Microsoft details other 360 improvements, including hard drive game installs
By Paul Miller 
posted July 14th 2008 3:58PM
posted July 14th 2008 3:58PM
posted July 14th 2008 3:58PM
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Meh! Nice WiiMii's, not sure about the new Dashboard, guess I'll just have to try it, and WHEN OHH WHEN are we going to get decent movie/tv streaming here in Europe.
With all the breaking news today, I think there should be a "Xbox 360: Everything You Need to Know" banner on the top of the page.
Engadget, can you try to get some video demos of the new dash and the new xbox guide please?
Can any 360 owners let me know whether the RRoD issue has finally been quashed? I'm thinking of getting the 360 when the 60gb comes out, but am still apprehensive because of the issue.
3 year warranty on RRoD and the problems have been nearly all ironed out.
I know a bunch of people with 360s bought in the first 3 months of release, mine included, that work fine.
Yes, from everything I have heard, the RRoD is fixed. I'm on my 3rd 360 (the previous 2 were replaced free of charge) and it has had no issues (with more activity).
If you follow the advice of the manual (as is the case with ANY console) you should be ok. By this I mean, don't put your xbox in an unventilated area (i.e., a cupboard) and don't have it on 24/7. (actually that I almost do and mine is fine lol).
That having been said, I am on my 5th machine after the other four all failing me, despite having followed both those rules (well, the first one at least), but I've had my fifth for a long time now, and not had a problem. I think they have fixed the hardware issue.
Well, mine died yesterday and I bought it last October. But I think the newer ones are doing better and hopefully my repaired one will live a long and fulfilling life.
And no matter how silly you think it might be to keep the power brick in a ventilated area; keep it in an open area.
It can really strain the console.
My console was purchased on launch day, and I've never had any issue with it at all.
Well, I got a new Elite model in December, and sent it in last week due to, yup, rrod. This was one of the 'new' motherboards and was sitting on a glass shelf totally open around it. Perhaps things are 'better', but the RRoD is not gone. I ended up buying a PS3 to tide me over till the 360 got back... man I can't wait to get it back. The PS3 controllers suck (I hated the PS2 for the same reason) and the online components are really needing polish. While I will continue to prefer the 360, I have to admit that the PS3 is nice and quiet, and the failures on the "new" hardware of the 360 is continuing to leave a bad taste in my mouth.
As a PS3 owner and soon to be 360 owner, I have to say I was quite impressed with what Microsoft had to say. They had a little something for everyone and getting Final Fantasy is going to hurt Sony quite a bit I think. FF hasn't really been my cup of tea for a few years, but it is/was really important to the PS3's continued success.
I wonder if this news will help the 360 do better in Japan, or have the Japanese just totally written the 360?
lol the 16x10 is something that will be more in the future... their future proofing
the fact that the old xbox guide will be available still will make the hardcore people happy especially if you can set the 360 to default to that and bypass the 3d interface... therefor making everyone happy
"· Play from hard drive. Copy your games from the game disc and play directly from the hard drive. Not only will the drive not spin, but load times are quicker, as well. Of course, you will still need the disc in the tray to prove you own the game."
HOLY CRAP! screw sony's installs per game, microsofts giving us OPTIONAL ability to install the ENTIRE GAME to the harddrives thats f*cking wicked, especially since the dvdrom is the loudest part of the system.
No, 16x10 is for people like me who play on their computer monitors.
I wonder if they'll sell larger HDDs if they are going to push all this new video and being able to load games to the HDD.
And, not being OBSCENELY overpriced like the prior upgrades.
And when you have 2 GB's of free space left after 4 game installs, you'll wonder why.
Nice.. At least Microsoft is making lives easier for the pirates.
Because there won't be any way to bypass what the DVD drive sends to the console.. nooooooo
Maybe I should have held off and got the 60gb instead of getting the 20gb. I sure wish I could just use an external HD
Sony better have something good since they got bit in the ass by Microsoft and SE. OH NOOOZZZZ FFXIII NOT EXCLUSIVE WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA >>>>FANBOY
Watch out iXtreme users...
Sony better have something good since they got bit in the ass by Microsoft and SE. OH NOOOZZZZ FFXIII NOT EXCLUSIVE WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA >>>>FANBOY
Gizmodo just confirmed ... FFXIIII will be launched SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH PS3 version, so sony doesnt even get a timed exclusive to it lol
You'll have to have the disc in your drive for piracy reasons, but it won't be spinning during game play, which means quieter gaming and quicker load times (and more 60GB sales, we thinks, how convenient)
This will be hacked within a matter of weeks, methinks.
The 360s security is pretty rock solid though. I'm not so sure.
Since any hack software or otherwise to get around the disc requirement would probably get your box banned from Xbox Live, why not go all out? Then you don't have to worry about the hack getting fixed through an update and you can do a lot more with the modified box.
Current DVD firmwares are stealth, so I dont think Microsoft can ban you anymore.
what about being able to use a USB hard drive for games and downloads, instead of the ridiculously expensive ms versions....
I think you just answered your own question there, man. Why would MS enable such a feature if it means selling less ridiculously overpriced hard drives?
I wish MS would re-organize their storefront so you can find things more easily. Breaking down titles the way the PS store does makes it super easy to find demos and add-ons for games I haven't bought yet (I know I'll eventually breakdown and pick up Rock Band for my 360 so I always grab the free tracks).
See, these features shouldn't have been in at the start. They're just nice. That's how you do an update.
Playback form the HD is cool, but why do i need to have the disk in the tray? Yes, i understand it's an anti-piracy measure, but if rip 5 games to my HD, i want to be able to load a different game without getting my lazy ass of the couch
Oh well, i guess faster load times is not bad.
Call me a cynic but the only reason Xbox games didn't install to the hard drive before was because MSFT wouldn't allow it since not all xbox's have hard drives (ahem... "core" and "arcade"). Many PS3 titles already extensively install to the hard drive. You can't install the whole thing at one time on many of these games only because the whole blu-ray disk can be 25GB or more. Case in point: MGS4, an extremely popular game, has extremely short load times besides the original 20 minute data copy and 5 minute data copies between maybe 5 major breaks in the game. It has a 4GB data imprint on your PS3 hard drive and, as I said before, extremely short load times.
So now they let you optionally install the game completely, which gets around the fact that many owners dont have hard drives. And it will probably improve load times somewhat. But still doesn't allow developers to program their game to require (and thus fully take advantage of) a hard drive, as the original Xbox and the PS3 do.
These updates seem welcome. They are expanding media options (which still all cost money... which means I'll still be using torrents... do they have XviD codec support yet?) and they're agknowleding their their "Blades" GUI was unprofessional and juvenile looking. Good work I suppose. In the mean time my 20GB hard drive isn't nearly large enough to really take advantage of this, and I'm not spending money on their outrageously overpriced alternatives. $180 for 120GB!? I can get a 120GB 2.5" 5400rpm hdd (which is what they use in their proprietary plastic ugly-shells/"caddies" for under $70 shipped!
Your a cynic (and I'm not just saying that to be funny)!
I can't help but feel that if the developers had tried to they could have fitted MGS4 onto a dvd if they were to be a little less lazy with data compression. All that blu-ray offers is the opportunity for developers to be lazy with data compression. Other developers should take a leaf out of Rockstar's book, they are the master at fitting stuff in.
This option isn't for the developers, as it really isn't needed for them anyway. It is purely for anyone at home that may want to use this feature.
Oh and to complain that you have to pay to watch movies/listen to music etc is just such a useless point that it is unbelievable. Fair enough if you want to complain that they are two expensive or that europe gets charged more for the privalige than the US, but to complain that there is a charge at all is quite frankly ridiculous!
There is nothing wrong with the current GUI (the blades), in fact I much prefer it to this new idea they have. I would also certainly say the new avatar is a lot more childish than the blades. The current GUI is so much better than the Wii and the PS3 options (I have all three machines in my house btw). The xbox is streets ahead in terms of it's GUI.
However, yes the larger hard drive is too expensive, they really need to open up and let us use an external hard drive.
"I can't help but feel that if the developers had tried to they could have fitted MGS4 onto a dvd if they were to be a little less lazy with data compression."
Wait, backup a second there...
The amount of data on the BD for MGS4 is pretty high, even compressed. There would be absolutly no way this game can fit on a standard DVD (5 or 9GB). If you listen to what Kojima said about the release, he did not want to a) release multiple discs, and b) release DLC related to continuing the story. He wanted the story to be told completely and in one easy disc.
Best read up on the comments made by the creator before you put your foot in your mouth.
and BD >>> DVD. The new "improvements" copy from others. Mii-like avatars, XMB-like dashboard, Home-like community. When M$ comes up with something original, please, let me know. Until then, I still don't see the justification in buying a console with a 33% failure rate. My money is more important than that. I buy a console to play and enjoy, not to sit around while its being shipped around the world.
Shadowmage, you do realize that most of the innovations of this gen of gaming consoles came from MS. The whole universal friend's list, a unified online sytem, in game voice chat, video chat. I mean I can go on and on.
Oh yeah I own PS3 and a 360. I have to say I love MGS4, I'm just pissed off with the fact that everytime I change an act it's gotta install again. You know how much of a pain this is when my bro is playing on a different act than I am.
Why has Microsoft invaded Engadget (nothing wrong, just funny).
Sign me up
I think a 60GB HDD is in my future. Damn you Microsoft for making me poor.
i wonder is this will help stop drives ending up dead, (open tray error)
which is why i sold my 360 and got a ps3
What about all the themes and gamer pics we've paid for.
What the fuck about them.
Doesn't everyone complain about the install times on the PS3... Isn't this the EXACT same thing???
Nope, this is entirely optional.
1680 X 1050 support (16:10) for my Samsung Monitor . . . about time!
I'm no longer on the fence about repurchasing a 360. This Christmas a Jasper 360 + VGA cable = the way the 360 should've been released.
make sure you buy the ms vga cable as the others have some ghosting problems (I only noticed it after I was switching between an hdmi to dvi cable and my mad catz vga cable, not before).
@ donkamero
so now the torrent files will come with a slim base on the disc and the juice on the hdd
piracy will always truimph
"Next up, Microsoft will let users make Xbox LIVE Marketplace purchases on the web, which are then automatically downloaded to your 360 for your enjoyment when you get home"
Wouldn't that only work if you leave your XBox on while you're away? Not something I would be quick to do, frankly.
I, too, am very excited about 16:10 support over VGA. Since I haul my computer monitor around for any LANing I do, I've gotten used to the squished aspect...But no more! Finally native 1440x900!
I didn't see it in the article, is this the fall update or is it coming sooner?
Finally my 22 inch monitor im playing on can be used in it full resolution glory. I was getting sick of the 16:9 images being streched out on my monitor. For all those games still playing on standard tvs : 1685*1050 "a near 1080p" montor $200. Thank you MS even though it took a few years.