Burnout Paradise 360 requires HDD for online play
by Scott Jon Siegel 
{ Feb 1st 2008 at 10:00AM }
Reports that this information was not presented on Paradise's box are false, as the back of the box lists the hard drive requirement for online multiplayer under the game's features (as seen above). EA support representatives state that the temporary storage space required for online play exceeds that available on the Arcade's included memory card, making the hard drive necessary.
Of course, this isn't new information by any means. Several already-released games require the 360's hard disk drive for online play, including Crackdown and Final Fantasy XI. The problem is that while this information is presented on these games' boxes, it's not presented as clearly as it could be. And for online shoppers, the hard drive requirement isn't listed at all. Sites like Amazon.com and EBGames.com fail to list the hard drive requirement in their product descriptions of Burnout Paradise, and never include images of the back of the box as part of their product pages.
While EA can likely not be held accountable for the hard drive issue, online retailers should be responsible for sharing all relevant information about products. That Amazon and GameStop/EB fail to mention the hard drive requirement is a serious problem, and while consumers should be more careful about researching before purchasing, this process should be made easier by sellers, and not more difficult.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
jsn @ Feb 1st 2008 10:04AM
good, it was just a matter of time before the no HD requirement was ditched anyway.
Co @ Feb 1st 2008 10:04AM
Nice, alienate part of your userbase, microsoft.
Shape @ Feb 1st 2008 10:08AM
You can pick up a used 20GB hard drive for $60 at gamestop, and it is useful for more than just this one game.
Nobody is being "alienated."
baby sea tuna @ Feb 1st 2008 10:09AM
Nice way to be a troll, nerdlinger. How's that 512K worth of flash-memory working out for ya?
KushielsScion007 @ Feb 1st 2008 10:13AM
Shut you idiot...
Welcome to the Current Generation of playing...we're not exactly in the stone age anymore.
NATO_Duke @ Feb 1st 2008 10:19AM
Co, you're just trolling. I love how this doesn't affect you and yet you jump in to talk smack about MS. I would imagine that the amount of people this could affect is negligible at best. Besides this, MS didn’t make the game, so blaming them is a little strange when EA is the developer.
JodyAnthony (death by snoo-snoo) @ Feb 1st 2008 10:23AM
microsoft didn't make the game
ViagraFiend @ Feb 1st 2008 10:28AM
Well, I know that most of us dont have the version without the hard drive.
The thing is that some people do. When they find out that they have to pay a lot more money just to get all of the features out of a game, they arent going to be happy. Microsoft promised when they decided to do a core/premium that they would require that the games not depend on hard drives. This obviously was a lie. As hard as we are on Sony, we also need to be hard on Microsoft for going back on their word.
It doesnt affect me, so I dont really care, but some people will be pissed.
samfish @ Feb 1st 2008 10:35AM
samfish agrees with viagrafiend.
Co @ Feb 1st 2008 11:06AM
Thanks Viagrafiend, couldn't have summed it up better myself!
ThornedVenom @ Feb 1st 2008 12:18PM
Who the HELL pays 60 dollars for 20GB?
Leobebes @ Feb 1st 2008 12:32PM
Alienate part of your userbase? You could say the entire XBOX LIVE arcade alienates the userbase, even the marketplace. You are a bitter little troll aren't you Co?
Bitter, bitter, bitter, little angry man.
Scott @ Feb 1st 2008 1:26PM
"Who the HELL pays 60 dollars for 20GB?"
Probably the same people who bend over for the $100 wireless adapter. That has to be the most outrageously priced console accessory ever.
Easo @ Feb 1st 2008 1:47PM
I'm sure that all 3 360 owners without a harddrive will be deeply saddened by the news.
Lone Starr @ Feb 1st 2008 3:34PM
@ ViagraFiend
Where did they promise that? Do you have a source?
I do think that this HDD policy MS has is their biggest strategical mistake with the 360 (even more so than RROD). Although like Scott mentions, MS priced some of these accessories way too high, which is another large problem IMO.
Tiptup300 @ Feb 1st 2008 3:35PM
More like, way to alienate yourself by not getting the premium [real] Xbox 360.
Morgon @ Feb 1st 2008 10:05AM
To add to your HDD-required examples, one is also required to play Halo 3's online Campaign mode.
Lone Starr @ Feb 1st 2008 3:35PM
Same with Theater.
xFenixKnightx @ Feb 1st 2008 10:06AM
No biggie,
ANYONE who plays online probably already has a HDD. Im tired of this nonsense.
ill trooper @ Feb 1st 2008 10:49AM
Yeah, well your argument is EXACTLY why this is annoying and why people paying attention should be 'tired' of it too - if 'everyone playing already has a harddrive,' like you say, then surely you understand that having a hard-drive is an essential part of the 360 experience and Microsoft shouldn't be selling units without hard-drives, right?
To get to the point you consider 'everyone' is already at, It's an additional cost that's incurred for some people that didn't know any better at the time of purchase, or someone who's parents or aunt or whovever didn't know and bought a Core or Arcade unit for them.
Just because you're 'tired of this nonsense' doesn't mean it isn't happening.
xFenixKnightx @ Feb 1st 2008 11:04AM
Did somebody say something?
I could've sworn...nah.
Co @ Feb 1st 2008 11:15AM
ill trooper, disregard Fenix's comments. I think I accidentally stepped on him this morning walking across my front lawn.... oh wait, no, that was a pile of shit.
Eddie @ Feb 1st 2008 11:34AM
It's obvious who actually owns and plays a 360... You're absolutely right, Fenix. Why would someone pay $50 a year and not shell out 3 andy jacksons for a HDD?
xFenixKnightx @ Feb 1st 2008 11:35AM
Co
I love your childish comments just like your precious coveted childish console.
RobLink @ Feb 1st 2008 3:07PM
Aw, c'mon Fenix, let's not turn this into a console war now. I happen to agree with you, yet I have a Wii.
Which camp does that put me in? Or am I a fence sitter? Cos that sounds painful.....
Mr Khan @ Feb 1st 2008 4:21PM
heh, childish console
But in all seriousness, the problem with the 360 HDD thing is that they needed a low-priced unit so that they could maximize sales closer to that "critical point" window where consumers see a console as "in reach." The easiest way to do so, they figured, was to have a barebones model
Their eagerness to win a price war and keep with their strategy of blitzing the market by selling more units faster and sooner than their potential competitors is what caused all this
bender @ Feb 1st 2008 5:07PM
Ahh c'mon fenix, there are a lot of us that have a ton of fun on the wii but don't want anything to do with Co. Anyway I agree with you. Co is a jackass.
SoulBlade @ Feb 1st 2008 10:07AM
ah Microsoft... you'll get your SKUs right next time. I have faith... it's not difficult... just keep the basic hardware consistent!
Seriously, bout time - but I'll be surprised if devs can keep getting away with it. Devs will still have to deal w/o having a hard drive for any single player experiences, and I'm not sure what MS's policy is for requiring HD online. It's probably something like: "Oh our version will suck online compared to the PS3 without the HDD? Ok... make it required".
baby sea tuna @ Feb 1st 2008 10:07AM
Newsflash Microsoft: All of your consoles should have come with hard drives standard! I mean, the last Xbox came with (and made great use of) a hard drive, why the hell not this one? and I still can't believe how many games have been potentially gimped because of this decision. That's the one thing that still drives me crazy about that machine.
paragraph @ Feb 1st 2008 11:02AM
Or atleast a small Flash module big enough for devs to realisticly use for swap etc. 2gb? works for me...
The only thing i don't like, is that this dosn't hold water.
If you buy something online, or at retail, you should read the back of the box BEFORE you open it. Simple as that. That way you know what your getting into.
There however should be a little logo on front of the box that lets the idiots who can't read know...
If you don't read the fine print you can't do squat.
maylon @ Feb 1st 2008 11:11AM
Well, not a whole lot they can do about it now, but I agree. The core is the result of some fucking bean counter saying its a great idea as a cheap sku.
why not the LS2/LS7? @ Feb 1st 2008 11:29AM
The HDD is the biggest reason the original Xbox ended its lifespan at $175 whereas Gamecube was $99 early on and PS2 is down to $129 (and will likely hit $99 some day).
Hard drives are cheap, but even the cheapest one is about $20 in bulk quantities.
It's pretty clear some day MS will just put some amount of flash in there. But right now a few GB of flash is also just under $20. Maybe next year is the year.
But for now, people on here can apologize for MS all they want, but MS is right now still selling 360s without enough storage to play these games. And this is a problem for developers. It reduces the number of people they can sell their games to if they require an HDD.
I personally think MS should have not introduced the core until it could come with a couple GB of flash. But MS just wanted to have that cheap SKU to list I guess. And heck, maybe it's selling well as a replacement for people who have dead units, I know people who have done this.
B1gC72 - PSN: KillaKornbread @ Feb 1st 2008 12:14PM
i think that not having a standard hard drive was just one of many hardware level mistakes that Microsoft made with the 360. i actually think that the original Xbox was one of the deciding factors in the Wii and PS3 having hard drives (flash in the Wii' case). it was a good idea and they ditched it. oh well whats done is done and they cant fix it now.
dan stabbingworth @ Feb 1st 2008 1:29PM
MS should just admit that they fucked up by not having the HD on all models and sell the 20gb at a low enough price that people won't care if they have to pick one up.
I mean, seriously, I think the xbla would be a lot better if you could put games like Warhawk on it. I often find the xbla kind of annoying because a lot of games lack the depth that a larger file size could provide.
meow mix @ Feb 1st 2008 10:09AM
hahahaha!
lmfao
Co @ Feb 1st 2008 12:20PM
Lovin the avatar and username.
KVN @ Feb 1st 2008 10:13AM
How many people that own Arcade 360's actually play online,or(if i dear say it)are hardcore gamers?I really don't see this as a huge problem,if you want to use you 360 to it fullest just pony up the extra amount for the premium 360.
Rollins @ Feb 1st 2008 10:12AM
I'm starting to wonder if anyone actually buys the Core/Arcade. It almost seems like it's there just so people can be pulled in by the 360's starting price and then decide to buy the Premium after looking at their options.
I don't know anyone with one, and I know a good number of 360 owners. Not that my anecdotal evidence is worth two craps, but I'm just saying.
SoulBlade @ Feb 1st 2008 10:25AM
I'm sure there are. They pushed the cheap systems hardcore when Madden came out.
Gun Barrier @ Feb 1st 2008 11:23AM
my~Friend~has~a~36O~without~a~hardrive~but~it~RRODed
Im~trying~to~convince~him~to~get~it~changed
~sorry~this~keyboard~is~broken~lol
LiK @ Feb 1st 2008 10:13AM
Xbox Arcade console owners = PWNED.
KushielsScion007 @ Feb 1st 2008 10:14AM
Its not that serious...
Korova @ Feb 1st 2008 10:40AM
Best. Reply. Ever.
colinbell @ Feb 1st 2008 10:27AM
Its funny how MS was ahead of the curve in this respect with XBOX1, and screwed up this time.
Also, anyone noticed its being retailed for 45GBP for PS3 and 40 for 360?
rc @ Feb 1st 2008 10:19AM
I would bet anything you 360 fanboys talking about how this isn't a big deal were on this site calling the 40 GB PS3 gimped because it didn't have BC. True fanboys.
NATO_Duke @ Feb 1st 2008 10:22AM
WTF are you talking about. That made no damn sense.
The game is made by EA - not MS, so how the hell does this issue relate to MS at all? It doesn’t.
Your desperation to launch an attack shows who the truly shameless fan boy is.
Korova @ Feb 1st 2008 10:42AM
In Ronald Reagan voice:
"Well ... MS certifies the game before it is published for 360 and it controls the requirements that way.
Any other questions?"
NATO_Duke @ Feb 1st 2008 10:50AM
Korova, them certifying a game doesn't matter. Would you expect them not to certify a game because it needed a hard drive? Lots of games have no support for online use - I guess those shouldn't get certified either since many people like to play online. Oh hell, can't certify FF11 because it only plays online, so how can people without internet enjoy it??!!
Your point is moot. You, as well as rc are just stretching to find a way to blame MS for a non-event that has nothing to do with them. Whether you like it or not, that isn't a fan boy argument I’m making – you two are having a problem getting a handle on the facts. Reality doesn’t support you on this one.
umm....hello??? @ Feb 1st 2008 10:53AM
at least when Arcade/Core owners eventually buy a harddrive, they get BC. 40giggers for PS3 are completely SOL. dumbass.
Korova @ Feb 1st 2008 1:04PM
My understanding of the certification process is that parameters of certification are known by publishers in advance. For example, a no HDD requirements allows parameter. If a developer wants to deviate from said parameter and get the game certified they need to negotiate a waiver from MS. Thus MS has a say in the decision.
Maybe I am wrong, but it seems to me that MS would have an interest in not splitting up their install base and would avoid the PC gaming syndrome.