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Rumor: Next Xbox Will Require That Games Be Installed On Hard Drive
According to a report based on leaked Xbox development documents published at the website The Verge, users will be required to install disc-based games on the next Xbox's hard drive.
The Verge report is based on leaked documents that were published on VGLeaks.com. In the documentation sent out to developers, Microsoft states, "Durango consoles will have a Blu-ray Disc drive. Disc media will be used for distribution, but during gameplay, games will not use content from the optical disc. An installation system is being designed that will allow gamers to begin playing while the game is being installed on the hard drive rather than waiting until installation is complete."
Another part of the document says that Durango "will always maintain a network connection so that the console software and games are always current."
Both these facts are leading to further speculation about the possibility that the next Xbox will have "always-on" DRM and could potentially lock out used games from being used on the system, something that industry analyst Michael Pachter doesn't think will happen.
One thing that's important to note: these documents are over a year old and it's possible that Microsoft's plans for the system could have changed.
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