Xbox 360 May Support USB Hard Drives

Joystiq has uncovered documents that appear to confirm that the Xbox 360 will receive a firmware update soon that will allow the console to support USB mass storage drives.

Although this is just a rumour, Joystiq appears to be confident about its sources. The document was authored by a senior software development engineer at Microsoft, says Joystiq, and the rumour was confirmed by two separate sources.

This means that if the firmware update happens, gamers can use an external USB hard drive to install games, just as if they had an internal hard drive. This would also include installing downloadable titles.

This is especially good news for Xbox 360 Arcade owners, as it means that they will be able to buy a hard drive separately and just plug it in. It may also mean that more gamers will look at the Xbox 360 Arcade as a viable buying option, as the console is considerably less in terms of price than hard-drive units.

However, the document also outlays that there is a limit. The Xbox 360 will use no more than 16GB on an external hard drive, even if the hard drive is bigger. One can plug in two hard drives at the same time, but no more, meaning that the maximum capacity that can be used is 32GB. That's not bad, but also not exactly amazing.

Joystiq outlays all the details. If the rumour is true, the update will be coming later this season (South Africa's Autumn).