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The Xbox 360 is reportedly going to allow gamers to use USB sticks instead of memory units in the near future via an update. The change could help Microsoft make a "slim" edition Xbox 360.  (Source: Joystiq)
USB format won't offer true HDD alternative, though

Consoles have long used proprietary memory units of various flavors to store data such as gamer profiles or savesgames.  Gamers have had to stomach a mess of memory cards that change between every console version and every company.

With the latest generation of the console war Nintendo and Sony adopted a common PC standard (SD cards) as one of their storage formats of choice.  Microsoft on the other hand not only didn't support SD cards, but it lately has delivered updates that lock out third-party memory units.

However, Microsoft may finally be seeing the light when it comes to adopting mainstream console storage.  According to a Joystiq report multiple sources have confirmed "USB Mass Storage Device Support" will be coming to Microsoft's Xbox 360 this spring.  The support will come via a system update.

The good news is that the USB update should not only remove the necessity to buy Microsoft's overpriced storage units, but  it will also grant users access to higher storage capacities.  The highest capacity memory unit to date released from Microsoft has been a 512 MB unit.  The USB update reportedly will support up to 16.5 GB of space on a USB drive.  

You will have to specially format your USB drive so that the Xbox 360 can make use of it.  That formatting will drop a 512 MB sector onto the drive containing the system partition.  The remaining space -- which can be up to 16 GB if you have a big enough drive/USB stick -- can be used like a normal memory unit.

Microsoft will be offering both a clean overwrite, which will wipe any previous info on the USB drive, and a "Customize" option that will allow you to preserve info like music files currently living on the drive.

While the USB inclusion will certainly be welcome, don't expect it to entirely replace Microsoft's pricey hard drives.  As mentioned, only 16 GB is supported, and there's a limit of 2 USB storage devices (for a maximum of 32 GB).  This is more than the 20 GB hard drive that shipped with the original 2005 Xbox Pro, but nowhere near the current 120 GB capacity hard drive, making it an impractical HDD replacement option for many gamers.

What the move does do is allow Microsoft to cut the memory unit ports in future iterations of the Xbox 360.  Microsoft is reportedly considering doing precisely that when it looks to release a "slim" Xbox 360, similar to Sony's PS3 Slim.

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Half Gig "system partition??"
By lightfoot on 3/18/2010 4:33:53 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
That formatting will drop a 512 MB sector onto the drive containing the system partition.

WTF? Why is the system partition larger than the first party memory cards?? That's INSANE!




RE: Half Gig "system partition??"
By Smilin on 3/18/2010 4:55:47 PM , Rating: 3
typo?

It's probably 512 bytes as that's the standard sector size. Just in case though..

WTF OMFGBBQ BATSHIATCRAZY!!!!!111!!!!ONE!


RE: Half Gig "system partition??"
By lightfoot on 3/18/2010 5:04:56 PM , Rating: 2
Even 512 KB would be reasonable, but 512 MB? It must be installing Windows XP on the memory stick or something.

Also if it was proportional to the drive size that might make sense - 512 MB on a 16 Gig drive isn't bad, but 512MB on a 2 GB drive is huge.


RE: Half Gig "system partition??"
By AstroCreep on 3/18/2010 5:50:11 PM , Rating: 4
No, not a typo; just a poor choice of words.

quote:
That formatting will drop a 512 MB sector onto the drive containing the system partition .

He's not talking about "Sectors" like the allocation unit size on a hard disk. What he's saying is that there will be a 512MB portion of the USB disk set aside for exclusive-use by the XBOX 360. The rest of the space can be used for content.
As to why it needs that much space, I cannot say. I'd venture to believe that it is some form of DRM and/or encryption content.


RE: Half Gig "system partition??"
By Vagisil on 3/18/2010 10:13:46 PM , Rating: 3
Looks like this is to completely phase out the Arcade console, the one without the hard drive.

The system partition contains the NXE dashboard which is approximately 128mb in size, that space is needed on either a memory unit or the hard drive, Newer Xbox 360s with 256/512mb nand onboard can ignore that requirement. Additional features added to NXE also use the system partition.

The rest of that space is game content cache.


RE: Half Gig "system partition??"
By SPOOFE on 3/19/2010 4:56:04 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Looks like this is to completely phase out the Arcade console

Agreed, and it may be what convinces me to finally buy a 360. I've got several USB memory sticks lying around; and since I have no interest in DL'ing game demos, trailers, or TV shows or movies, it seems so obvious.


RE: Half Gig "system partition??"
By amanojaku on 3/18/2010 5:13:40 PM , Rating: 2
I know nothing of the Xbox, but it looks like the author mixed up a few terms. 512MB is not allocated to a SECTOR, it's a PARTITION , i.e. "system partition" made up of 512B sectors. The system partition contains a LOT of data. I don't know why you'd need a system partition on the drive since the console can boot without a drive. Here's what's supposed to be in the original Xbox system partition.

500 MB System Files (Drive C:)
FATX volume containing menu code, graphics, sound, DVD player, music import, ...

http://www.xbox-linux.org/wiki/Xbox_Hard_Disk_Part...


THis is almost an insult :-(
By BZDTemp on 3/18/2010 4:57:06 PM , Rating: 1
From the headline I though Microsoft would be approaching the openness found with Sony but it is very far from. The low GB limit is nothing but stupid.

Good thing I have a 360 and a PS3.




RE: THis is almost an insult :-(
By sxr7171 on 3/18/2010 5:40:15 PM , Rating: 2
Good thing there is hddhackr.


RE: THis is almost an insult :-(
By Iridium130m on 3/18/2010 5:47:35 PM , Rating: 2
of course they put a limit on the drives...not limiting it would cannibalize M$'s revenue stream of their high margin HDDs cause then I would just go out and hang a 2TB hdd off of a usb port and be done.


RE: THis is almost an insult :-(
By BZDTemp on 3/18/2010 7:35:02 PM , Rating: 2
Exactly. They have been doing their overpricing crap ever since the original XBOX with it's four non-standard shaped USB sockets on the front.

Many things can be said about Sony. For one I for sure do not like what they did with Lik-sang but Microsoft is a whole different league of greed and power abusing moves.


RE: THis is almost an insult :-(
By afkrotch on 3/18/2010 9:28:43 PM , Rating: 2
I didn't even use Lik-sang, so not missing much. Either way, not sure why you're blaming Sony in that case. It was simple. Stop selling PSPs, would still be open now.

Such was the case when Sony, MS, and Nintendo sued Lik-sang for their modchips. They stopped selling modchips and moved on.


By StevoLincolnite on 3/18/2010 10:49:06 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
of course they put a limit on the drives...not limiting it would cannibalize M$'s revenue stream of their high margin HDDs cause then I would just go out and hang a 2TB hdd off of a usb port and be done


I have a 160gb USB bus powered external HDD, which stores all my Music, Movies and Television shows.
Fire up a game, load up a folder full of music, and away I go, so in essence the only change that the update would bring, would be data storage from Xbox Live! And games.

In reality with the Arcade games getting larger and larger, and Games on Demand already taking a large chunk of data storage, this is probably a wise move on there behalf, heck I would own more Arcade and Games on Demand games if it was not for the simple fact that I was limited in storage space.


response to datel lawsuit?
By Iridium130m on 3/18/2010 4:36:41 PM , Rating: 2
May be a response or compromise to the Datel lawsuit over locking out third party cards. Kind of gives the Datel the finger since now you will have no use for their third part adapter and you can use a standard card now.




RE: response to datel lawsuit?
By ET on 3/19/2010 8:37:51 AM , Rating: 2
Good thought. I do think it's a response to the ridiculous situation in which people must buy high cost memory units with very little memory in them. Probably wasn't such a good market for Microsoft anyway.

Though my take on it is that Natal will require some disk space, and they want Arcade users to have that easily, because Natal is a lot more strategic product than memory units.

BTW it kills me that when given something, people will always complain. Me, I think it's a great addition to the Arcade version, giving it what it really needed, which is some storage. Sure, it's limited storage, but it's way way better than what Arcade owners had before.


So much for external hard drives
By Shining Arcanine on 3/18/2010 6:46:56 PM , Rating: 1
You will still need to buy Microsoft's hard drives because this will have a 16GB drive size limit. It seems that they intentionally are limiting the size of these drives so people will still have the incentive "bigger is better" to drive them to Microsoft's overpriced repackaged hard drives. :/




By Alexvrb on 3/18/2010 8:14:12 PM , Rating: 2
For anyone buying an Arcade model with no plans to buy a HDD, this is a blessing. Furthermore, one or two USB sticks will be sufficient for most users. If you're downloading tons of videos, demos, or installing games to the HDD, you're definitely going to want a HDD. For most everyone else, the USB sticks will work fine, and they're dirt cheap.

Huge improvement over the 512MB memory card.

Plus, down the road they can always open up to larger supported sizes.


By Lord 666 on 3/18/2010 5:02:57 PM , Rating: 2
Came out in November. Regardless, its nonsense that non-MS drives cannot be used with the Xbox.




so when is...
By Souka on 3/18/2010 5:20:04 PM , Rating: 2
So when is Apple going to file a lawsuit saying they invented USB storage on a consumer device? Or something similar?

:)




By jabber on 3/21/2010 8:39:52 AM , Rating: 2
I asked for a larger 360HDD for xmas to replace my full 20GB original.

When my Gf went to pay for the 60GB starter drive (thats the only one in the shops) the shop keeper actually said he was embarrassed to sell them and apologised for having to charge so much for so little(RRP).

As its the starter Arcade drive it doesnt come with the transfer cable so I had to write off for one of those. After a few weeks I read that you now have to pay a further £10 for one, I was about to pay for one, when my free one turned up. Phew!

MS really have screwed up the whole storage side with the 360. The next console needs to be fully user's choice like the PS3.




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