Microsoft Gives Xbox 360 More Memory

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As creative minds gather at the Game Developers Conference 2007 in San Francisco, Microsoft is making some Xbox announcements that might turn a few heads. The software giant said it is planning to launch a 512-MB memory unit for the Xbox 360 and increase the official size limit of Xbox Live Arcade games from 50 MB to 150 MB. Redmond is also planning to launch a game-development contest with a $10,000 cash prize. The 512-MB memory unit will offer Xbox 360 owners expanded storage capabilities for gaming on the go, Microsoft said. The extra memory will make room for gamers to store and transport their profiles and save more game data, Xbox Live Arcade games, and Xbox Live Marketplace content. The 512-MB memory unit also will give Xbox 360 owners the ability to download exclusive content from any of the 45,000 Xbox 360 kiosks accessible at retail outlets. Freeing Developers The Xbox Live increase, meanwhile, is designed to give developers more flexibility in game design and expand the opportunity to add advanced game features while still keeping games compact. "If you take a look at current games like 'Roboblitz' and 'Small Arms,' it's clear that our developers deliver amazing game experiences within a compact size limit," Chris Early, product unit manager for Xbox Live Arcade and Microsoft Casual Games at Microsoft, said in a statement. "Our focus is on continuing to provide developers with an environment that allows for the creation of cost-efficient games and that nurtures an artistic and creative approach to game development." Michael Cai, an analyst with Parks Associates, predicted gamers and developers alike would welcome the all-around memory upgrades. "The extra memory is definitely going to help everybody," he said. "The 50-MB limit on Xbox Live Arcade definitely limited the developers creativity. Without the extra memory available on the consumer side there was nothing developers could do to make games more robust." The 512-MB memory unit will be available in North America on April 3, 2007 at a retail price of $49.99. And for a limited time, the unit will come preloaded with the Xbox Live Arcade game "Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved." The original 64-MB memory unit will drop in price from $39.99 to $29.99. Cold Hard Cash Beyond the memory announcements, Microsoft also kicked off the Dream-Build-Play game development contest. Redmond is offering the winner a $10,000 grand prize and the opportunity to be published on Xbox Live Arcade. Dream-Build-Play is open to any user of XNA Game Studio Express, including the GarageGames Torque X platform. The contest ends July 2, 2007, and winners will be announced August 13 at Microsoft Gamefest 2007 in Seattle. "This is an incentive, especially for amateur developers. Professional developers are lucky to have any idle time," Cai noted. "However, this is in line Microsoft's initiative to encourage user participation."