When word first broke that Microsoft's upcoming New Xbox Experience (NXE) would be too much for wimpy Xbox 360 Arcade consoles to handle by themselves, the company was quick to point out that a storage solution was in the works and they'd be announcing said solution soon. Talk about a turnaround, as it looks like those wanting some bright 'n shiny Avatar action (not to mention the myriad of social-networking features) when the service hits November 19th can now breathe a sigh of relief as Microsoft has officially announced their solution - the Xbox 360 Memory Upgrade Program!
The name practically says it all, those users with Xbox 360 Arcade units and lacking the requisite 128 megs of memory needed for the upgrade can head on over to the recently released website to sign-up for either a free 512 meg memory card, or opt in for a vastly superior 20-gig refurbished hard drive for a palty $20 - which also includes a 3-month subscription to Xbox Live. Check out the official upgrade site for yourselves by clicking the handy link below:
Xbox 360 Memory Upgrade Program Website
I've never been fond of Microsoft's puzzling Arcade unit, which for me seems at odds with many of the console's best features and severely limits the user on what they can/cannot do. No large downloads, limited saves, and a paltry offering of system-specific media playback seem to strip away much of Microsoft's innovation they worked (spent) so hard to bring to the home console industry, many of which are standard or soon will be. Plus, those wanting to upgrade their units will soon find that any real benefit of saving money goes out the window thanks to a host of over-priced peripherals and solutions. Ouch.
Kudos to Microsoft for taking the next step in eliminating the Arcade's host of issues at the bud, which in all honesty really just underscore the necessity to take the model off the market and offer a universal platform. Although it may look good to have the 'cheapest' next-generation console on the market, factor in the costs to actually utilize the system and its a bust.
blog comments powered by Disqus