Microsoft's NXE storage solution: Free 512MB memory card or $20 for 20GB HDD

Does anyone know why MS went backwards with no HDDs in some of the 360s when all original Xbox's had an HDD, granted only 8gb but why not even give the lowest end 360s some gigs of storage?

I bought a core as a back-up last year while mine was having issues and then gave it to my stepson. So, basically, free card for me. Thanks for the heads up.

That's because, at least according to Peter Moore, the hard drive was one of the biggest production cost vacuums for the original XBOX.

"And in the same way, not having a hard drive in every Xbox 360 was a hard decision, but we wanted to get price under control. The hard drive in every Xbox killed us; we we're still selling it at $199 and the hard drive was like $70. That's why we prematurely left the original Xbox, because the more we were selling – there was still great demand – it was killing us, and there was no way to bring the price down. So in the end we determined at around the 25 million unit mark that we just needed to slow this thing down and just not sell any more, and move to the 360 as quickly as we possibly could. And to this day people still believe we left the Xbox too early but it was purely for financial purposes."

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2008/sep/11/playstation.microsoft1

While memory cards are certainly not as preferable as hard drives on the 360, at least the 360 Arcade models COME with a storage device (unlike the Core 360s), so at least they've moved beyond selling the so-called "tard pack"/"Wal-Mart360."

Le *sigh*

That was supposed to be a reply to Chin-Poh's comment above...

im eligible for the Xbox 360 Memory Upgrade Program

buy what happend if i not from US?

$20 for a $20gb hard drive? Sounds like an excellent deal for those who have Core and Arcade 360's. I hope this means the beggining of MS selling hard drives of different types, because this one would pay good cash for a 120gb HD, as long as it's not priced as the memory of course. :P

Congratulations MS on showing how awesome you can be. You've just become one of my favorite companies. Keep it up.

Here's some questions:

Does the new layout totally erase the old layout? How much space does the current XBL layout take up?, and is it more or less than the new layout? Begging the question, will more space be freed up on my 20gb HDD after I install the new XBL experience?

Not one person has criticized the $50 MSRP price of the 512MB memory cards?

If MS can afford to give away memory cards for free to Core owners, can't they afford to make them cost less than a wireless controller?

I have a solution, reduce the cost of the HDs.

Hopefully a sign of an overall lowering of those insane prices

I submitted mine for the heck of it, got this:
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According to our records you own a console which has enough memory to connect to Xbox LIVE and live the new Xbox Experience. The next time you turn on your Xbox 360 console and connect to Xbox LIVE you will receive the update. Have fun!
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Makes it sound like the update is already out ha.. idiots.

I can't believe they're doing the right thing? Is this even close to being possible?

Allow me to solve this hard drive question for all the people wondering why MS requires the use of their hard drives. Its a security issue.

The first xbox had a hard drive that could be replaced by any hard drive of any size. Once the OS was hacked this hard drive could have any code compatible with the xbox OS loaded on to and executed from the hard drive. And that opens up the door for hackers/griefers.
for example see:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKu2i0jd0j4

So while Im not a fan of the price of the HDDs, I'll take it over jerk offs ruining my live experience.

i was really hoping for some external hard drive love and support...

lame, Microsoft...LAME

I have a core but it said that I have enough storage space. Can they detect an HDD.

They can detect if you have a HDD installed, so if you do, sorry, no offer for you :<

Just placed a order from the UK version of the site. £20 for a HD and 3 Months Live. That's not a bad deal anyway you look at it.

I really get tired of the whiners who say the Arcade model is pointless. Arcade is a perfectly fine system if you're not going to play online. It allows them to reach into a price market UNDER the Wii at this point. It gets the unit into people's houses... and then many of them will eventually decide that they want to be online and then buy a (profitable) hard drive.

The old Core system WAS virtually worthless, because you HAVE to have a memory card or you can't even save any games. And once you added the memory card price to the Core you were getting way too close to the Premium. Now that MS includes 256MB memory (which is plenty for a LOT of users that don't download) and even a wireless controller the Arcade is a pretty attractive SKU.

In addition, the Arcade units are ideal as Media Extenders. There are those of use that use Media Center.

I feel a little jipped. I spent $100 on a 20GB HDD... I did get my core for $100, though.

At this point, why don't they include the hdd in the arcade?

Yep, that works.

I bought an arcade from a kid up the street. It came with the 256mb memory card. This is what I got:

Thank you for your information. As an owner of an Xbox 360 Arcade console you are eligible for the following Xbox 360 Memory Upgrade Offer.

Upgrade to a Refurbished 20GB Xbox 360 Hard Drive and 3M of Xbox LIVE Gold for ONLY $29.99!

I have a core...but somehow it knew i had a hard drive.. i guess it has records that ive downloaded stuff off of the marketplace...sneeeaakky...

well the hard drive ripoff is why I don't have a 360. I am not paying 300 bucks for a 360 and a 60 gig hard drive. They should ditch the arcade and sell the 60 gig pro for 200. I will still have to use the overpriced wireless adapter to get on live and I am not paying 400 bucks for a system, adapter and 60 gig hard drive. Especially considering it will prolly last 2 months and brick out on me. If MS wants to win the console war in the long term they need to ditch the arcade and elite and sell the pro with a 120 gig HDD by Christmas. Cutting the wireless adapter to 50 bucks would definitely help too. There are enough games out by now they can still make a profit, well if they hadn't lost billions by having to replace so many faulty systems. It's a shame too cus there are at least 50 games I would like to play :(

You may be laughing, but i have a XBOX 360 Core Unit with a 64 mb memory card since the Xbox360 came out. Now for only 20$ ill receive a 20 gb hard drive. Thats a bargain considering the only major difference about the Core and the Pro was the hard drive and it was 100$ more (well, i dont have the chrome cd tray, and i have 1 wired controller). Considering i bought a wireless controler for 30$ and an HD cable for 20$, i saved 30$ and i have 2 controllers! Yay! Patience pays off... finally

This won't be an issue if I have the 120 GB hard Drive will it?

Give me a 120 GB hard drive for