WD Plans to Muscle in on Xbox Series X|S Storage Expansion Card Scene

[T0@st]

It appears that Western Digital is readying its own line of Xbox Series X|S Storage Expansion cards, and undercutting its big rival - Seagate - in a currently exclusive storage solution market. Word spread across several gaming communities over the past weekend about a new listing on Best Buy, now removed as of late April 2, for a 1 TB capacity WD_BLACK C50 Expansion Card with an asking price of $179.99. WD has offered official external storage solutions for the current generation of Xbox home games consoles, under its WD_BLACK range, but Microsoft granted exclusive manufacturing rights to Seagate for the proprietary Xbox Series X|S storage expansion card system. According to official site information and documentation, these expansion cards are effective in "delivering additional external memory while maintaining the same peak speed and performance as the console's internal SSD".

The Seagate range could have been a timed exclusive, and based on the now deleted Best Buy listing, Microsoft seems to have handed a license to WD. The 1 TB WD_BLACK C50 Expansion Card's pricing was a big talking point, due to it being substantially cheaper than the equivalent capacity Seagate model ($219.99) - a saving of forty dollars, which is an encouraging sign for gamers who have long complained that the Xbox proprietary expansion card offers bad value for money. Seagate's current crop of cards start at $139.99 (512 GB) and go up to $399.99 (2 TB).



Sony famously decided not to utilize a proprietary storage solution for its PlayStation 5 home console, and owners are allowed to upgrade via an industry standard M.2 SSD expandable storage slot. It has been widely reported that the PS5 can be fitted with fairly cheap PCIe Gen 4 drives (sub-$100 for 1 TB), that meet the system's minimum requirements for an internal storage upgrade. It is hoped that other manufacturers have been invited to make Xbox expansion cards, not only Western Digital, so a more competitive market becomes a reality and MSRPs fall to more sensible levels.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[bonehead123]

proprietary Xbox Series X|S memory expansion card system

Go figure... M$ making somethin proprietary, whodathunkit ?

Hopefully, this is a sign that maybe, just maybe, they FINALLY get it....... competition is G/O/O/D, for them, for us, for the ecosystem in general

 

[sepheronx]

Now the Xbox just needs games.

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

Is it memory expansion or is it storage expansion? Because if it's memory and it is plugging into a USB port, i call bullshit.

 

[dj-electric]

Is it memory expansion or is it storage expansion? Because if it's memory and it is plugging into a USB port, i call bullshit.

Its storage, and that's not a USB port, its a PCIe based communication port, think more like a U.2

 

[Slizzo]

Go figure... M$ making somethin proprietary, whodathunkit ?

Hopefully, this is a sign that maybe, just maybe, they FINALLY get it....... competition is G/O/O/D, for them, for us, for the ecosystem in general

Yeah, loved the ease and ability to update or expand the storage on my PS4 Pro (putting in a 1TB SSD to replace the 1TB spinner in there) and then just buying a cheap (sub $100) 1TB M.2 Gen4 SSD on my PS5. Sony gets it.

On my Xboxes however? Yeah, basically they tell us to get bent with pricing the 1TB expansion card at $220. It was pricey even when it came out.

 

[Paganstomp]

People will still buy it. But the question is for how long? Then again, the past has proven Sony and Nintendont aren't exactly innocent little angels, either.

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

Its storage, and that's not a USB port, its a PCIe based communication port, think more like a U.2

Title should get memory expansion out of there then and call it storage expansion.

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

Title should get memory expansion out of there then and call it storage expansion.

Or, just stop getting caught up in semantics.

 

[ThrashZone]

Title should get memory expansion out of there then and call it storage expansion.

Hi,
Yeah proofreader is failing
Also first sentence should likely be, undercutting a big rival without the its which if used should be it's but still maybe a should be removed no telling :/

It appears that Western Digital is readying its own line of Xbox Series X|S Storage Expansion cards, and undercutting its a big rival, Seagate, in a currently exclusive storage solution market. Word spread across several gaming communities over the past weekend about a new listing on Best

 

[kinjx11]

It might seem too late but i think WD knows that the next XSX will also use these cards so they went in full speed

 

[TheLostSwede]

Its storage, and that's not a USB port, its a PCIe based communication port, think more like a U.2

It's actually CFExpress, with a lump on the housing.

The Xbox Series X expansion card: a CFexpress?

Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S use CFexpress cards to expand their memory, but you won't be able to use any.

eloutput.com

Xbox Series X/S can use standard SSDs in the expansion card slot, it’s claimed | VGC

User discovers that other drives can be converted to work in the card’s slot…

www.videogameschronicle.com

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

Or, just stop getting caught up in semantics.

Memory and Storage are completely different.

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

Memory and Storage are completely different.

I'll be sure to alert the President.

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

I'll be sure to alert the President.

Be sure to let him know how much of a jackass you are.

 

[Arkz]

Memory and Storage are completely different.

But memory cards give storage.

Storage memory
Random access memory.
Still both types of memory.

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

But memory cards give storage.

Storage memory
Random access memory.
Still both types of memory.

It's misleading.

 

[robb]

It's misleading.

You seem to be the only one confused.

And good grief 180 bucks is still a ripoff for 1TB. You can buy a faster 2TB SSD for the PC for that price.

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

You seem to be the only one confused.

It's not confusion. Correcting an error.

 

[dyonoctis]

Yeah, loved the ease and ability to update or expand the storage on my PS4 Pro (putting in a 1TB SSD to replace the 1TB spinner in there) and then just buying a cheap (sub $100) 1TB M.2 Gen4 SSD on my PS5. Sony gets it.

On my Xboxes however? Yeah, basically they tell us to get bent with pricing the 1TB expansion card at $220. It was pricey even when it came out.

Microsoft probably wanted to pander to the people who are absolutely afraid to open their console...I know people like that, and then they have to pay a "technician" 100 bucks to instal it for them

 

[trsttte]

I'd just like to ask everyone who said the xbox solution was better, how is that proprietary solution treating you with pretty much no price change 2 years after launch and with bog standard m.2 pcie 4.0 nvme's being dirt cheap right now?

 

[Slizzo]

I'd just like to ask everyone who said the xbox solution was better, how is that proprietary solution treating you with pretty much no price change 2 years after launch and with bog standard m.2 pcie 4.0 nvme's being dirt cheap right now?

I can answer for them. I expanded the storage on my PS5 day one. I haven't touched the storage on my XSX and work around uninstalling games and downloading others.

It's ridiculous.

 

[Devastator0]

The thing that really has bothers me about Sony's storage solution in the PS5 is the soldered in internal storage. If that fails, console is bricked. Unlike with the PS3 & PS4 where if your storage drive died, no worries, just replace it with a new one, re-install the OS and off you go.

 

[Slizzo]

The thing that really has bothers me about Sony's storage solution in the PS5 is the soldered in internal storage. If that fails, console is bricked. Unlike with the PS3 & PS4 where if your storage drive died, no worries, just replace it with a new one, re-install the OS and off you go.

Not sure that'll be an issue anyway. The drives rarely go bad, but I do see your point, it is more waste if you're in warranty or not.

 

[sepheronx]

Not sure that'll be an issue anyway. The drives rarely go bad, but I do see your point, it is more waste if you're in warranty or not.

Did in the beginning with the Spiderman game, Bricking consoles