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Xbox360 – Hard Drive Or Memory Card?
By Tony Cunningham

The Xbox 360 can be purchased with a 20GB hard drive depending on the type of bundle you are looking for. The hard drive is not required in order to play the Xbox360 but it is a detachable storage system that allows a large amount of Xbox360 content and other media to be saved onto the console. Most games do not need this type of memory but if you play the Xbox360 long enough you are going to need more than one memory card and so the Xbox 360 hard drive saves money for people who go through a lot of memory cards. Games can be saved onto the hard drive, music files can be stored and Xbox Live downloadable content is also retained on the hard drive. The Xbox360 hard drive costs more than a 64MB memory card but it is worth the difference because there is so much memory available on it.

The Xbox360 hard drive is bought with a downloadable game already installed on it and some special software that is required to play some but not all Xbox360 games. The hard drive can lower the loading times on games and store a lot more game saves. The Xbox Live Marketplace allows extras for the games you own to be stored on the hard drive. This can include more levels, maps, weapons, etc. Any bonus features available on the Xbox Live Marketplace are compatible with the Xbox360 hard drive. The Xbox360 hard drive can store a multitude of personalized options such as gamer profiles, themes and pictures and music playlists can be easily created and stored on the storage device.

Is The Xbox360 Hard Drive Necessary?

The Xbox360 hard drive is not necessary but it is an advantage to the game play. It is not needed straight away but anyone who is going to use their Xbox360 regularly over a long period of time should probably invest in the hard drive storage device. There is so much memory on it that buying extra memory cards are just not worth it. 20GB of hard drive is not going to fill up any time soon and is a great long-term option. However, many people are choosing to buy the memory card option instead of the hard drive because of the initial expense and the indecision over whether they will actually use the Xbox360 enough to warrant a large and more expensive hard drive.

If the storage capacity is not going to be utilized then there probably is not much point buying the hard drive. It can always be added later if the need arises. That is the beauty of a detachable system; the purchaser can always change their mind regarding their needs. Some people are deciding to wait until they actually need more memory before deciding on the type of package to choose, although the Xbox360 hard drive bundle often sold before the bundle with less memory upon release as the hard drive is not just used for game saves but has other features too such as pre-downloaded games and the ability to save your favorite music as well as the option to play certain games that cannot be played using only a memory card.

Author Details:
Tony Cunningham is a gadgets fanatic writing about electrical items such as cellular mobile phones and gaming consoles for various web sites.

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See also: Nintendo Wii