Xbox Live Updates Getting Longer January 21, 2011

When an update used to come to the Xbox 360 around the time of launch up until recently, it would download and install quite quickly. Obviously this was due to the fact that Xbox 360 updates were very small in file size given the low capacity of early memory units and the lack of internal memory in the low end 360s.

Occasionally a major seasonal update would come along and could take around a minute or two to download, but most smaller updates or firmware patches would take less than 30 seconds.

Recently the November update brought Kinect support and understandably, it took a while to download. It was (as far as I could tell) the longest update the Xbox 360 ever had. (I can’t compare file sizes, MS doesn’t provide them). It made sense, a new interface and a new control system was being added, so a lot of data was going to be expected.

Today, a smaller update was brought to Xbox Live, which (according to the release notes) added in only one simple feature, the ability to boot to disc, something the 360 was previously able to do. The update took much longer than earlier ones, around 2 minutes to download and install.

Is this the start of a new updating trend? Quick and small firmware updates were a smart move by Microsoft, as it leaves the system less vulnerable to firmware errors caused by power loss during an update. This was something the Xbox 360 holds over the Playstation 3 (and technically still does, a PS3 firmware update takes around 10 minutes), but things are changing.

I think this has started since the 360 now supports USB flash drives. Fine print says they require at least 1GB storage for “system files”. Has anyone with original 360s with no HDs lost compatibility with Xbox Live?

Time will tell if the trend will continue, but does anyone but me mind (or even notice) the longer updates? I want to hear what you have to say. Please post your comments!