Xbox One June update goes external

Remember when 500 GB was a lot of space for a hard drive? Well, even though the new consoles have them standard, the game sizes have grown so much that they are filling up faster than ever. Now Xbox has a solution for that, and other problems. Your turn, PlayStation.

According to Microsoft’s details on the update that will launch sometime in June, Xbox One owners will be getting the two most requested features: external storage support and real names. The Xbox One will support up to two external hard drives at once for app and game backups or transfer. Sounds ideal for those whose internet is too slow or capped for downloading those massive games – just get a backup from your friend and then transfer onto your own console. Plan made. Additionally, it will save you from needing to delete all your favorite games just to make space for the latest and greatest release.

Meanwhile, for those with tons of Gamertagged friends, it can be hard to keep track of who is who. Now, with real names, it will be easier to find or recognize your real life friends and go play games with them. Don’t worry, though, your privacy can still be secured:

Most importantly, we heard your feedback that to make this most useful you need full control. You’ll be able to share with all your friends, a subset of your choosing, friends of friends or none at all. The choice is yours. Also, your name doesn’t show up in games, and you can change your settings any time from your profile and when adding new friends.

At this rate, the Xbox One will be the best console it can be by the time it launches locally in September. As much as I’m still miffed about the local delay for the console, it’s nice to know that when it comes we can get a fully upgraded, Kinect-less version if that’s what we want. The console has certainly improved over the past six months, I suppose we should be grateful that the rest of the world is beta testing it for us.

Last Updated: May 22, 2014