There’s No Party Like The First One – Microsoft Locking Third Party Memory Units On The Next Update
On Major Nelson’s Blog, Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb laid mention that when the new update hits, any unauthorized third party memory units will be locked from usage. Hryb suggests that you set out to find an authorized storage unit, such as the overprice $100 hard drive or the overpriced 512mb Memory unit.
Of course Major Nelson didn’t exactly call everything overpriced…he was too busy talking about what he’s listening to on his ZUNE and on his new computer using WINDOWS 7 while playing something on the “very popular” GAMES FOR WINDOWS PLATFORM…but that was before he watched one of his favorite shows, “The Guild,” on his XBOX 360 using WINDOWS MEDIA CONNECT…which is SOOO easy and convenient to use!
Brad’s Take: If there is something that has been put to an immediate halt, it’s the third party development of accessories on nearly all platforms. And that of course started with Microsoft, who wouldn’t allow any developer to create any wireless controllers on the 360 because they needed a specific wavelength that only Microsoft could actually allow to use.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing, since it does mean we should expect quality with our controllers. This also, however, has led Microsoft to overcharge for nearly every one of its accessories, including hard drives, memory units and controllers. The potential locking of these units will very likely mean that some gamers will lose their information, such as game saves, which is a hassle.
This could also mean they can potentially lose the items they have purchased, which is due to the fact that Microsoft licenses their digital download content with marks on the account on which it was sold, the console it was first downloaded AND (most importantly) the memory unit at which its stored. If those units come up faulty or “locked,” there is the potential that someone may lose the rights to the media they purchased.
I’ll have more the definite answer of that question as time goes on, but a STRONG suggestion to anyone who has a third party memory unit is to go out and buy a Microsoft branded unit IMMEDIATELY.
