Xbox 360 to add USB storage support, report says

According to a fantastic piece of video-game detective work over at Joystiq, it appears that Xbox 360 users will finally be granted the ability to use USB storage devices with their Xbox 360s.

This is huge news for anyone like me who’s still using the 20-gigabyte hard drive that came with their 360 when it was released, and refuse to give in to paying grossly inflated prices for the later-released 120-gigabyte or 60-gigabtye drives.

Prior to this update, Microsoft offered a measly 512-megabyte memory card that was good for toting around user information and a couple of game saves, but not much else. With the added USB storage compatibility, users will be able to save whole games downloaded from Xbox Live, as well as downloadable content and game updates.

Now before you run out in excitement and purchase a terabyte in storage, be warned that there will be limitations on the USB storage options. First off, the Xbox will only use 16 gigabytes of each USB device connected, and you’re only going to be able to use a maximum of two devices at a time. This will allow for a maximum of 32 gigabytes of additional space to be shared across both devices.

It should also be noted that the PlayStation 3 had this feature from the get-go, so this is basically catch-up on Microsoft’s part.

According to Joystiq, USB storage support for the Xbox is “purportedly” coming this spring.

Seeing as you can get a 16-gigabtye flash drive for around 30 bucks at any electronics store or $1 on eBay (sketchy), those who need just a little bit more space may see this as an excellent compromise rather than shelling out over $100 for a hard-drive upgrade.