GC 2007: Borderlands to Require Hard Drive on 360

Following a demo presentation at Games Convention in Germany today, Gearbox president Randy Pitchford confirmed to 1UP that Borderlands -- his upcoming "Indiana Jones meets Mad Max" sci-fi four-player co-op first-person shooter -- will require a hard drive if players choose to play it on Xbox 360.

Because of the way the game procedurally generates everything from weapons to armor, Borderlands has different requirements from typical first-person shooters. "If it weren't for where the 360 and the PS3 have gone, with big hard drives, and lots of memory, and powerful processors, there's no way you can conceive of this as a console game," Pitchford said.

[hella whip]

This is gonna spark a huge flamewar unless it gets drowned out by some major announcements later.

[mingeeta]

yep it is, and quite rightly so. We are hearing this sort of stuff more and more from devs, and this news just clarifies it even more

[ALI-G]

M$ drop the price of the ******* 20(14)GB flashmemory

to be honest:i see this gaming skiping 360 or will be dumped down $$$$$
if a game going to required HDD it is going to be GTA4 or maybe this is the reason GTA4 is delayed.

[larry007]

they are officially screwed.

Now they would have to purchase a 20gig HDD worth 100$

Geez what a way MS to rip customers

[ip-student]

except maybe Sony. The HDD is an optional purchase, it can be purchased by anyone with a core system. Perhaps the price of the HDD - which is way too high - will drop in the meanwhile.

More importantly, the whole reason for having Bluray was just made obsolete. Proceedural generation of graphics allows for relatively small amounts of code to generation large amounts of images. A DVD is sufficient (and being faster and cheaper - it turns out to be a better choice).

[Chris399]

Heat resistant visor? Check.
Dragon Scale Shield? Check.
Magma Boots? Good to go.

And I'm out!!!

Cheers,
- C

P.S. PS3 and 360 lovers, people of the next gen, why can't we all just hate the Wii? Peace, I call for peace! (But I'm running from the inevitable flame war regardless.)

[Lucidmantra]

only one problem it is not NEXT-gen ... it is NEW-gen and (xbox/ps2) LAST-Gen.

No matter what you are a fanboi your new console is out... thus it is NEW-GEN.

[crunkthug]

thx god that i have a ps3

[Meus Renaissance]

What is there to flame about? More and more games are needing a HDD but that means Core owners will not be able to play the game. So what? They shouldn't have bought the Core in the first place - now they'll have to upgrade if they want to play.

It is not an opinion.

It is a fact

[hella whip]

Yes but didn't Microsoft say that all systems will play all games?

[Panthers]

M$ shouldnt have put out the core to begin with.

[Meus Renaissance]

Microsoft says alot of things. The Core console is irrelevant and its their fault for introducing it, and the customers fault for being fooled by the smaller price tag.

But in all honesty, most who owned a core in my experience, have now or atleast planning to get a HDD. They just bought the Core originally because the other models were out of their price-range but later get the HDD when they have the dispensable income.

It's not a crisis as people are making it out to be.

[shysun]

Ouch poor Core owners!:(

[The Wood]

BANG ON. Ms say a lot of things. Im a ps3 fan and can see that fanboys hear things and believe its the holy grail, a message from god or should be. Glad to see some people dont fall for constant PR. sony guys say a lot of things as well. seems like your the type of guy that wont crucify sony for their words for the sake of fanboyism despite your preference. bubbles +. Call it what it is, a mistake.

[88 movement]

Chris399 thats the answer ive been searching for he's right! HATE THE WII!

[krackchap]

good luck to the buyers of xbox arcade pack.
god be with you

[nomuken]

.

[RadientFlux]

bah it's not like people with the core can't buy a HD

[shysun]

For a inflated price!M$ didn't even lube you guys up !:(

[beans]

Well regardless of all the flame stuff I keep reading I think this is good news that the game is coming to both consoles!

[Bloodmask]

just buy the hard drive if you want to play. I don't think the Core makes up a high percentage of systems out there in circulation anyway.

Most stores I go to don't even carry the core unless it is in the backstock and just not on display.

[DrWan]

not everyone reads all these crap and post and annoucment. if you are average kid and want to get a new console, u r going to buy the cheapest version, who would have thought different versions play different game. It makes no logical sense right? ever bought a PS2, a Nintendo that only play part of the games?

This is stupid

[RadientFlux]

it's no different then requiring the consumer to buy a web camera to play a game

EDIT: I was taking in general terms, the video game industry has always been about getting customers to buy add-ons either it be a extra controller, hard drives, memory cards and even revised controllers

[thereapersson]

Sony will be including the camera in every game; there will be no standalone package. Microsoft is selling the core to unwitting consumers who don't know that if they want to buy games such as this, they will have to pony up the extra cash to pick up the HDD.

[g-nome]

Sorry to all the Core owners for getting screwed by M$ , we all knew this was coming . Next gen se gat!

[Vojkan]

But but buh buh teh teh

[crck]

Just like they needed to fix the 360 when the RROD problem first arose. Unfortunately, they dont seem to be smart enough to realize this. They'll just wait for the fallout in a year or two and get more negative press...

[fresco]

buy a hard drive

MS will most likely reduce the price on their hard drives by the time these games come out.

[Gorgon]

Microsoft did say that only MMOs would be authorized to require HDD. Clearly, MS had to put its tail between its legs, because if it keeps supporting the Core it will suffer in the coming years comparing to the PS3.

[pmteigas]

No Borderlands for Core users?! Oh no! I'll just throw away my console and get a PS3...

What do you mean I can buy a hard drive? Really? And it'll still be cheaper than a PS3? So what the hell is all this crap talk about?

If you have a Core and you really, really want to play Borderlands then buy the HD. If you can live with "only" playing Bioshock, Halo 3, Mass Effect and other games that don't require a hard drive then don't buy one!
End of story...

[JokesOnYou]

I'll say it again the Core should be dropped, DVD9 will do just fine for games but micro's descision to release the Core is the one factor that will limit a few games= OR they will see more and more devs just make 360 games that require an HDD, micro should drop the price to $50 for the 20g, and let all dev's use the HDD at will, if they are too cheap to buy an HDD at that point, then I dont think those type of gamers really want to play these types of games= hell I still dont understand why anyone would buy a gaming system these days with no intention of getting a HDD.

[THE TERMINATOR]

"DVD9 will do just fine for games"
Do you know MGS4 is rumoured to use a 50 gig blu ray disk?
Heavenly sword uses 25 gig?
Well if you believe that DVD9 will be just fine then well the Jokes On You.

[pmteigas]

I'm sorry, but I can't seem to see the words DVD9 vs Blu-Ray anywhere...

This is about the need for the HDD to play Xbox games. Please take your need to make flamewars somewhere else. Why don't you go play with your PS3. Oh, that's right, there aren't any good games on it... Sorry.

[miked808]

Why are the only ones complaining PS3 owners. I bought my son a Core I have a Premium and you know what he doesn't play those types of games and I'm sure hes not the only one.

[MikeGdaGod]

i'd use my 360 premium HDD for demos and things like this.

i use my ps3 for demos and all my other media. i already put a 120gig internal HDD in it and its so easy to upgrade i'm not worried about doing it again in the future when that 120 runs out.

[ApocalypseShadow]

is because it is another LIE from a list of LIES from microsoft.

1080p not necessary.-then 360 was updated with scaling.

hdmi not needed-elite shows up.then hdmi is added to premium after gamers spent more money buying the elite.

20gigs good enough.-then release a high priced 120gig drive.

all 360s will play all games.-not from where i'm sitting.

another LIE and BACKPEDDLE.every gamer understands MMOS required a hard drive.but this isn't an MMO.it's a regular game.and now core users are being ripped for buying the cheaper model.all that CHOICE talk from elite gamer,thammer,bladestar and the rest just went out the window.

in order to play the next crop of games,you will need a hard drive.basically screwing core owners when microsoft said not to worry.

xbox1 gamers get screwed with no new games.

elite gamers get screwed for an unecessary sku upgrade now that premium gets hdmi.

core users get screwed in having to upgrade to play some of the latest games that aren't MMOS.

while ps3 20gig owners,60gig owners and 80gig and above can play ALL games.fans of sony know they aren't perfect,but the lies and backpeddling microsoft is doing to it's OWN CUSTOMERS is atrocious.

should have all come built in and standard.

ps3-future proof for years to come.
360-future upgrades for years to come.

......................mag lev super train..................

[MikeGdaGod]

what he said ^^^^

[bung tickler]

man you are a tool.

First off, why would ms make a removable hard drive if they didn't intend on offering upgrades? they never said 20gb would be the max, and the core CAN play all games you just might need to get a HDD to play some, just like if you want to play two player you need to get another controller.

Second, they said they would add hdmi when the market called for it. it just happened to call for it sooner than they had expected, and you know what? they delivered.

Third, 720p IS still the sweet spot for games this gen, as many third party devs have stated themselves, and they never promised that the 360 could do 1080p but they ended up delivering that to 360 owners before sony even released the ps3, how is that a bad thing?

It's not like M$ lied and said the 360 would have something and then it DIDN'T. Why would they, it's not like they had to LIE to keep people from buying the competitions system while theirs was being delayed to force a movie format down their neck?... like a certain system i can think of that promised 4d graphics and 2 hdmi outputs to do multiple streams of 1080p. they promised multiple ethernet ports. they promised games that would blow the competition away at it's launch ALL in 1080p... DIDN'T happen. they promised a lot of things but NEVER delivered. YOU were lied too and misled by SONY far more than any 360 owner was by M$.

you should really get your sh!t together before you post garbage like that.

oh and as a side note it says on the damn core box that it is meant to be upgraded "at your own pace" so all you trolls need to find a nice big hole and go rot in it. if core owners feel shafted it because they are too dumb to read the box they are buying.

[DeadIIIRed]

I believe Microsoft said ALL games would be able to be played on ANY version of the 360. Not just some games, but ALL games. With comments like that coming from Microsoft themselves, wouldn't that seem a little misleading to those who wanted the cheaper version? Why should anyone have to repeatedly by the same console over and over again to enjoy this generation's games?

[Bnet343]

Suck for the people who bought the core pack. Luckly, I've had an HDD since the beginning and not that I care about this game, just another shooter that I won't be buying.

[Bnet343]

As much as I love the Xbox 360 and it's wonderful games, I can't disagree with you. But that deosnt really hurt customers. Products get upgrades everytime. It's all about choice for Xbox 360. If you decided to buy a Core, thats your own fault, but at least it's upgradeable.

[man0fsteel]

It shouldn't be a fault as a consumer that you bought the wrong model just to save a few bucks... it should be all about customer satisfaction and the longevity of the product that matters. M$ should have taken care of this from the get-go...worrying less about making the system cheaper and making sure that ALL of their customers can enjoy what everyone has available to them.

[bung tickler]

well when it says on the box, and it does, that you will need to upgrade it.... its the customers fault for being dumb.

[Bill Gates]

"Core" owners get OWNED one more time.....AAHAAHAHHHAHAHA

I guess now I understand why it's named the "Core". It's because M$ sticks it way up to the "core" of you butt holes....AHAHAhAHHA

[jcgamer]

I didn't doubt it for a second...well, maybe a second (lol)...you think GTAIV will require it as well?

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

Most 360 owners buy the premium while those who buy the core have already got a hard drive by now so for those still saving up to buy the hard drive there are plenty of great games that are a million times better on the 360 (fact look at side by side port compareisons) so as MS fades out the core what will you droids say then? that "MS just copys Sony" but you soon forget in that Sony short sighted brain of yours that the first Xbox was the first console ever to have a hard drive.

[Kyur4ThePain]

And then their very next console doesn't have a HDD.
How shortsighted was that?

[man0fsteel]

first to have a hard drive *included*... PS3 had a HDD slot.
But the reoccurring argument is that M$ should have included an HD in all next gen models especially if they did it did it before in the prev gen. Its so asinine that they didn't.

[BIadestarX]

Yeah.. yeah... Sony fanboys with the same argument and lame flame... at the end of the day these are the facts....

XBox 360 core owners can always buy a hard drive.

Core ($279) + $100 = $379... That's still cheaper than a PS3. By how much? $120.

Want 120GB Hard drive? ok... Core ($279) + $179 = 458... ohh crap it's still cheaper than what you would spend for a PS3 ($499) and you still get like 60GB more.

And there it comes the Sony fanboys and say, "but the core gamers already own an xbox 360 core and they paid $299 not $279"... fine... so that means that if they would buy a PS3 when they purchase the core... so PS3 ($599).

ohh wait there is more... the Sony fanboys then say, "But the PS3 comes with blu-ray and wifi and HDMI!"... yeah.. but this game does not require any of that... it only requires a hard drive and you people are changing what this article is all about. (as usual).

Fact.. no matter how you put it... it cost less money to play this game no matter what XBox 360 SKU you have.

The PS3 also requires a hard drive.. the difference is that Sony charge you in advance for it and XBox 360 gamers have the option of buying it with the hard drive... or do it later when they actually need it. Sony fanboys make it seem as if core owners don't have an option of buying one.

but but but... the PS3 allows you to swap the hard drive. uhh.. so... again.. this is not what this article is about. let me not start talking about what the PS3 can't do. such as movie marketplace.. and the fact that you Sony fanboys have so much room to put stuff and yet no content to download but a few demos. heck.. the PS3 would be fine with a 20GB hard drive... nothing to put in it compared to the xbox 360 marketplace.

PS3 120GB hard drive = $499 + 120GB hard drive.

I am not going to get into how much the 120GB hard drive cost.. since some sony fanboy will reference some cheap hard drive being sold for a discount on some site.

But then again they will not take under consideration that a core owner can always buy a 20GB hard drive on ebay for less than $50.00
http://cgi.ebay.com/XBOX-36...

[reaferfore20]

I have at least 200 music videos and a lot of cartoon shows on my PS3. They're not hi-res but they were free so I can't really complain. I have a little under 10 out of 60 gigabytes left.

Edit: Oh yeah I forgot about all the mp3's, there's a ton on there.

[BIadestarX]

That's good for you... "I have at least 200 music videos and a lot of cartoon shows" did you download all that from PSN?
Don't forget that XBox 360 owners can connect to their PC running media Center and stream all their movies, music videos, pictures from their computers.. ofcourse this is not a choice you have a PS3 owner.... But XBox 360 owners can connect to all their PCs in the network giving them unlimited access to the network to store stuff...

The XBox 360 is only needed for stuff downloaded from the marketplace like demos and music videos... not stuff you download on your PC and transfer to the console. Why would I want to do that when I can stream it from Media center to all my xbox 360 regarless of which XBox 360 I want to watch the content from? Remember.. xbox 360 media hub?

I am not trying to flame the PS3... just make it clear.. that the XBox 360 does not need to use it's hard drive space for what you are using it on your PS3... which is why for many people 20GB of hard drive space is good enough since they can use 1TB if they want on their PC.

I only use my XBox 360 hard drive (I have elite and premium) for Demos, game saves, xbox live arcade games, Marketplace movie rentals... everything else.. I have it on my PC which I can access from both of my XBox 360... which explains why I'm only using like 10GB from my 120GB hard drive.

Edit:
MP3 songs? ohh no... I don't need to do such thing.. it's more of an anoyance.. as an xbox 360 owner.. I just connect my PSP, Zune or apple(you can connect them all at the sametime)... and I am able to play any songs I want while playing any game I am playing (can you even do that?)... or I can just stream from my PC....

If you are happy with your PS3.. than good.. but let's not trying to make things as if xbox 360 owners don't have lots of options to not populate their xbox 360 hard drives with a bunch of stuff that do not need to be on the xbox 360 hard drive.. while you PS3 owners have to put it on your PS3 hard drive to use it.

The PS3 needs hard drive space for everying.. xbox 360 only need it for marketplace downloads such as movies which are not even available on the pS3.

[man0fsteel]

its just smart buying...especially if you build PC rigs

http://www.newegg.com/Store...

EDIT: Also for right now, unless you are willing to save a whole lot of stuff onto your HDD, 20 gigs is more than sufficient for either system for right now ... 120 is just excessive.

[Geewhizz]

Why watch a movie on your 360 when it is so loud you wont be able to hear it? lol???!!

[Testo]

"oh and as a side note it says on the damn core box that it is meant to be upgraded "at your own pace" so all you trolls need to find a nice big hole and go rot in it. if core owners feel shafted it because they are too dumb to read the box they are buying."

Can someone show me a picture of this "upgrade at your own pace?"

@ Jason

"Most 360 owners buy the premium while those who buy the core have already got a hard drive by now so for those still saving up to buy the hard drive there are plenty of great games that are a million times better on the 360 (fact look at side by side port compareisons) so as MS fades out the core what will you droids say then? that "MS just copys Sony" but you soon forget in that Sony short sighted brain of yours that the first Xbox was the first console ever to have a hard drive."

All you can come up with is "ohh well everyone already upgraded their core but Fony games suck"

Grow up would you.

[TheFatOne]

What happens if more games require a HDD. How will you fit all that space in a 20gb HDD(premium)along with all the other stuff you would have like trailers,demos,etc...

[JokesOnYou]

The HDD will just allow you to store a portion of the data on your HDD when playing the game, 20g is plenty for a few games and when you are done with the game, demo's, movies, trailers, live content etc then you can remove anything you no longer need and clear space= so yes smart one we have thought about this=

JOY

[leon76]

Core XBOX 360 owners = SCREWED

[jlemdon]

because most 360 owners have a HDD.