by saying "You could mess it up" proves it is not easy. You might have the knowledge and the understanding that you can open the existing hardware ... replace it with an unauthorized product, HACK it to work ... etc ..etc. etc.

Sorry but that is not EASY. Easy is going to the store. Buying a new one. Sticking it on the system. That's easy.

EDIT: Oh, now I see what you meant by voiding the warranty on 4th. Too bad it doesn't apply at least in some parts of Europe. You're not altering the Xbox 360 itself, the Xbox 360 will have full warranty even if you mod your HDD. They can however ban you from using Xbox Live for breaking the ToS, but the warranty on the console itself will NOT be voided. There's just no way they can do that legally. :D

Not sure where you are from but in the US that can be legal. Using an unauthorized (aka Third Party) product can void your warranty. Third Party products do not go through the same strick standards that say an official product does. MS (or Sony, Nintendo or any other company) have not tested the product for compatibility.

[grapeape]

Why would'nt you wan't to install it to the HDD? the HDD is simply Faster then the DVD-ROM.

I don't have a 360, but I have read reviews, that installing GTA4 to the 360 HDD removes the popup issues. Infact, theres been multiple reports of possitive benefits from installing, Seems worth it to me, why are 360 owners so afraid of change? HDD installs is a Positive step forward for the 360.

You guys act like this is a nerf...

I guess im just lazy but since im going to have to change the disk anyway when I switch games I'd just as soon not install them. Even on the PS3 given the option I dont do it. The benefits just seem awfully small compared to the hassle. If I wanted to install stuff all the time I would still be gaming on my PC.

For those that have the time, yep its a nice option to have but at least im my case its a bit overrated.