Online Burnout Paradise multiplayer requires HDD
by Dustin Burg 
{ Feb 1st 2008 at 12:15PM }
The reason for a HDD is because Paradise needs to do a bunch of environment caching and streaming to make the online experience as buttery smooth as possible. But before you jump on EA's back for hiding such an important detail, know that that they didn't. It actually says, clear as day on the back of the box, that online multiplayer requires a HDD. So, no fault to them. We just wish Microsoft would mandate a giant "HDD Required for (insert word here)" sticker on the front of the game box. Though, we're sure Microsoft wouldn't want that either. It wouldn't be feng shui. Then again, no sticker would fix the "problem" that Burnout Paradise online play requires a HDD. Sorry Xbox Arcade owners, we feel for you.
[Via Joystiq]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
dunnypop @ Feb 1st 2008 12:19PM
next gen games without harddrive caching is a joke.
EmptyEnergy @ Feb 1st 2008 12:24PM
I feel the lack of the HDD severly limits games that could be played on the 360. This is one reason the PS3 hasn't went under yet and is now gaining momentum.
Yes it sucks for those who have a none HDD 360, but don't whine, complain, and hold back developers who want to make games that require a HDD.
PeacefulOutrage @ Feb 1st 2008 3:11PM
If the requirement actually held back developers, they wouldn't have been able to do it. I find more disturbing the fact that there is no local or LAN multi-player so I can play my wife now, or later when the next Burnout comes out and EA shuts down their crappy servers.
PeacefulOutrage @ Feb 1st 2008 3:13PM
If that wasn't clear, what I meant was that when they shut down their servers, there will be NO multi-player. Even though my friends own the game there isn't any type of LAN support to force you to buy the next version.
ElDiablo @ Feb 2nd 2008 5:49PM
@ PeacefulOutrage...
Surely you can find other ways of taking down your wife up against a wall.
TurboFool @ Feb 1st 2008 12:26PM
I guess I'm crazy, but I could have sworn online gameplay IN GENERAL always required the HDD. How is this different? At the least, in order to play a game online you have to be able to download the latest patches to the game which requires the HDD, so relying on being able to play online without one seems rather naive to me...
Will @ Feb 1st 2008 2:13PM
Yeah, you have to have a harddrive to connect to Xbox Live anyways, so this "news" is pretty much pointless.
Also I bought a Core at first then a harddrive seperatly but if people bitch so much about buying a harddrive then they should've just saved up for the Premium in the first place because its a better value too
Jeramy @ Feb 1st 2008 2:33PM
uh, no, i'm pretty sure you can get on xbl with a memory card. i'm not too sure about downloading patches and all that jazz, but i know you can at least connect without an hdd
Rawnzilla @ Feb 1st 2008 12:27PM
People without hard drives buy games and want to play them online? I didn't know that they could afford the games, let alone Live.
Martin @ Feb 1st 2008 1:08PM
You're one judgmental retard.
Cameron @ Feb 1st 2008 12:50PM
MS could technically create a 4GB Mem unit for around $35 to $50 with 1GB for the user and the rest for caching....
And its not caking btw.....
AnOffday @ Feb 1st 2008 12:51PM
Honestly who doesn't have a hard drive for their 360 yet?
SadisticHam @ Feb 1st 2008 12:56PM
Who cares if you don't have a HD i doubt very much you're very interested in online anyway, what with all the downloads and updates to games and what not.
urmomlikesmemore @ Feb 1st 2008 1:13PM
hmmm who would care about not having a hard drive
oh i dunno, maybe all the people who bought the Xbox Arcade because it was 300$, and they were like 'oh i think me/my kids/my brother-in law/my uncle in california would like this for xmas' and now they can't play a game that they want because of the perpetual ass raping microsoft likes to give to its user base.
oh and fyi I have an xbox elite
Seb656 @ Feb 1st 2008 2:00PM
Urmom your totally full of crap. Thats like saying you bought a car and your angry that it didnt come with power steering. You didnt research the product before laying $300 of your hard earned money down, then your a chump. I hate how people blame companies for their own idiocy.
Jeramy @ Feb 1st 2008 2:42PM
well before this generation, nobody ever opened up their new console and turned it on only to see on the screen a big "LOL!!!" i mean, how can the average consumer (who sure as hell doesn't visit this website) be aware that their core xbox is missing a few features found in the other models? we all obviously know the ins and outs of the xbox sku's, but john q public probably doesn't. it's cheaper and still technically an xbox, he thinks what the hell does he need a hdd for, right?
PeacefulOutrage @ Feb 1st 2008 3:18PM
When the Playstation, Saturn, Dreamcast, and Playstation 2 came out, you couldn't save a game unless you bought a memory card. For the PS2, you also had to buy a modem to go online. You don't need a memory card or HDD to use most of the features of the 360 (you can even stream media from a PC without one), but if you want to use them all, it does help.
Doom3killer @ Feb 1st 2008 1:13PM
who cares... also, u you can't have future DLC or many game saves without a hard drive anyway. whoever has no hardrive, has probably never played on live anyway
Rawnzilla @ Feb 1st 2008 1:23PM
Microsoft didn't make the game.
You can still play this game without a hard drive, so your uncles and nephews can still enjoy your X-Box Arcade on your SDTV in the sticks, or wherever.
nerrrrrrd @ Feb 1st 2008 1:27PM
does this game have any local multiplayer over a LAN?
Viridium @ Feb 1st 2008 1:46PM
No. Well, unless by LAN you mean 2 Xbox 360s on the same LAN, but connected to and playing over Live.
Without Live Gold, you're not playing this multiplayer.
mattclarkie @ Feb 1st 2008 1:30PM
I couldn't survive without an HDD. My game saves add upto far beyond even the 512mb memory card.
You have to partially blame MS for cutting corners by not having an HDD as a standard part of the console. For $20 they could easily have made the HDD integrated/ or seperate but included, in all consoles. That wouldn't have affected the bottom line too much.
PeacefulOutrage @ Feb 1st 2008 3:22PM
At least $360 million (by your calculations), not including extra manufacturing costs or faulty drives.
mEgAsHoT @ Feb 1st 2008 1:51PM
Ok, this is getting really annoying. I'm sick of people dissing everyone who gets the Xbox 360 Arcade system. Sure, it's a good price, and not everyone has $350 to plunk down on the Premium system. Sure, if the Premium was cheaper, I would easily recommend that over the Arcade, but seeing as the Arcade system is the cheapest on the market, it opens it up to a lot of people who want to get into the new system. Not everyone that has the Arcade system are "uncles with sticks" and "little kids who don't even know about live". I plan on getting a hard drive later, and I feel like that EA should of at least put a notice on the FRONT of the box saying that it requires the hard drive for online play. The same goes for Halo 3, which requires the hard drive to even play the freaking game! MS didn't even bother to include a notice. At least the Elder Scrolls IV Shivering Isles has a notice on the front.
Seb656 @ Feb 1st 2008 2:00PM
The Pro was a whole $50 more. I dont think it would have killed you that bad to save your allowance for a few more weeks. You should have RESEARCHED before buying the console.
Jeramy @ Feb 1st 2008 2:47PM
man, seb, you have absolutely no knowledge of his or anyone's economic background, so what the hell makes you entitled to dictate how anyone should use their money? just because you may be able to afford an elite doesn't mean that everyone else has the same liberty.
PeacefulOutrage @ Feb 1st 2008 3:28PM
You're right. If you decide you want more you can upgrade at any time with an Arcade system. It come with a memory card and some games, so no extra purchase should be required.
It especially comes in handy for someone purchasing a gift (it's a freebie anyway for those who would complain), an extra console for another residence or LAN parties, someone without high speed internet access, or a person who doesn't play anything but 1 or 2 games every year. It's still loads cheaper than an arcade machine.
This reminds me of the people who complain wireless isn't included. Not only doesn't everyone have wireless, you can buy a bridge for $20. I guess they want everyone else to pay more for something they want.
mattclarkie @ Feb 1st 2008 3:40PM
The person saying that not everyone has wifi, so why should they pay for others to have it.
It is called economy of scale. If MS integrated wifi into every console it would cost $5 to do. This would make no difference to the retail price, as who would say I will pay $280 but $285 is just too much.
However by making it an extra MS charge $100 for the thing. I paid £57 for mine, and I have gone back to ethernet so that is the price of over 1 game wasted.
MS didn't not integrate it to save money, it was so they could offset the losses on other components by selling these at a huge premium. How come other companies can sell a wifi dongle at profit for £10, yet MS charge 6 times that.
agelgamer @ Feb 1st 2008 5:05PM
I bought an Arcade as a secondary 360. I bought a used hdd at ebgames for $50.
Not everyone wants to play certain games online. I know a few people who have stopped playing Halo 3 online simply because they couldn't keep up. Can you fault them for that? No. But many immature kiddies would.
Should this piss anyone off? No. You CHOSE to buy an arcade knowing full well that it didn't come with a hard drive. At least MS gives people a SKU to experience 360 gaming - albeit not the full experience without a hdd.
The lowest configured PS3 is still $100 more than the Arcade. Pick up a used $50 20GB hdd and you're still cheaper than the 40GB PS3.... and the 360 has more games....
Don't be so quick to crap on the Arcade or developers that require a hdd for ONLINE multiplayer only. Try ripping out the hdd on a PS3 and see if it BOOTS.
Seb656 @ Feb 1st 2008 5:13PM
Your right Jeramy I have no clue about his economic background, but if he is mad he cant play Burnout then he likely would have bought Burnout. The price of Burnout is more then it would have cost to get a pro. That was my general point.
My other point is that developers shouldn't have to put a big warning on the front of their games, just because some people dont have a HDD. It says it on the game case somewhere, no need for a giant banner. Once again, if people are ignorant of the fact that it says that and they buy the game, it is their own fault.
PeterF @ Feb 1st 2008 5:57PM
@agelgamer
who the fuck cares if the PS3 can boot or not without an HDD, ALL come with the HDD, and you can put YOUR OWN DAMN HDD IN IT. If there even WAS one without an HDD, a 20GB laptop HDD doesn't cost anywhere near the $100 microsoft charges for one.
urmomlikesmemore @ Feb 1st 2008 2:09PM
@Seb656
u can call me an idiot all you want...but in the end, ur mom likes me more
Seb656 @ Feb 1st 2008 5:13PM
When I said "you" I was reffering to the general consumer base. If a consumer doesnt research the product before buying it, then is disappointed that such features werent included, he/she is to blame. There are people who want the Arcade because they have no interest in online features, but if someone buys the Arcade because they assumed it had said features, it is their fault. Assumptions are the mother of all fuck ups.
Brian @ Feb 1st 2008 2:30PM
I don't feel for you cheapskate arcade owners :P
You guys are holding the rest of us back from massive, gorgeous environments!
OTAM @ Feb 1st 2008 2:34PM
I thought the arcade pack was for people who just want to buy a few games in the first place? Wasnt the premium one marketed as the box for people who want to download content,play online,ect ect?
mattclarkie @ Feb 1st 2008 3:32PM
How much do you think that the 20Gb HDD costs MS to produce.
It is basically a 2.5" 5400rpm. If they are Toshiba, or Fujitsu. I know some in the Xbox were Tosh, you can pick-up a 60/80Gb for £35, or around $50.
Now take off £5 or $5 for it to be 20Gb. And then take off 20% for buying bulk. that makes it £24 or $40.
I reckon that MS could easily get them for that price, and if they bought them even cheaper which is likely this price could get much closer to $30. MS then put them in a caddy which is say $2 including labour. If these were then put onto the Arcade at factory, then MS could sell the Arcade with HDD for just around $30 more than they do at the moment.
ushman @ Feb 1st 2008 6:28PM
When the core came out Microsoft stated it will play all games even on LIVE, I own the Pro model- but still it is misleading. So if you want to do the research check it out for yourself
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/x/xbox360arcadesystem/
It clearly states Xbox LIVE- 'attach a storage device (hard drive or memory unit)' So yeah do research your still misinformed.
Lindsay @ Feb 2nd 2008 10:33AM
The only reason I bought the Arcade in the first place was because I don't care about online play or downloadable content (the fact that it was £150 brand new also helped). I would like to think that other people also considered this before buying the Arcade. I imagine it must really suck for those who bought it under the impression that they would be able to play all games online.
tojfs7931 @ Feb 7th 2008 4:14PM
Who wouldn't own a hard drive for their 360 anyway?