It seems that MS are changing it up a bit, some future XBox 360 games will now actually require a hard drive to be played. These games will be marked with “HDD Required” logo on the front cover.
With all the price cuts about to happen in the US and now finding out that future games will actually NEED a HDD to be played, it wouldn’t be all that surprising if Microsoft were to drop the Core SKU from their lineup since it doesn’t come with a HDD.
Source: xboxfamily.com
Last Updated: August 1, 2007
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EyeGod
August 1, 2007 at 23:03
Microsoft you BASTARDS!! FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU!
Sorry for the swearing Lazy, but jeez – the P$3 just makes so much more sense now… Ultimately M$ will force you to dish out $$$ till your upgraded 360 is the equivalent of a standard out-of-box P$3!!
And you know how they will do it? By slowly but surely phasing out games that DON’T require HDDs… So in two years time we’ll all be forced to buy a new HDD in order to play the latest and greatest time!!
FFS!
What’s next – an official M$ Blu-Ray add-on!?
Ognipode ZA
August 2, 2007 at 04:56
EyeGod I actually agree with the move from MS and I actually saw it coming. It was quite a kick in the nuts when Rockstar complained that GTA IV was giving them trouble because with the PS3 they knew that everyone has a HDD, so they are able to use available memory from the HDD to handle specific things.
I see your point of view, but I also realise that its actually a necessary step if they want impressive games to come out on their system.
ocelot
August 2, 2007 at 05:29
The guys that make PGR4 also complained that they can’t fit all the textures for night races on a single DVD so they had to leave it out. It is really odd that MS stuck with DVD9 on the 360.
Ruslan
August 2, 2007 at 07:01
Odd? To get more than a year’s head start on the PS3 is a clever competitor’s move. Whats wrong with spooling a game across multiple DVDs? Games have been doing that since the PS1.
You got a link for the PGR4 article btw? Thanks.
A HDD is quite a necessary purchase for anybody in the US or EU as they have wider multimedia options when it comes to download from XBL.
Honestly I dont see why Eyegod is bitter since his own X360 HAS A HDD anyhow. Huh?
LazySAGamer
August 2, 2007 at 07:41
I have always thought it was a dumb move by Microsoft to not bundle a HDD with every console. It was one of their best moves of the last generation and not doing it this time has always confused me….
I do though still think the core is going to be dropped in the next year…
ocelot
August 2, 2007 at 09:22
Posting in the official Bizarre Creations forum, a staff member noted, “You won’t see different times of day per city because this involves recreating all the textures again (one for day and one for night). Whilst this wasn’t a problem for our dev team, it was a problem fitting all this data onto a single DVD.”
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/30/bizarre-confirms-pgr4s-cities-comments-on-dvd-constraints/
milez_away
August 2, 2007 at 10:15
I’m not surprised by this at all, but now MS needs to be a little kinder to users.
1) Pro needs to drop to Core Price, and Elite to the Pro’s current price, Core be dropped completely. (They could nerf the lower prices Core and take away the headset and go wired controller again… that’d be fine, if they need to save costs). Getting a consoel like the 360 with a HDD for R2600/$300 is a good deal compared to a PS3… or even a Wii for that matter.
2) Along with the above, drop the price of the 20GB HDD. In SA, R400 – R500 is ok for an add-on (expensive for a 20GB HDD, but still ok… R900 is highway robbery)
As for the DVD-9 issue…
Perhaps i’m missing something here, but why did Bizarre need to make seperate textures for each time of day anyway ? Isn’t the 360 powerful enough to handle whatever PGR4 needs and be able to apply the lighting calcs in realtime for time of day, is that optimisation really neccessary ?
EyeGod
August 2, 2007 at 10:41
Pode I see what your saying, but the bottom line for me is M$ is waaaaay more sneaky than anyone is willing to admit – essentially they’re just doing what needs to be done to make sure that the 360 is on par with the P$3.
I understand now why the P$3 is way more expensive – it’s not cos $ony’s ripping people off – it’s just that out of the box they offer a way better deal…
The more I look at it the more I feel my initial impression will be correct – that the P$3 will once again prove victorious (or maybe 2nd place after the Wii, but it’ll beat the 360 in the long run)… I think it’s time to start saving…
Ruslan
August 2, 2007 at 10:49
How on earth was the X360 made on par with the PS3 if it was launched over 1 year earlier? They simply improved their first venture into the console market ( Xbox ) which by the way was SUPERIOR to the PS2 in many respects and HAD a HDD.
It was Sony’s own fault to rely on the slow BR drive and its difficulties in the manufacturing process that may as well be their downfall in this current console competition.
If Sony is already struggling now against a new rival ( X360 ) and a non-HD console ( Wii ) which they called “stupid” & “retarded” how do you think they will fare in the next-generation? I think they will get their arses kicked by the Xbox 720 to be honest.
ocelot
August 2, 2007 at 10:52
But then again Ruslan, you are a fanboi.
LazySAGamer
August 2, 2007 at 11:24
ocelot Bizarre is officially denying that claim
http://www.bizarrecreations.com/article.php?article_id=5257
So yeah, who knows what to believe… I still don’t see the problem of having multiple discs though. I would prefer not to obviously but it won’t faze me if I do…
Ruslan
August 2, 2007 at 11:38
I also own the PS3, does that make me a PS fanboy too? Or do the old PS2, PSP & PS1 not count either? Perhaps the GC & PC also place me into another fanboy group?
Ocelot, I am a gamer. And as a gamer I demand consoles to have games, which is something the PS3 currently lacks.
ocelot
August 2, 2007 at 13:01
LG, so a spokesman posted it on the official forums, then MS had a word with them about making negative comments about the 360, and then the denail. Easy.
@ Ruslan:To say the PS3 lacks games just shows how biased you are.