No HDD in Core/Arcade 360 a mistake, complains developer

No console in today’s generation is perfect, and in this update, we catch wind of another alleged flaw in the gem that is the Microsoft Xbox 360. No, it’s not the red ring – rather, it’s the deal about the Core/Arcade Xbox 360 not having a proper HDD of its own. This complaint comes directly from Rory McGuire, lead game designer of Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy for the Xbox 360 and PS3. See what he thinks about the issue in the full article.

The Microsoft Xbox 360 is definitely a big player in today’s console war, with prime titles, next-gen graphics and sound, and a stellar online play system. Even the fact that it gets the gremlins once or twice in its lifetime doesn’t take away the fact that it is a solid console. But it seems that there’s another flaw with Microsoft’s green giant, and it’s from Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy (Xbox 360, PS3) lead game designer Rory McGuire.

So, what’s wrong with the Xbox 360? The fact that the most affordable SKUs – being the Core/Arcade SKU of the machine – don’t come with a hard drive, and this forces game developers to limit themselves in HDD usage for their games. Doing otherwise would risk losing some of their target demographic. Rory McGuire’s statement:

In retrospect I wish Microsoft had made the choice to have [mandatory] hard drives like Sony did with the PS3. They did it with the original Xbox. I’m not sure why they decided to not require a hard drive on the 360. From what I understand they don’t move many [Core/Arcade] units.

He then outlined the benefits of having an HDD – having one makes the games load faster, decreases install time, and makes the experience faster and easier to get into. While these may seem minor, they do benefit both the developer and the player – and it would do Microsoft some good to look into applying these benefits to those who bought the Arcade/Core SKUs.