As of late February, Microsoft Xbox 360 sales took a second seat compared to the Nintendo Wii. Selling just over 290,000 units, it performed better than the Play Station 3, yet was far behind the Wii which sold over 430,000 units. Looking to gain an edge, Microsoft announced today it will increase the memory units of the Xbox 360 from 64 to 512 megabytes. Memory units are used to store game profiles, data, and Xbox Live games.

Microsoft also announced it will increase the memory alloted to Xbox Live game developers from 50 to 150 megabytes. As the increased memory size allotment will be kept relatively in proportion to the unit memory size, it's expected that Xbox Live games should improve without sacrificing memory.

“The new size limit offers developers increased flexibility and continued opportunities for innovative game development, while also ensuring that the millions of gamers on Xbox LIVE can continue to easily access, download and play all Xbox LIVE Arcade games on Xbox 360,” said Chris Early, product unit manager for Xbox LIVE Arcade and Microsoft Casual Games at Microsoft.

The good news for those comfortable with 64 megabytes is that the price should fall when 512 units are released on April 3rd, 2007. Prices should drop from $39.99 to $29.99, while the 512 megabyte unit will sell for approximately $49.99.

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Technology News :: Hardware

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