According to a document obtained by JoyStiq, a 2010 dashboard update for Xbox 360 will finally grant gamers to ability to save their game files to a USB storage device.
The document, written by a senior software development engineer at Microsoft, states that due to “increased market penetration of high-capacity, high throughput USB mass storage devices, a 2010 Xbox 360 system update” will allow consumers to save and load game data from USB devices. That means no more buying those expensive memory cards if all you want to do is save a game.
The feature will not only allow for game save data to be stored but your Xbox LIVE Arcade games, full-disc installations and more. USB devices are big nowadays, too; they’ll need to be at least 1GB to be compatible with the Xbox 360, though.
Win, win? I think so.
Better late than never. While I’m sure MS will miss out on the custom 360 drives this is a huge win for 360 owners that need more space.
I just wonder if the data will be transferrable. Say you go to a friend’s to play some Splinter Cell. You want to show off a particular level that was really cool and would like to just jump to that level using your game save.
I guess the next question is will the game save be tied directly to your account requiring you to login at your friends’ 360. And then what happens to the game save when you logout? Can you transfer it?
I would imagine that you wouldn’t be able to transfer content like movies and/or TV shows purchased from XBL Marketplace so I probably just answered my own question.
Still, it’s great to know that you can connect an off the shelf USB drive rather than being relegated to the 360 drives.