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To The Cloud My Dear Xbox 360

For all my tech heads out there, I’m sure you would have known what the cloud is and that it is being hailed as the new form of storage. The Xbox 360 will be using the cloud to allow its customers to access certain Xbox Live games when you log onto a different console.

As I had no idea what the cloud was before I heard about this, I have to say I was excited about the whole concept. Since I am a gaming journalist (don’t you know!), I had to make sure I understood what the cloud was so I could explain it to all those who may also be a little unsure. With the powers of internet search in my grasp, I immediately found out more about what the cloud actually is.

This picture, which I did all by myself, is exactly what the cloud is. As you can see the data from my consoles are saved in the cloud and can be accessed from another console

Ok so this cloud is basically this massive space which exists allowing data to be stored somewhere else other than your primary device, i.e. your PC, USB stick or memory card. With your data being stored in this space, the cool part is that you will be able to access the information from any compatible device. In the case of the Xbox 360, saves from games and achievements will be stored in this cloud and can be played from another Xbox 360 system as long as you sign in, so the gaming never ends. Pretty awesome right? But let’s not pretend that this is a new concept for gaming. The PlayStation 3 already has introduced this accessibility with the paid service of Playstation Plus. If the Xbox 360 is able to keep their version of the cloud free and possibly add a few extras, it may just have an edge over its competitor.

Announced at the recent E3, Xbox 360’s cloud will be released on a type of trial basis so it will only be available for a selected few XBLA games. Currently there is no exact release date for this, but recently there has been rumours and speculation of the cloud being released a lot earlier than planned. Well before you hunt for an update, Microsoft has made it clear that the cloud is not out just yet, but they will keep us updated. So all we can do is sit and wait to see how well the Xbox’s cloud works.

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Sarah-Lou

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2 responses to “To The Cloud My Dear Xbox 360”

  1. Mark P avatar
    Mark P

    Woah, woah, woah, I don’t remember this. I must have totally blanked at that point. This is good news, so long as it stays free. Not sure I’d ever be using someone else’s 360 often enough for it to warrant being something I’d pay for on it’s own.

  2. Tony avatar
    Tony

    I like the idea, but it needs to be seamless to be practical.

    On the PS3, as a Plus member, I can use the cloud to store my saves. But only if I go and actively copy the save file via the XMB to the cloud. (I did this a while back so that my friend could unlock a track on Gran Turismo 5 for me, we signed in as me and downloaded my “cloud” save. It worked, but it was hassle.)

    If Microsoft can make it so that every one of my saves is stored locally on my hard disk (for when the internet may be down), and also seamlessly uploaded to the cloud, then this is a terrifc idea. But it has to be that seamless or people just won’t bother.

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