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One of the conveniences introduced by the NXE last year was the ability to install games onto the Xbox 360 hard drive. Unfortunately, a select few games don't support the feature. Chief among the unsupported titles is Crackdown, Microsoft's addicting open-world action game. At least, it was until now, as Major Nelson has informed the masses that a title update is now available on Live that enables HDD installation of Crackdown.

Remember agent, installing isn't just for convenience, it's also for saving wear and tear on the DVD drive -- especially in games like Crackdown, which stream data constantly.

We jokingly throw the word "technophile" around when referring to our colleagues over at Engadget -- but their most recent video preview of the PS3 Slim gives us serious cause for concern. You'll need to watch it (posted after the break) to see what we mean. We're not really disturbed by the way former Joystiq writer Ross Miller pries the svelte console's HDD from its innards. No, it's the soft piano music playing in the background and general tenderness exhibited by the cameraman that give the whole production an unsettling, Graduate-esque feel.

"Oh, hey, PS3 Slim. Look at you. You're looking mighty shapely this evening. Why don't you turn around for me. Yeah, real slow. Let me feel those buttons. That's nice, that's nice. Would you like some wine? We've got a lovely decanter of Garrafeira, imported straight from ... no? Are you comfortable? Good. Let's see that hard drive."

Without any markings distinguishing a designer, it's difficult to discern whether this miracle storage solution for the PS3 actually exists. Dubbed "PS3 HD Plus PHE-01," this supposed eSATA adapter latches to the bottom of any PS3 promising connectivity to an external SATA hard disk for some majorly powerful storage capacity.

Sure, there are other ways of getting massive amounts of bytes onto the PS3. One can simply swap in a new internal 2.5" SATA into the system, or even just hook up any old USB hard drive with little hassle; however, the latter won't give the same transfer speed as an eSATA. From the looks of it, the PHE-01 also comes with an additional four USB ports. Still, there isn't much else we know about this product or if it is even commercially viable ... or real. Maybe it's a leaked prototype perhaps? While we ponder this, you can check out more images of it at Gemaga.

Last call for those Xbox 360 Arcade console owners who are looking to take advantage of Microsoft's NXE storage solution offer. The program -- which was setup to get Arcade console owners storage to install the NXE -- ends this Saturday, January 31st when Microsoft will pull the plug on the website. To receive either your free 512MB memory card or to take advantage of their 20GB HDD deal, simply head over to the official memory request website, enter your console information and review what storage solution offers you receive. There is no time for procrastination, so get to it!

[Thanks, Beagles]

Well, it looks like we won't be reading Killzone 2's manual. Posting on the official US PlayStation forums, Seb Downie, QA Manager for developer Guerrilla Games, confirmed that the PlayStation 3's highly anticipated first-person shooter will not delay the action by installing content to the hard drive first. Sez Seb: "No install. Optional or otherwise."

Killzone 2, which is currently undergoing online beta testing, is due for release in February 2009.

[Via Videogaming247]

With two different storage mediums in hand, the fine folks at Eurogamer have done what any gadget-loving geek would and should do: pit them against each other and fill numerous tables with the numerical results. The scintillating statfest concerns the loading times of Xbox 360 games, most of which seem to show a notable, albeit unimpressive, improvement when installed to the hard drive via the New Xbox Experience.

Interestingly, it's The Orange Box's Half-Life 2 component which benefits the most out of all the test subjects, with initial loading time cut down from 44.5 seconds (wow, really?) to 25.5 quiet, whoosh-less seconds. Another notable game is shoot-teh-alienz epic, Halo 3 -- it actually fares worse when installed to the hard drive. Which is just as well, really, since we'd rather have the drive noise drown out the 13-year-olds killing us. Repeatedly.

The next time you pay a visit to the Nintendo World Store, we advise taking a balaclava and a glass cutter. As the above video demonstrates, the outlet now boasts a bunch of hard drive-equipped Wiis, each of which has around 20 games stored on it, ready for instantaneous selection; generally really good games, as well.

Judging by the menu from which you choose titles, these are identical to the Starlight Foundation Fun Centers that have been getting installed in hospitals. Now, you can try one out for free, without even having to break one of your limbs or anything.

[Via Go Nintendo; thanks, Glare!]

The Xbox's built-in HDD was "why we prematurely left the original" Moore admitted, "we were still selling it [the console] at $199 and the hard drive was like $70 ... it was killing us, and there was no way to bring the price down. So in the end we determined at around the 25 million unit mark that we just needed to slow this thing down and just not sell any more, and move to the 360 as quickly as we possibly could." Intriguing. Maybe now with the 360's not so mandatory HDD, we'll see a console life cycle that'll last beyond five years. Maybe?

[Via Shacknews]

That said, we don't have to tell you that $149 for a 120GB HDD is very spendy and, as GameDaily was keen to point out, you could technically plop down an extra $50 and buy a brand new 360 Arcade. True, you wouldn't get any additional storage capacity with the Arcade, but you'd have a 512MB 256MB memory card and a backup just in case your primary console decides to ring out.

Kind of weird how storage issues never came up at the E3 keynote, huh? We thought so, too. And, when Shigeru Miyamoto got cornered by the folks at IGN, they asked him about the lack of storage love.

"There isn't anything that we can announce today, but we have been thinking along a variety of different lines regarding this matter for some time now," Shiggy said. "So my hope is that sometime in the not too distant future we will be able to discuss some concrete solutions." So, all hope is not lost. Nintendo is at least still on the case. It's just that they're taking longer than we'd all like.

After screwing up and subsequently apologizing, Nintendo Europe's Laurent Fischer wants to get back to work. He does so by addressing the ever-present desire for extra Wii storage space. Yeah, kind of a touchy subject to bring up so soon after Fischergate, but there has to be some big revelation, right?

Well, apparently Nintendo are "working on a solution," but "there's no plan to issue hardware." Fischer is referring to an external hard drive, a device that geeks and otaku gamers are eager to get. Iwata gave everyone hope, but those sentiments have been pretty much squared away in the bollocks box. There's always talk, always rumors and speculation, but still no storage -- and now, no plans.

Check out the full feature for more details, but beyond telling us what we already know, Fischer and Nintendo aren't revealing anything.

Unemployed loafers might do well to apply down at Nintendo, as they need a new lackey to take care of some business. That business might be very interesting, as the opening is for an experienced USB ... dude. This means the under-utilized USB capabilities on the Wii might be getting some decent stuff for future pluggage. External memory is the hot ticket, but that's still kinda boring. How about this thing for plenty of cool air during a hot, sweaty Wii Sports session?

Hit the jump for full details of the position up for grabs.

Going hand in hand with this week's retail Xbox 360 deals thus making this a money savings morning, we bring you word that Amazon.com has a few good deals on Xbox 360 hard drives. Money savings on both the 20GB drive and uber large 120GB model.

As part of their gaming "Deal of the Day", today and today only Amazon.com has discounted the 360's (already overpriced) 20GB hard drive to $65 and the 120GB hard drive to $135. As always, Amazon doesn't charge shipping on orders over $25 and (for most buyers) is also tax free. So, if you're in the market for a new 360 hard drive, today just might be the day for you to jump in and ease the purchasing pain by saving yourself 25% off of retail. Every penny counts.

[Thanks, Ben]

This week on Ask Joystiq, we look at downloading foreign content to a foreign system, streaming content to an Xbox 360, and identifying one --or possibly two? -- obscure Argentinian NES games.

If you have any burning questions, unsolved gaming mysteries, or just a desire for musings from our knowledgeable cadre of writers, drop us a line at ask AAT joystiq DAWT com (and yes, we write it that way for a reason).

Q: I might be going to Japan towards the end of the summer and might pick up some games or a system. If I get a system, how would that work when I bring it back to the states and log on-line for a Wii, PS3 or 360?? Would a Japanese Wii let me log in to only US servers or would I be able to download Japanese games from the marketplace. Same question applied to the other systems...
-- iwantmymtv

A: For the Wii, the region of the console corresponds to the region of the Wii Shop Channel -- Japanese systems will access the Japanese store, no matter where you plug them into the intertubes. You have to buy Wii Points that correspond to the system's region too, which means using a Japanese credit card or getting some Japanese Wii Points cards imported. [source]

Any PS3 will play downloads from any region, but each PSN account is locked to a specific region when you create it. Luckily, it's relatively easy to set up "dummy accounts" for each region you want to buy content, as long as you have a credit card from that country. Be warned, though: there is a significant language barrier for navigating the Japanese store.

Xbox Live users can also create dummy accounts to get around regional restrictions, but there are reports that Microsoft has been blocking downloads from accounts where this practice is detected. As always, let the international buyer beware.
-Kyle Orland