Probably my biggest complaint of this generation was the proprietary hard drive. What a way to dick over gamers by charging them such a disgusting mark up for basically the same tech as the competition. Now, to be fair they have gotten cheaper over the years, but let's not forget when 120gb drives were $130+.

Do you think MS becomes more open with their next platform? Sony has done it, and it looks like Nintendo is embracing the idea with the Wii U. In my opinion, if they're gonna charge the same ludicrous amount of money, at least come up with a clear advantage over the competition. SSD possibly. SOMETHING.

[Insert obligatory PC gaming > console gaming post here.]

Fo' reals though, I don't think Microsoft has any incentive to be open at all. What are you* going to do? Not buy a new Xbox? The number people who won't buy the next Xbox because the HDD is proprietary is trivially insignificant compared to the scores of folks lining up to get a shiny new console.

--

*The hypothetical "you," not anybody specifically.

at least they had hard drives this gen. before we we're forced into buying massively overpriced memory cards

It will probably be the other way around. Sony will embrace the proprietary hard drive and charge an extravagant amount for it, much like their memory cards for the Vita.

At the start of the current generation hard drives were much more expensive. Not the horrible markups Microsoft was charging, but still pricey.

HD prices have fallen so dramatically since then that I think the next device will have two HD skews at launch, maybe 250gb and 500gb.

This would hopefully mean that your initial purchase will have enough space to last a while with some mild management. Not like the tiny 20Gb HD in the early Xbox 360s.

EDIT: I doubt Sony or Microsoft will allow you to swap around generic HDs. They can make money from selling proprietary drives, can probably make a more reliable, (or at least smaller) device and it probably helps stop piracy by a tiny amount.

Sony has done it

If you guys think that Sony will be even the least open with PS4 after the shit that went down, your out of your minds. Its going to be proprietary for everyone. Calling it.

@Ravenlight said:

[Insert obligatory PC gaming > console gaming post here.]

Fo' reals though, I don't think Microsoft has any incentive to be open at all. What are you* going to do? Not buy a new Xbox? The number people who won't buy the next Xbox because the HDD is proprietary is trivially insignificant compared to the scores of folks lining up to get a shiny new console.

--

*The hypothetical "you," not anybody specifically.

This. People who only play on consoles do so because they want relatively hassle-free gaming. You average 360 owner has no desire to mess with the spec of his console because that's extra effort for what should be a reasonable stress-free experience of putting games in and pressing start.

Also no company is going to allow consumers to mess with their consoles to the point where hard drive speed could vary from console to console, they'd have to start putting in system requirements for games.

@Bell_End said:

at least they had hard drives this gen. before we we're forced into buying massively overpriced memory cards

Wtf.... The original xbox had a proper hard-drive!

You could upgrade it to whatever size you wanted.

@Ravenlight said:

[Insert obligatory PC gaming > console gaming post here.]

Fo' reals though, I don't think Microsoft has any incentive to be open at all. What are you* going to do? Not buy a new Xbox? The number people who won't buy the next Xbox because the HDD is proprietary is trivially insignificant compared to the scores of folks lining up to get a shiny new console.

--

*The hypothetical "you," not anybody specifically.

Buy a PC? I got a 2 TB Western Digital Caviar black for about the same price as most people buy a 120 GB for their xbox.

I don't think anyone will care. not enough to matter anyway.

my concern for the next wave of hardware is the unusable dashboard with baked in advertising and broken day1 game releases. consoles are becoming 1990s PCs with none of the advantavges.

If you want to be able to use any type of hardware just game on a PC. Otherwise you'll just have to deal with consoles being a closed "hassle-free" platform experience.

I think the next Xbox will have a SSD option in the high end model. Can't blame them really it's really the only difference between the different SKU. It sucks but it's microsoft. I mean you pay a extra couple of hundred for 64gb in Apple devices.

I agree with everything you wrote, and would embrace SSDs in consoles.

[Insert obligatory PC gaming > console gaming post here.]

Fo' reals though, I don't think Microsoft has any incentive to be open at all. What are you* going to do? Not buy a new Xbox? The number people who won't buy the next Xbox because the HDD is proprietary is trivially insignificant compared to the scores of folks lining up to get a shiny new console.

--

*The hypothetical "you," not anybody specifically.

I think the next Xbox will have a SSD option in the high end model. Can't blame them really it's really the only difference between the different SKU. It sucks but it's microsoft. I mean you pay a extra couple of hundred for 64gb in Apple devices.

I wouldn't be surprised if they will do things the same way they do now.

@Bell_End: Wow that's right.. I paid $40 for a 256MB Mem card.

Ludacris..

If anything changes it will be Sony being less open. Worked pretty dang well for Microsoft.

If it has a SSD, you won't need to replace it with a larger one because it'll be used as a cache drive. You'll be paying for HDD storage to use on top of the SSD.

Before you all erupt in laughter, I have a proposition for those of you asking what incentive MS has to make the HDD options more open. Don't they have the biggest incentive of all to gain here? Customer loyalty! Think about it. There's something to be said for companies that don't nickel and dime you to death, and actually give you a choice in the matter, isn't there? Maybe I'm naive, but I really think if MS made a move like this, it'll decrease some of the negativity people have about them. That, or make Xbox Live free.

I'm hoping for a decent size HD first, anything below 250GB is a little crazy seeing as that is pretty much the standard for the regular console bundles now. Being able to upgrade it yourself is cool, but I'd prefer to not need to do that right away.

@hwy_61 said:

Before you all erupt in laughter, I have a proposition for those of you asking what incentive MS has to make the HDD options more open. Don't they have the biggest incentive of all to gain here? Customer loyalty! Think about it. There's something to be said for companies that don't nickel and dime you to death, and actually give you a choice in the matter, isn't there? Maybe I'm naive, but I really think if MS made a move like this, it'll decrease some of the negativity people have about them. That, or make Xbox Live free.

You're naive. Sure, they might be losing a few customers like me, but there are still people who will stick with their Xbox despite being treated badly for several reasons. They like the controller better, they like the exclusives better, all their friends are on it so they've got to stay on it, they don't want to get used to something else, etc.

Yes, they could lose some people, but this generation it seems like for every one person who's gotten tired of Microsoft's chicanery, there have been three who have jumped right on board because all of their buddies are on it.

Adding support for USB drives was a great move, even if it was 4 or 5 years after release and mem card sales were dry to the bone.

Also, seeing my PSN friends playing all those PlaystationPlus titles for a very reasonable price, I can't help but feel a little left out? (without trying to moan)

@hwy_61: haha.

@hwy_61 said:

Probably my biggest complaint of this generation was the proprietary hard drive. What a way to dick over gamers by charging them such a disgusting mark up for basically the same tech as the competition.

So basically you're just annoyed at Microsoft then? Since it's only them that did this.

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

I think the next Xbox will have a SSD option in the high end model. Can't blame them really it's really the only difference between the different SKU. It sucks but it's microsoft. I mean you pay a extra couple of hundred for 64gb in Apple devices.

Lol are you high? SSDs are rather expensive and the type of memory phones/tablets like the iPhone, iPad, Nexus, etc use is different to an actual SSD, and again that stuff is expensive.

If they did include an SSD, it would be something paltry like 32GB, which is simply not going to be enough for even just two games of the next generation. You know most 'current gen' PC games are 12-16GB these days right? Shogun 2 was 18, Max Payne 3 was 35 (or was it 25) and there's a lot more in the 14GB+ range. I have to manage the space on my SSD pretty carefully and I'm on a 128GB one.

Heck 32GB won't even let you install more than 4 games now on the 360, and they're only 6-8GB on average.

@believer258 said:

tired of Microsoft's chicanery

Followed for "chicanery"

@Sooty said:

@hwy_61 said:

Probably my biggest complaint of this generation was the proprietary hard drive. What a way to dick over gamers by charging them such a disgusting mark up for basically the same tech as the competition.

So basically you're just annoyed at Microsoft then? Since it's only them that did this.

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

I think the next Xbox will have a SSD option in the high end model. Can't blame them really it's really the only difference between the different SKU. It sucks but it's microsoft. I mean you pay a extra couple of hundred for 64gb in Apple devices.

Lol are you high? SSDs are rather expensive and the type of memory phones/tablets like the iPhone, iPad, Nexus, etc use is different to an actual SSD, and again that stuff is expensive.

If they did include an SSD, it would be something paltry like 32GB, which is simply not going to be enough for even just two games of the next generation. You know most 'current gen' PC games are 12-16GB these days right? Shogun 2 was 18, Max Payne 3 was 35 (or was it 25) and there's a lot more in the 14GB+ range. I have to manage the space on my SSD pretty carefully and I'm on a 128GB one.

Heck 32GB won't even let you install more than 4 games now on the 360, and they're only 6-8GB on average.

What if I am high? Anyway I don't see why comment gets a "Lol" from you unless you are not quite right in the head and still only leave the house on your mommys leash, I brought a 120gb SSD for $70USD, If your weren't busy "Loling" you would see that I said high end model, like the 120gb launch model that was like 500 bucks. Any SSD maker would be frothing at the mouth to secure a contract for the next xbox's hard drive so it would be way cheaper than if you or I brought them. Games now can't keep up with standard spinning disk drives. I think a SSD option in the next Xbox is a given, if not I will just spend that money beefing up my PC.

@hwy_61 said:

@Bourbon_Warrior

I think the next Xbox will have a SSD option in the high end model. Can't blame them really it's really the only difference between the different SKU. It sucks but it's microsoft. I mean you pay a extra couple of hundred for 64gb in Apple devices.

Don't bring iPhones into this. Not even the same ball game, duder.

A company creating hardware SKU's that only differ from memory is pretty much exactly the same as a iPhone.

I'd like a bigger hard disk in launch models.

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

@hwy_61 said:

@Bourbon_Warrior

I think the next Xbox will have a SSD option in the high end model. Can't blame them really it's really the only difference between the different SKU. It sucks but it's microsoft. I mean you pay a extra couple of hundred for 64gb in Apple devices.

Don't bring iPhones into this. Not even the same ball game, duder.

A company creating hardware SKU's that only differ from memory is pretty much exactly the same as a iPhone.

We're not talking about iPhones! This is a no iPhone thread, Mr. Man!

If microsoft/sony do try to charge an extortionate amount of money for HDD space (just look at the crazy prices of Sony's SD cards for use with the PS Vita!), then I will not rule out the Wii U which can be plugged into most any self-powered external HDD. At the end of the day its all about games which are fun, all the console have fun games but like I say, if microsoft are going to charge an arm & a leg for it, then why the hell not go with with Nintendo - open mind.