360 Elite Transfer Details & Issues
The Xbox 360 Elite is set to debut this weekend and in some areas it’s already being sold. Many of you are looking forward to it being your first 360 console, upgrading or perhaps simply buying the 120 gig hard drive for your current Premium 360. If you want to upgrade or get the new hard drive, there is a bit of data transferring involved. Details are being released on how to get your content from your current Xbox 360 to the new Xbox 360 Elite or to the new 120 gig hard drive.
The guys at Gamerscoreblog have some very good detailed information about the process and Major Nelson follows that up with a video as well. One quick note is that although the Xbox 360 Elite doesn’t come with a migration kit, you’ll be able to get one free of charge. Details on how are coming soon.
The process is clearly simple to do. The one thing that bothered me with all of these details though is the fact that users who opt to upgrade to the Elite will now have to be logged into Xbox Live in order to enjoy most of their content. Things like Xbox Live Arcade games are licensed content that when transferred, will no longer work offline. This is because they’re still tied to the console from which you transferred them.
Say what DeaconBlade? Yep, licensed content like this doesn’t get transferred when upgrading to the Elite so you have to stay logged in to Xbox Live in order for anyone to enjoy the content or play the Arcade games. Bummer to say the least. I know personally that I’m not always connected to Xbox Live. As good as Xbox Live is, I’m just not always connected to it and I do a lot of playing during that time. Not to mention I have friends over and other relatives that play as well when I’m not signed in to Xbox Live.
I think that would deter me from upgrading to the Elite knowing that I had to always be connected in order to enjoy “my” content. I guess there’s a reason behind it but I’m failing to understand it. What if my connection is down or what if I don’t pay my internet bill and lose my connection for a month? (there are people in that boat don’t lie) What happens during an Xbox Live maintenance schedule? Can I not just sit back and enjoy some Pinball FX while I can’t connect? Nope. I smell teh suckage.
The good part about all this transfer business is that buying the 120 gig hard drive doesn’t present that problem. So if storage is your thing, then I suggest you simply purchase the 120 gig hard drive, transfer your content to it and continue to enjoy things as you always have. It doesn’t present any of the licensed content issues that upgrading does.
Make sure you understand these things before you make your decision!
April 27th, 2007 at 10:37 am
i like the way you write Deacon..mixing the real with professionalism…and you’re right..that is TEH SUCK! it’s my crap why can’t i play it offline?
April 27th, 2007 at 10:41 am
dang. thx for the info. and yeah that sucks big time. now i don’t know if i’ll upgrade. i guess i could have 2 360’s though
April 27th, 2007 at 11:16 am
for piracy purposes I can understand why MS is forcing you to authenticate via Live to use your transferred content. MS has given us a way to move content from one hard drive to another so how long do you think it would take for someone to provide a hack to distribute copyrighted material from the video marketplace for free. So when you think of it that way it isnt that bad to be online
April 27th, 2007 at 11:23 am
yeah i suppose so. but don’t punish me for something that might happen. i’m not an exclusive Xbox Live person as i’m sure many aren’t so it’s inconvenient to say the least.
and what of the scheduled maintenance that i mentioned? surely we can all see the complaints then. i hope there’s something to address this because it sucks. and i’m not even an Elite owner lol…and it sucks to me.
April 27th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
The having to be connected thing doesn’t bother me at all. Once I have more money later this year, I might get an Elite.
April 28th, 2007 at 10:27 am
I picked up a new 120 gb hd last night. Found one at wal-mart. I guess they don’t care about release dates. Anyway I completed the transfer from 20 gb to 120 gb and all went well…Now I just have to fill it!
April 28th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
Any chance Microsoft will have a little promotion thingy where X360 owners looking to upgrade to the Elite will get more money back when exhanging their current system and buying the Elite? I sure hope so… EB Games only gives you $160 back for the system itself.
April 28th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
any exchange program you see will be from retailers themselves.
April 29th, 2007 at 1:02 am
Okay, thanks Deacon.
January 31st, 2008 at 9:01 am
[...] you have to replace your console through the repair process or some other reason. Repairs, new purchase Elite data transfers…whatever the reason you’ve ended up with a new console, it results in being punked by [...]
February 2nd, 2008 at 4:45 pm
ok, i am looking to upgrade to the elite. how do i go about getting this data migration kit for free, and where is my medal for participating in an unscripted night??????
February 2nd, 2008 at 4:59 pm
I answered my own question http://assets.xbox.com/en-us/support/MigrationKit-OrderForm.pdf
February 2nd, 2008 at 4:59 pm
and my medals there now wtf