Return of the bigger 360 hard drive rumor

November 8th, 2006, 01:41 Posted By: wraggster

Source: A picture snapped at a Microsoft Gears of War launch party last night by Flickr poster Plaid Ninja.

The official story: "We have not made any announcements at this time. Regarding a larger hard drive, it is always a possibility. The device is modular and there's the possibility that different hard drives will be available in the future. To reiterate, we have no plans to announce such an accessory in the near future."

What we heard: The specter of a 100GB hard drive has been brought up a number of times before, most recently last month in the form of a presentation at the Korean X06 event. And just like every other time it's come up, Microsoft is pointing out that it hasn't made any announcements. So since those previous rumors weren't followed by announcements of a larger hard drive, why is this one any different?

Well, for starters, yesterday Microsoft announced its impending introduction of on-demand video content for the Xbox 360 in the form of downloadable TV shows and film rentals, some in high-definition. With full-length HD movies taking up 5GB on the hard drive, there will soon be more demands than ever placed on 360 players' 20GB hard drives, many of which are already packed with ripped music, downloaded content, and Xbox Live Arcade games.

However, the appearance of a larger-than-normal hard drive at Microsoft's press event last night is a far cry from confirmation that the company will release such hardware options into the consumer market anytime soon. The gaming press is well accustomed to trying games out on non-standard hardware, from development kits to debug units; it doesn't mean those things are going to show up at Wal-Mart next week.

That said, Microsoft designed the system with a detachable hard drive in the first place, so larger drives are a very likely part of the company's master plan. And given yesterday's announcement, the crunch of hard drive space is likely to become a problem for gamers sooner rather than later. Still, for the moment, there's nothing concrete.

Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus for now.

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