Install your Xbox 360 games to the hard drive, access XBLM on the web

by Andrew Yoon { Jul 14th 2008 at 4:11PM }

Major Nelson just updated and offered a bit more detail about the upcoming Dashboard update for Xbox 360. Some of the cooler things:

Play from hard drive. You'll be able to copy game discs to your Xbox 360 hard drive. Installing the games will prevent wear 'n tear on the disc drive, and will shorten load times. You will still need the disc in the disc tray to prove you own the game. Hopefully, installing things on the Xbox 360 will come with sage advice, a la Metal Gear Solid 4.
Access Xbox LIVE Marketplace on the Web. If you're not near your Xbox 360, you can still use this "Internet" thing to browse and purchase things from the Marketplace. Once you purchase something from Xbox.com, it will download automatically to your console while you're away.
Xbox LIVE Primetime. This is a "whole new category of games" that not only supports Achievements and leaderboards, but will also offer real prizes. Games are played throughout the Xbox LIVE network and each game is "broadcast simultaneously" so that everyone is partaking in the same activity. These events can feature live hosts, "calling the shots as they happen."

[Thanks, Glitch W.!]

Tags: breakingnews, e3-2008, hard-drive, install, installation, major-nelson, xblm, xbox-360, xbox-live, xbox-live-marketplace, xbox-live-primetime

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Jomolungma @ Jul 14th 2008 4:14PM

If MS just had one slide in their talk that said these three things, the whole "new dashboard" thing would have gone over much better.

Dan @ Jul 14th 2008 4:36PM

I may love my PS3 more then my 360, but this is one update that I definitely appreciate over the new gui.

Thank god I got that elite, Fable 2 and Gears of War 2 here I come.

Moorio - XBL: peacebyanymeans @ Jul 14th 2008 4:47PM

Also confirmed:

16x10 support!!!

Now I'll get native resolution on my 1440x900 monitor!

:)
:)
:)

@Joystiq

"Play from hard drive. ***Copy*** your games from the game disc and play directly from the hard drive. Not only will the drive not spin, but load times are quicker, as well. Of course, you will still need the disc in the tray to prove you own the game."

Do you know difference between COPY and INSTALL ?

It is NOT INSTALL of any kind - not full instal - nor partial install.

Completly optional - you will be able to:
***COPY WHOLE GAME TO HDD - LIKE Playing from ISO on PC***

And it will copy whole DVD in 4-5 minutes top - on 12x drive in X360 unlike those (fortunately rare) 20 minutes PS3 installs.

Anybody who even once played from ISOs on PC will tell you how usefull it is.

And making it ISO copy will make it completly backward COMPATIBLE with ALL X360 games.

Javier Aguayo @ Jul 14th 2008 6:51PM

If only they anounced that they will allow you to add any hard drive to the 360 (like the PS2) I do not want to waste 200 bucks on a mere 120 gigs.

j0eyjuice @ Jul 14th 2008 4:15PM

Yes !!!

Marty @ Jul 14th 2008 4:56PM

Seems like every time I update Joystiq there's a fresh (and more awesome) bit of news from Microsoft / Xbox 360. Schwing!

Markez (MKWii 4339-2878-5120) @ Jul 14th 2008 4:16PM

Anyone know what an average size of a game might be? I'm wondering if I'll have to upgrade my lil' 20GB hard drive to accommodate this and all the other stuff that's already saved on it :P

rv @ Jul 14th 2008 4:20PM

A dvd is 9gb, so about that size. Motherfuckers better lower the price of hdds, $160 for 120?? Seriously, they really need to lower those prices.

F-Forward @ Jul 14th 2008 4:21PM

Checked the latest releases. 7-8GB. Some things might be padding, updates and such stuff.

Jomolungma @ Jul 14th 2008 4:50PM

@rv - there is a rumor that 120GB HDD's are coming down in price with the release of the 60GB Pro in August.

rv @ Jul 14th 2008 5:04PM

Man, I hope so. The price does need to be cut A LOT, though. Not $20 or $40. It needs to be cut at least 50%, and there it is still expensive. The new feature of the install is very desirable to me. I hope they see that a lot of people will buy the hdd's for these features and lower their price. Or, they might think that more people will want to buy it at a higher price point now and hold their ground...

If there is one thing that pisses me of about the 360, is the ridiculously high accessory prices.

Markez (MKWii 4339-2878-5120) @ Jul 14th 2008 5:07PM

Also would wonder how long it would take to save the whole game disc onto the drive?

And yeah, the additional HDD cost is brutal.

s00pcan @ Jul 14th 2008 6:19PM

Games are generally 4gbs-7gbs. Luckily, I have a 120gb hard drive.

Vcize @ Jul 14th 2008 4:16PM

Making installs optional...what a novell idea.

Accessing content via the web is awesome too. I need it now to start that Too Human demo download so it'll be waiting when I get home :\

xFenixKnightx @ Jul 14th 2008 4:22PM

Gears 2 trailer was just sick! Then, the damn gameplay was just plain beautiful. Did you see it or not yet? Man the graphics are so much better. Who'dve thunk it...

Vcize @ Jul 14th 2008 4:52PM

Haven't seen the E3 one yet, I'm stuck at work and no stream here :\

When I get home though, new Gears 2 videos don't go 5 seconds without playing on my computer.

xFenixKnightx @ Jul 14th 2008 5:02PM

All you need to know is...

You have a Rendezvous with Death. EPIC!

Mr.ESC @ Jul 14th 2008 4:16PM

Awesome,Time for a new Hard drive.

The first game I will install is The orange Box.

eNrique @ Jul 15th 2008 12:23AM

last week x360 fanboys were complainig about game installations, and now they are happy???
week ago they were talking shit bout FFXIII, now they love it???

fuck!

arrrgh @ Jul 14th 2008 5:33PM

"MANDATORY"

is the key word...or lack thereof ;)

enjoy your mandatory installs

j0eyjuice @ Jul 14th 2008 4:16PM

This is awsome

F-Forward @ Jul 14th 2008 4:17PM

The best thing about the install-option is that the noise-problem will be gone.

BananaBoat @ Jul 14th 2008 4:17PM

Boooo. You still need the disc in the drive? What the hell is the point then? You still have to put the disc in, and all that will change is load times...which were small to begin with. Talk about a useless feature. Make it so that you only have to put it in once a month or something...to keep people from just renting and installing...or....meh, just meh.

rv @ Jul 14th 2008 4:27PM

Yes, gta and mass effect with the drive at peace. I can't wait.

StrangeBum @ Jul 14th 2008 4:58PM

Hell motherf***ing yeah!

BananaBoat @ Jul 14th 2008 4:20PM

Edit: I just realized that this should cut down on noise since the drive won't have to spin. That is the only good thing I can think of with this. A whole library of games at my fingertips without the need for the disc would have been alot more awesome. Oh well

Benny @ Jul 14th 2008 4:24PM

Mmm having to keep the disc in the system tray does suck a little. I would prefer it if I just had to slip the disc in the first time I play a game every week or month to prove I had it.

BananaBoat @ Jul 14th 2008 4:29PM

This feature falls a little short of making me want to buy the bigger HDD it would take for me to be able to actually fit games on my HDD. It's already so stuffed full of demos etc, that a game wouldn't possibly fit, but I refuse to pay high dollar for a first party Microsoft HDD just so I then have to put the disc in every time. Just not going to happen.

Dave @ Jul 14th 2008 4:40PM

The big advantage would be with multi-disc games. I'm guessing FFXIII will fall into that category.

BananaBoat @ Jul 14th 2008 5:02PM

I can see it now.. "Please prove you own disc 2 by inserting it" =/

embassy @ Jul 14th 2008 4:17PM

wow, MS really isn't playing around when it comes to it's software/interface/platform upgrades...sony and nintendo just can't keep up. this just nullifies sony's new firmware. that year headstart is really starting to make a significant impact for MS.

DangerMouse @ Jul 14th 2008 4:26PM

I agree. The PS3's online services is awful. I don't know why they're dicking around not doing a damn thing, but they seriously need an overhaul, and fast. It's rather disappointing.

scump @ Jul 14th 2008 4:17PM

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.

I feel someone heard me.

/Whispers

" Free things now Microsoft"

The disc tray thing is perfect!

FSK405K @ Jul 14th 2008 4:17PM

new dashboard + avatars = wii wish wii were

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Jul 14th 2008 4:28PM

Dude what is your deal? Through out the whole day you've been consistently bashing Microsoft. Seriously so is it now wrong for a company to act like a company and copy things that makes other companies successful?

Monkeys Suck @ Jul 14th 2008 4:36PM

It almost is wrong, simply because then what defines a console? Miis were one aspect of a wii that made it distinguishable, now Home and Avatars are taking that aspect. Avatars are almost a complete copy (note: ALMOST), but Home takes it to the level where Miis should have been at launch. If every console has it, it makes it like it's not a feature.

One thing that Microsoft won't have: Hitler Avatars

Dan @ Jul 14th 2008 4:50PM

@Vegeta

I get what your saying, but you gotta admit the whole mii look is not necessarry. I really hope that gui can be replaced with the old blade look.

But as far as feautres and announcements, the only real good news (besides all the games coming out), is the hdd install for games, new 16:10 resolutions, and the price cut coming soon.

I mean I'm a big sony fan, but I gotta admit at least the keynote wasnt a total snore on just games coming out that we already knew. MS had a good day finally.

riggs @ Jul 14th 2008 8:16PM

you cant spell COmPanY without copy.

peteyH @ Jul 14th 2008 4:18PM

WHEN????

waves @ Jul 14th 2008 4:35PM

From the article:
"This is only the beginning. Over the next few months, we will share more details on the upcoming changes."

So this sounds like a Fall '08 update. I would guess sometime around October. The last Fall update was in December, but they skipped the Spring update this year...

FoxHoundADAM @ Jul 14th 2008 4:19PM

Sounds like some cool added features.

Vidikron (FU) @ Jul 14th 2008 4:19PM

So will the disc in the drive actually spin down after it reads, or at least spin slower? Getting rid of the horrible drive noise the 360 produces would be a great reason to install a game you plan to play a bunch.

Vcize @ Jul 14th 2008 4:22PM

Major Nelson specifically said the disc would not have to spin at all once the game is installed.

Vidikron (FU) @ Jul 14th 2008 4:26PM

Awesome. That feature is a win then. I figure I'll use it to install games I plan to come back to over and over.

It's too bad they couldn't implement some sort of online registration system whereby you didn't have to even put the disc in the system.

waves @ Jul 14th 2008 4:21PM

As a 360 Elite owner, I like the idea of installing games on the HDD. Especially after I sent my last Elite in for a busted DVD drive (it sounded like someone stuck a fork in a garbage disposal). Quicker load times are always welcome, too!

Tycho @ Jul 14th 2008 4:22PM

Disc in tray to play is nothing new. At least for PC gamers. Pretty cool new feature.
Useless to those with a 20gb HDD though. I mean, they'd HAVE to drop the HDD price. But still cool.

NATO_Duke @ Jul 14th 2008 4:25PM

We all know its nothing new for PC gamers - but it is new this generation for a console. (I would bet most of us have had PC games too.)

Tycho @ Jul 14th 2008 4:34PM

Oh, I know. I forget how old I am sometimes and that there are generations of gamers who never played pc games and don't know things like "disc in tray" have been around for a long time and have been standard. And that we've had 16+ player online for longer than I can remember.

RE: the whole MGS install uproar. I laughed. I remember hour + install times on some pc games.