Rumor: Xbox 360's New Disk Format Is Actually a System Update - NGLB

Rumors have been flying around the net the past couple of days about the Xbox 360 receiving a new disc format. Many speculated the Xbox 360 would finally get a Blu Ray drive, but Major Nelson's posting for volunteers seems to suggest that it is some sort of system update.This would directly coincide with Digital Foundry's sources that say a new update will add 1GB of storage space to the standard Xbox 360 Dual Layered DVD, helping to alleviate a space limitation that has been plaguing developers for years now.

[Gamer_Z]

Why only 1GB?

Edit: Well I hope Dice can put that 1G to good use with Battlefield 3 because they are going to need all the space they can get to run that monster of a game on consoles. Which comes to my next question will MS implement this before BF3?

[morganfell]

Because that is all they can spare. The real goal is to provide developers more space as the complaints concerning the outdated format are growing and developers are becoming more vocal in the community.

I do not know why people believed it was a completely new type of disc when a careful reading of Major Nelson's first comments on the matter pointed away from any such possibility. In addition, no sensible developer would commit to a game that requires an add on drive.

Currently MS uses a massive amount, far more than 1GB, of the DVD9 disc for security purposes. A method that has been hacked for years. MS likely realizes they have been using far too much territory for security that no longer serves it's purpose and a different, smaller protection system that can provide a basic level of security will suffice.

[MorningStar]

Major Nelson wont tell you if they are changing the game disc format. C4E said it is and he is a more reliable source about such things than an official Microsoft rep.

They would not send out a free copy of Halo Reach unless it was needed for the testing. It has also been said that this new format is involved with the new SDK.

[AAACE5]

Would be cool if everyone was wrong and they somehow found a way to make a triple layer dvd that could hold 12 Gb's!

But what are the odds of that happening...

[darthv72]

the technology is there for quad layer dvds that can be read by existing red lasers like the 360 without any hardware modifications.

I doubt MS would take this approach but it would be nice to have basically what amounts to as a DVD20. No more compromises or (at least) less and less compromises when it comes to the texture quality.

Yet I wouldnt want devs getting lazy with the space like many have before. Basically making a std dvd game and using filler (cgi/cut scenes) to try and validate the use of such a disc. Sony uses the bluray for every game even though we know good and well that many are capable of fitting on a reg dvd.

Right now it is just speculation as to what this new format is. The hacker community (digital foundry's "sources") can only say what they are familiar with regarding the current security layer used now. MS really knows the whole truth and so far they aint saying much except...here we need people to check this out.

A copy of reach on this new disc format had better include stuff that my current copy of reach doesnt, otherwise what's the point.

[Theonik]

Because they can't do more on a Dual Layer DVD. Essentially the update reduces the security footprint from ~2Gb to 1Gb while increasing security. That of course leads to a bump in usable space from 6.5Gb to 7.5Gb.

[BabyTownFrolics]

your a little late with this "rumor"

do you just look at older posts and then write a paragraph summary about them?

[news4geeks]

shady

[BlackKnight]

It never should have been a "rumor". It is most people's ignorance of technology and not understanding that the word "format" is not just a physical medium. It is also the METHOD that information is stored on a medium.

Like when you FORMAT a harddrive, nothing new is physically added. You can format a drive into FAT32 or NTFS or many other FORMATS.

Similarly, they are testing new FORMATS on DVD9 discs that take less space for security and allowing that space to be used for content.

I hate how people will try to say bad or positive things about a platform and they have NO IDEA what they are talking about except for marketing terms.

[jbiz320]

thats cool i guess.. not that large tho

[wwm0nkey]

1GB even though not too much thats still an extra gig that can be used on levels, textures, and ect. Remember guys every gig counts.

[SuperStrokey1123]

Isnt this kinda a repost? like 7 or 8 times ...

[gta_manic]

Even with the extra 1gb it still doesn't really alleviate the storage space problem. Its like adding an extra 100 pages on a 1000page book while trying to write a 2000page story and having to write really really small to fit it all in.

[jimbone79]

Actually a lot can happen in 100 pages of a book.

[B1663r]

I think a better analogy is that 1 gig is like 500 next gen compressed textures. Or 10 hours of MP3 compressed (256kbs vbr) audio. Or in the case of this gen games, 2-6 maps with all the associated multimedia data. More if you reuse the textures, models and sounds.

Edit: @above

You know of all the books Ive read, the 1000 page books always end up boring me, I have always prefered the shorter classics... Slaughterhouse Five for example is only about 125 pages long... Tom Sawyer similar... Huck Finn, is about 250...

With the singular exception (for me anyhow) of Lord of the Rings, all of those 1000+ page books are too long and boring.

Sort of like hours and hours of cut scenes in a video game, just because you can, or because you need to justify the capability of that capability...

I mean 35gig of Bink video encoding???? REALLY????

I have to allude to the title that has 35gig of bink video encoding because I get banned if I talk about this and that in same post, but pm me if you want to know.

[EliteDave93]

LOL! 1GB Fuck me -.-

[ASSASSYN 36o]

1GB is the equivalent of 694.45, 3.5-inch floppy disk.

[B1663r]

I don't know why I am saying this, but the floppy disk is still used as an icon for saving...

[Kakkoii]

Because it's become synonymous with the word save, since it was the original well known format to save to. Pretty much everyone knows what a floppy is, except kids born in 1996 and up. They just know that that icon means save now, and that's it XD

No need to change what ain't broke. It's a nice stylized icon for the word save.

[Raider69]

I gess Kojima and Sam Houser made a formal complain to the head of M$.If you guys want a Metal Gear game and a new GTA we got to have another GB of space in the DVD-DL to stuck data in.""Sarcasm

[josephayal]

Buahaha 1G? No way MEH! I want 70gb+

[gcolley]

leave your brain at home day here at n4g, by the looks of the comments

[dirthurts]

I would bet on it. It allows for about 1.6ish gb of additional space.
In theory the DVD drives in the 360 should be able to read that format.