SanDisk ships first licensed Xbox 360 USB flash drive

Seems that April 6th ship date that GameStop posted back in March was a bit off, but hey -- beggars can't be choosers, yeah? SanDisk has just announced that it's now shipping the planet's first licensed Xbox 360 USB flash drive, which just became useful for easily transferring gamertags, game saves, map packs, Arcade downloads, etc. from one console to another. The device is pre-configured for plug-and-play, and SanDisk is even throwing in a one-month subscription to Xbox LIVE Gold for good measure. Naturally, you'll be paying a premium for that Microsoft seal of approval, with the 8GB unit boasting an MSRP of $34.99 and the 16 gigger going for $69.99 (or £29.99 and £51.99 respectively in the UK). Hang tight if you can, though -- we get the impression that loads more are on the way from every other storage outfit, and you know what competition does to pricing. Don't you?

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SanDisk Ships Licensed Xbox 360 USB Flash Drive

Pre-configured USB Drive Delivers Best Experience On Xbox 360 Console

MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK), the global leader in flash memory cards, today announced that it is shipping the Xbox 360® USB Flash Drive by SanDisk for the Microsoft Xbox 360 gaming and entertainment console. The new drive makes it easier than ever for gamers to take their gamertags, saved game progress, map packs, Arcade game downloads and bonus content with them for fast and convenient access on another Xbox 360 console†.

"The Xbox 360 USB Flash Drive by SanDisk provides a great solution for gamers who need portable storage for their Xbox 360 content. It's plug and play simple."

The Xbox 360 USB Flash Drive by SanDisk delivers the best experience on the Xbox 360 console. Pre-configured for seamless plug and play action, the drive eliminates the need to format storage or download an initial software update for an Xbox 360 console. For gamers looking to get in on the fun or for those with existing accounts who want to extend their play, a one-month Xbox LIVE Gold membership is included with purchase of the drive††.

"Xbox LIVE contains a world of content for gamers to explore and download, including full-length games, movies and music," said Shuki Nir, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Retail, SanDisk. "The Xbox 360 USB Flash Drive by SanDisk is specifically engineered to deliver a great user experience and maximum compatibility with the console, offering gamers greater freedom and flexibility in how they store, manage and enjoy their favorite files."

"SanDisk has a proven track record of creating high-quality storage solutions," said Ilan Spillinger, Vice President, Xbox Hardware and Technology, Microsoft. "The Xbox 360 USB Flash Drive by SanDisk provides a great solution for gamers who need portable storage for their Xbox 360 content. It's plug and play simple."

Pricing and Availability

The Xbox 360 USB Flash Drive by SanDisk is available now on SanDisk.com and at major retailers. The drive is available in 8 gigabyte (GB)1 and 16GB capacities, carrying suggested retail prices of $34.99 and $69.99, respectively.

[Solarviper24 Posted May 5th 2010 2:12PM]

What does this offer over any other USB drive?

[andthemaniam Posted May 5th 2010 2:14PM]

@Solarviper24

The lolz.

[r3loaded Posted May 5th 2010 2:42PM]

@Solarviper24 Wallet relief.

[htd Posted May 5th 2010 3:13PM]

@Solarviper24 be careful when converiting, M$ did something to the drive, that xbx360 folder cant be copied and the drive got problem with usb loader on wii after that 'conversion'.

[Meekermoloko Posted May 5th 2010 3:20PM]

@Solarviper24

Besides the one month of Live Gold, the cool Xbox 360 logo painted on the side so that you can replace the thumb drive with Sony painted on the side.

Seriously though, it might have faster read/write transfer rates to play games off of it without a hitch. Also, this is the suggested retail price of the Xbox 360 thumb drives. If you check Amazon, most of the other 16GB drives also retail over $60. Amazon crosses those prices off and the sale price shown is around $30-$40 ... so maybe they'll do the same for this drive later on.

[Cash9007 Posted May 5th 2010 3:46PM]

@Solarviper24 Nothing. It is literally a 2 year old sandisk cruizer mini, but painted black, and the silicon shell removed. I picked one up for 15 bucks from Walmart on Black Friday 2008, and now they want more then twice that for the same drive almost 2 years later. It's pathetic.

[tkuhl87 Posted May 5th 2010 4:52PM]

@Solarviper24 Well...it's "pre-configured" so it'll likely take less time than it took me to configure my external hard drive....which took all of 10 seconds. So if you're the Microwaving Poptart eating impatient person who has an overflow of cash...or is buying a flash drive as art, then it's for you.

[engadget123 Posted May 5th 2010 5:12PM]

@tkuhl87 It offers nothing. Just like all the other xbox branded bullshit.

[OS Posted May 5th 2010 5:26PM]

@Solarviper24
I think it plugs into the memory card slot. I currently have a 4gb cruzer usb thumbdrive plugged into the xbox usb slot but I have to unplug my charging cables. It is a minor thing but I am waiting for someone like dealextreme to sell a usb to memoryslot adapter.

[schultz Posted May 5th 2010 6:34PM]

@Solarviper24

So engadget, how bout some Read/Write speeds on these puppies?

Maybe sandisk hasn't lost their minds?

orrrr maybe they just hope people are ignorant? either way I'm thinking a 8gb drive for 20 bucks online would be more than enough to save games?

[tikigawd Posted May 5th 2010 8:19PM]

@Solarviper24

Craptasticularity

Hmm, that sounds dirty...

[apealer Posted May 6th 2010 8:02AM]

@Meekermoloko yea they said 16 gb was 69.99 not 60 compare correctly

[skyblaze Posted May 5th 2010 2:12PM]

while i can just switch out my PS3's with a standard 750gb 2.5incher

:P

[Dafrety Posted May 5th 2010 2:15PM]

@skyblaze
That's not exactly the same. This is portable storage. Of course, the PS3 did allow you to use any flash drive of any size far before the 360.

[schismal Posted May 5th 2010 2:33PM]

@Dafrety

Although the 360 did let you play games a year before the PS3 did.

[skyblaze Posted May 5th 2010 2:59PM]

@Dafrety

thanks for the correction. and that makes this a complete waste then... much like the branded SD cards for wii, right?

you'd have to be an idiot (or a seriously misguided parent) to fall for this

[engadget123 Posted May 5th 2010 5:16PM]

@schismal And most of the consoles broke during that year...

[Brokinarrow Posted May 6th 2010 3:35PM]

@schismal - I fail to see that as an excuse for blatantly trying to pull money out of my pocket. Microsoft is just lucky I love their games and Live Service so much...

[Dafrety Posted May 5th 2010 2:13PM]

Or you could just get any other drive fast enough for ReadyBoost, take two minutes to format it, and then be done with it.

[pika2000 Posted May 5th 2010 2:13PM]

You can get a plain16GB USB drive for about $45. The only challenge is to find one with decent speed. I wonder what's the spec for this Sandisk. If it has good write speed, then the price is actually decent.

[Dafrety Posted May 5th 2010 2:21PM]

@pika2000
This one from SanDisk themselves would work perfectly fine. It seems as long as the drive is ReadyBoost capable it's fast enough for this.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820171375

[MowDownJoe Posted May 5th 2010 2:27PM]

@pika2000
Plain USB drive for $45? You do know a month of Live goes for $15, right? 45+15...

Never mind, my math brain wasn't going there, and I was thinking that the free month of live would've made the deal actually bearable. Still... $10 more than a month of live and a 16-GB stick is more reasonable than their hard drive prices, right?

[pika2000 Posted May 5th 2010 2:44PM]

@MowDownJoe That's what I said, the the price is actually decent as it's not that easy finding a USB stick with good performance.

[reallynotnick Posted May 5th 2010 2:53PM]

@MowDownJoe
No one buys live a month at a time. LIVE is $50 for 12 months or about $4.17 a month, plus you can usually find a sale for about $35-$40.

Overpriced jump drive is overpriced.

[BrokeNCYDE Posted May 5th 2010 2:13PM]

FUCK! I WANTED TO BE FIRST!
Anyway, I just use my own drive rather than this waste of money.

[skyblaze Posted May 5th 2010 2:57PM]

@BrokeNCYDE

i always wanted to ask... (and i know this is a waste of time and intelligence but im bored enough right now) whats the appeal in being first?

[Goldaar Posted May 5th 2010 3:54PM]

@skyblaze I hear sloppy seconds suck!

[Cwill127 Posted May 5th 2010 2:13PM]

The sad part is that these will actually sell well.

[kdilkington Posted May 5th 2010 2:23PM]

@Cwill127 Monster needs to create some of these with gold-plated USB connectors, then sell 'em for $200.

[Gas Posted May 5th 2010 2:26PM]

@Cwill127
Let's keep our fingers crossed for common sense to prevail.

[Cwill127 Posted May 5th 2010 2:27PM]

@kdilkington On the back of the box - "For the most pristine transfer of data to and from your Xbox 360, the Monster gold plated USB drive cannot be matched".

Consumer - "WOW! I need this! It transfers data to and from my Xbox 360 better than any other USB drive!"

[Prevacator Posted May 5th 2010 2:14PM]

Even when you factor in one month of Live into the price, it's still outrageously expensive.

[neeko18 Posted May 5th 2010 2:14PM]

$1 to the first sucker to order one and post an unboxing video..

[BrokeNCYDE Posted May 5th 2010 2:16PM]

@neeko18 Hey, then it'd be a dollar less.

[hchilibowl Posted May 5th 2010 2:15PM]

Finally...

[sigiii2 Posted May 5th 2010 2:16PM]

sandisk would also like to remind you these work with all Microsoft project pink phones

[jbigboote Posted May 5th 2010 2:19PM]

I'm really curious to know if the 16GB one will yield 16GB of actual storage space. Because the Xbox 360 supports a full 16GB, but to get it you need slightly more than 16GB of space on the device.

[reallynotnick Posted May 5th 2010 5:25PM]

@jbigboote
You're thinking 16GiB but are we really going to complain over the difference of 16GB vs 16GiB?

[d0ug Posted May 5th 2010 2:20PM]

Whats so special about this? It looks like one of the Sandisk cruzer micro thumb drives with an xbox360 skin slipped over it. The only thing semi special is a 16gb version being available. I prefer the Sandisk cruzer micro as they didnt come with that preloaded crap u3 or whatever its called. and didnt have sliding mechanical parts to jam and break. you could also get colored "skins" to identify drives with. However they topped out at 8gb last i checked.

[BrokeNCYDE Posted May 5th 2010 2:23PM]

LOL. MicroSHAFT.. ^^

[ceilingcat Posted May 5th 2010 2:37PM]

@d0ug the normal cruzers are 16 gb though. just not the micro's

[d0ug Posted May 5th 2010 2:54PM]

@ceilingcat Well I just looked at Sandisk site and the Cruzer Micro Skin which is what this xbox drive looks like is still stuck at 8gb.

http://www.sandisk.com/products/computing-products/sandisk-micro-skin-usb-flash-drive

I would love to see these come out in 16 and 32gb varieties.

[d0ug Posted May 5th 2010 2:57PM]

Only difference being, it looks like the xbox one doesnt have the rubber skin around the body of the drive, must just be an xbox logo sticker, which is why the cap protrudes from the body, whereas the micro skin cap is flush with the body because the body has a rubber "skin" around it the same thickness as the cap.

[zangetsu2 Posted May 5th 2010 2:23PM]

There is nothing special about this. Now, if it had an Apple logo...

[BrokeNCYDE Posted May 5th 2010 2:25PM]

@zangetsu2 Then it'd be not worth the money it already isn't.

[Addyct Posted May 5th 2010 2:24PM]

Anyone know anything about the special formatting that you need to do to make these work with the 360?
Like, if I take my 16gig stick here and format it for the Xbox, can I ONLY use it with the xbox then, or will computers still recognize it?

[BrokeNCYDE Posted May 5th 2010 2:26PM]

@Addyct The only downside to using your own is that when the xbox pre-configures the drive itself, it takes up about 3gb.

[Dafrety Posted May 5th 2010 2:26PM]

@Addyct
You have to partition it. You can make however much available to the 360, the rest will be left for regular uses.

[Dafrety Posted May 5th 2010 2:28PM]

@BrokeNCYDE
What? No it doesn't. If you let it configure itself it takes up as much space as possible, the whole drive as long as it's 16 GB or under.

[Addyct Posted May 5th 2010 2:30PM]

@Dafrety
Ah, ok, Partitioning it makes a lot of sense. thanks.
oh, and @BrokeNCYDE, why'd you pick that name? are you a fan of the band or are you involved with them?