🚀 go-pugleaf

In alt.games.video.xbox NEXT BOX <nex...@xbox2.net> wrote:

>  http://gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=6980
> Xbox 2 set to feature removable hard drive - reports

Ugh.  My experience with removable hard drives hasn't been very 
favorable.  Had a coworker fry her entire HD because she didn't push it 
into the case all the way.  100s of MB of data, went bzzt.  Gone.

> Microsoft's next-generation Xbox console is set to feature a removable hard
> drive bay, according to online reports today, which will allow users to
> upgrade their entry-level systems to include mass storage capabilities.

> Citing a "reliable source", technology news site Engadget revealed details
> of the removable hard drive, claiming that the unit attaches to the top of
> the console "in a really slick way, almost like the hood scoop on a muscle
> car."

Great, yet another non-flat top console from Microsoft. :p

So you'll be able to buy the non-HD version, then buy a better HD for it, 
making it better than the version that comes with a HD?  I'm confused...

> The report tallies with claims from developers working on the system, who
> have told GamesIndustry.biz in the past that Microsoft has disclosed that
> there will be a mass storage device, but that they should not rely on its
> presence for their games.

This makes no sense.  Either they can use it, or they can't.  If you have 
a "high  end" and a "low end" unit, eventually someone's going to want to 
make a game that will only be playable on the "high end" unit.  And if the 
only difference between the high end and low end is whether it comes with 
a small HD, they might as well just ship them all without HDs, and then 
make you buy XBox360/next/Xenon drives like Sony makes you buy memory 
cards.  They could even offer different sizes - Nintendo does this with 
their GameCube memory cards.  That way *everyone* will have one, but not 
everyone will feel the need to buy the biggest drive out there.  (of 
course, hackers are going to *love* this setup...)

> One vital question, however, is whether this hard drive will simply be a
> sealed memory unit (which may actually be a hard drive, or may be a very
> high capacity flash drive) or if it will sport a screen and buttons,
> allowing it to be used as a portable media player.

Flash drive wouldn't be very large, and wouldn't be used like the HD in 
the Xbox.  It'd essentially be a very large memory card.  Microsoft should 
have asked Sony and Sega about the whole "memory card that can play 
games/media" thing, as their attempts at such a thing was short lived, 
expensive, and not  very widely supported.  Besides, if the 
XboxXenonNext360 comes with flash drive, how will I get any media onto it 
in the first place?  I've already got a network share with music on it, so 
unless I can network my Xenonboxn3xt60 and transfer media directly to it, 
it seems sort of a waste to me.  Besides, don't most people already have 
portable MP3 players by now?  Not to mention the cost...  So it's a game 
console AND portable media player.  Yeah, that's going to cost $400-500...