The Frag Dolls have garnered the attention of hard drive manufacturer Seagate, which will collaborate with the Ubisoft-sponsored clan of gaming ladies over the next year for a series on online and in-person video game competitions, as well as a mall tour, making us close our eyes and wax poetic as we imagine being schooled by the likes of Tiffany and Debbie Gibson.

The troupe will make three guest appearances during the apparently larger 'Seagate's Mall Tour,' which is expected to begin on October 19 at Minneapolis' Mall of America, hopefully nestled somewhere near the Lego Imagination Center. The girls will of course sign autographs and give high fives before 'pwning' their fans in gaming tournaments for Seagate-branded prizes, which may or may not be given out to the tune of 'I Think We're Alone Now.'

[Via press release]

Microsoft confirmed at Gamefest 2007 that developers working on server-based MMOs for Xbox 360 are allowed to request use of the hard drive. This is one of those "duh," but not explicitly ever stated things. Microsoft will bend the rules for these HDD required games on a "case-by-case" basis, but now with more ground rules compared to the Final Fantasy XI days.

The way it will work is developers will have to say how much space they expect their game to take and it will have to be explicitly stated on the box. Even if they don't think they're going to require all the space in the beginning, they're supposed to give the expected upper limit they'll need. As Ian Lewis, software design engineer at Microsoft said, "Feel free to require 30GB for your game; that's just going to make your potential audience a lot smaller."

Microsoft says designers can get around the console space issues by offering up lower resolution models and textures, make areas off-limits and stream assets from their server. Silver Xbox Live users will not be required to purchase a gold membership, however everyone will have to pay for the MMO's subscription fee separately from the Live membership. An MMO with a separate subscription fee still sounds like a tough sell on a console, but for the right game, anything is possible.

In a reversal of Sony's March assertion that they "don't have plans" to increase the PlayStation 3's hard drive size, Sony spokesman Satoshi Fukuoka now says the company is "considering" a version featuring a drive bigger than the 60GB existing model (and 20GB model that was discontinued in the USA five days ago). Does this mean a pending price drop for the 60GB PS3? Or will Sony blow our minds and bank accounts with a new $700 SKU?

[Via Fragland]

Aaron Greenberg, Microsoft's group product manager, told Game Theory yesterday that the 120GB external drive for the Xbox 360 is not overpriced at $179. Said Greenberg, "If you compare what we are offering with a real plug-and-play drive the closest thing would be to take a 120-gig self-powered external PC drive, and in that case we are seeing those retail at anywhere from $160 to $200 for comparable laptop-sized external hard drives."

Greenberg probably doesn't want you to know that he's wrong, but he's wrong. Sure, you can pay $200 for a 120GB drive if you really want to, but as with most products, there are plenty of deals to be had; unless you're locked into buying peripherals from a single manufacturer that controls its monopolistic pricing with a proprietary vice-grip. Which, in the case of the Xbox 360 ... you are. Though if Greenberg had said, "We own you. Deal with it," that might not have been as good for PR.

They own you. Deal with it.

Seems like the totally secret announcement of the Xbox 360 Elite -- and it's strapping 120GB hard drive -- may have spurred Sony to consider bumping the PlayStation 3's already user-replaceable 60GB hard drive to ... an 80GB hard drive! An FCC filing dated March 2, 2007 announces the addition of a new model, CECHE01, which includes some tweaks to the Bluetooth antenna and, notably, a larger hard drive. Unlike Microsoft's latest SKU, the CECHE01 will replace the anemic 60GB CECHA01. Or maybe it won't.

According to Sony, "The 80GB we're not making a comment on, but we don't have any plans at the moment." While it's true that the interior workings of giant megacorporations confuse and bewilder us, we're still left pondering how they managed to file a "Permissive Change Letter" with the FCC with no "plans at the moment." With the 20GB PS3 model being a no-show in Europe, and increasingly so here as well, maybe Sony just wants to stick those missing gigabytes back into the marketplace. Or something.

[Thanks, Cosmo & Dolla Dolla]

Read - FCC "Permissive Change Letter" for 80GB PS3 (via PC World)
Read - No current plans for 80GB PS3 (Eurogamer)

As word spreads that tomorrow Microsoft will apparently confirm that Xbox 360 Elite is currently being manufactured in a plant somewhere in China, Sony PR sent around a welcome message, attributed to SVP of Marketing Peter Dille:

"We think every PlayStation 3 owner should have an 'elite' experience, which is why we include an internal hard drive and HDMI output in every PS3 we sell, along with the 50 GB of storage capacity on a high definition Blu-ray disc. Sony has been the strongest advocate of high definition as the future of next-generation gaming. This requires high-definition components, including HDMI output, and large storage devices to deliver and store all that rich and vivid HD content. Microsoft's announcement today [er, "tomorrow"] not only legitimizes Sony's PS3 strategy, it moves us closer to adopting universal standards in the area of high definition gaming that will benefit game developers and ultimately the end user."

Clearly Dille and Sony are eager to seize this opportunity to play the leader. Sixteen months after launch -- 12 months ahead of PS3 -- Microsoft is suddenly playing catch-up. And, as Sony points out, even the 'Elite' efforts don't necessarily match up well against PS3; certainly for consumers also interested in high-definition video (on disc). Are the facts enough to sway consumers over to Sony's side -- or does PR also need to FedEx the beer and deploy the boats to win this console war?

Nintendo has spooned out a helping of its classic canned response, dismissing rumor that an external hard drive for Wii is in the works. GameIndustry.biz was force-fed a mouthful of "pure rumour and speculation" when seeking clarification about the would-be peripheral.

Originating from Japanese mag Gamelabo, the rumor claimed to cite undisclosed sources within Nintendo who allegedly revealed that an external hard drive for Wii is being readied. Regardless of the validity of this particular rumor or its source, the Wii hard drive question seems to be more an issue of when than if. Back when we still called the thing a "Revolution," Iwata openly confirmed, "practically any storage method can be used [with the console]." External USB hard drives have to be included in that sentiment, no?

As Wii users begin to fill the 512 MB of internal flash memory -- just imagine the burden of Saturn games and downloadable demos -- everyone's got an eye toward memory expansion. A pile of SD cards is one option; a hard drive is a better one. Here's the dilemma: if Nintendo releases a first-party drive, say for $100, then there's a risk of Wii being perceived as a $350 console. Whether or not Nintendo opts for dual SKUs, retailers would certainly bundle the "base" console and an external Nintendo hard drive together; in effect, damaging Wii's price advantage. Nintendo is likely looking at a hard drive solution, but don't expect the company to give up its R&S response until it's clear that a proprietary drive would be profitable. Our guess: expect third-party offerings later this year.

Sixty gigabytes not enough for you to store all your pictures and movies on your PS3? Sure, you could use a USB hard drive to expand the space, but that's much too easy. For those masochists that just need to have that extra storage inside the system casing, there's now a MySpace page with detailed advice on how to install any 3.5" drive in your system.

For those of you who just need to have every USB device you own hooked up to the PS3 at the same time, the site also has video instructions for installing a USB hub to expand the four ports included with the system. Personally, we're too busy playing Resistance: Fall of Man to take the time to do any of this stuff, but for the hardware fetishists out there, go nuts.

Speaking with Major Nelson, Microsoft group product manager Aaron Greenberg speculated that a version of Xbox 360 specialized for IPTV and DVR activity was certainly possible. Greenberg admitted that "[Microsoft] did not build [Xbox 360] to be a high-definition DVR," suggesting an IPTV upgrade (i.e. larger hard drive) and IPTV-specific console "configuration" were both possible solutions to the inherent dilemma. Greenberg did note that a larger hard drive would only be necessary for DVR functionality -- IPTV could function with or without a hard drive.

While this is hardly confirmation that a new version of Xbox 360 is inbound, Greenberg's statements may indicate that Microsoft is closing in on a strategy for 360 v2; one that won't upset early adopters (at least, not as much). Marketing v2 as an IPTV/DVR device (PSX, anyone?) might be enough of a diversion to excuse the original Xbox 360's lack of substantial hard drive space and HDMI output. If that is to be the case, it will be imperative that all of the v2 components are available for the original console, including a free IPTV software installation (with purchase of contract, of course).

When thinking of gaming, the companies that make the storage medium are rarely thought of. Seagate, however, is offering up an interesting view of the future; a future that could effect the way we buy our games.

According to Seagate, they are working on a technology that will drastically increase the amount of data we store on hard drives. Using a technology called heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR), the company expects to be able to shove 50 TB of information into a single square inch of drive space, or around 300 TB of information on a standard 3.5" drive. With that kind of space, the entire Library of Congress can be stored ... without any compression.

The technology is expected to become commercially viable in a scant three years, by 2010. This means we may be seeing the Xbox 720 and PS4 being entirely based around digital distribution or fully installed console games, mostly eliminating ugly load times and noisy disk drives. With that kind of space, we may never have to worry about filling it up; 300 TB can hold around 6,144 50 GB Blu-ray disks (or the entire Library of PS through PS3 games that could ever be created with room to spare).

Speaking with GamersReports, Xbox Group Product Marketing Manager Aaron Greenberg addressed concerns that Xbox 360's current 20 GB hard drive would not be sufficient for the forthcoming movie and television download service. When pressed for a solution, Greenberg offered up this workaround:

"I can tell you what people tell me they do to get around this. What they do is they put their Live account on a memory unit and then they have one hard drive that they put their games or related content on, and then they have another drive that they put their movies and TV on."

Of course! Why didn't we think of that? Duh, the 360 HDD is detachable -- just buy another! And $100 later, we've got enough room to store 5 hours of HD content on a separate drive. Wow, that's awful.

The good news is a larger hard drive will almost certainly hit the market. The even better news is there's already technology that will allow you to avoid buying any more of Microsoft's overpriced drives, big or small. Try Datel's XSATA ($49.99), which allows users to transfer data from the 360's HDD to another drive via PC connection. A quick search yields several 250 GB hard drive options hovering around the $100-mark. Do the math. That's more than 60 hours worth of HD movie and television content storage capacity -- for just $150. So much for Microsoft's "workaround."

The Nintendo Nsider Forums are lighting up with glee (and spilling onto Digg) at how horribly terrific it would be if Ridge Racer 7 required a 5 GB install on PlayStation 3's hard disk drive. Some generous (in favor of Sony) math calculates that the install would take 9 minutes and 46 seconds. The assumption is most PS3 games will require HDD dumps, forcing users to constantly install, erase, and reinstall -- these data chunks would fill up the drives fast; certainly the 20 GB model.

Here's what we know: Ridge Racer 7 will have an optional 5 GB HDD installation feature that's in place to speed up load times. Currently, Ridge Racer 7 and Genji (4 GB install) are the only games known to include this option. While this will almost certainly change, there's little reason to believe that HDD dumps will become a PS3 standard (unless you buy Sony's "it's not a console, it's a computer" mumbo jumbo).

Anyways, waiting 9 minutes and 46 seconds for data to install isn't as agonizing as we'd sometimes like to believe; especially if it's a one-time (or once in a while) procedure. On that note, let's wait this conundrum out for a while longer, watch how it develops.

Despite clear indication at X06 Korea, Microsoft insists there are no plans to release a 100GB hard drive for Xbox 360 next March. The official statement is as follows:

"The reference to a 100GB hard drive in a recent presentation in Korea has been misleading and in fact we have no plans to bring a 100GB hard drive to the market. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused."

When questioned, Microsoft reps did concede that a larger (more competitive) drive was still a possibility, but reiterated that such an accessory would not be announced in the near future.

Before jumping into Genji to deal some massive damage to historically accurate giant crabs (nyuk nyuk) during Sony's Gamer's Day event on Thursday, MTV News' Stephen Totilo noticed a curious menu option:

INSTALL

What's this all about? Totilo writes, "Also unexpected was a feature in Genji to install the game, committing 4GB of data from the game's Blu-ray disc to the PS3's hard drive -- a three-minute one-time-only procedure available from the game's start menu that a Sony rep said cuts down in-game load times from about 15 seconds to four seconds."

So, regardless of the debate about the relative read speeds of 2x Blu-ray drives and 12x DVD drives, we can all recognize the obvious benefits of having a hard drive included by default. Why Genji appears to be the only title sporting this option is another question. Did excessive load times in the PS3's first finished title necessitate extraordinary measures, or will most games offer this time-saving option, à la PC games.

HEXUS.gaming reports that a cache clear code has been discovered for the Xbox 360 hard drive via the dashboard's system blade. To perform the function, access 'memory' in the system blade, and then highlight the hard drive. Now press: Y, X, X, LB, RB, X, X. The following message should appear: "Do you want to perform maintenance on your Xbox 360 storage devices?"

If you initiate maintenance, the hard drive's cache will be cleared, including all software updates. Theoretically, this function could be used to un-update Oblivion in order to regain access to the unlimited gold and item duplication glitches. Note: we have not tested this function.

Update: corrected code.

See also: Oblivion patched for PC, 360 tomorrow