Then again, maybe the next Xbox will have a hard drive.
The likely fate of the game console's storage medium--the subject of ongoing speculation as Microsoft closely guards details on the planned successor to the current Xbox--got a new twist this week from a patent granted to the software giant.
U.S. patent 6,716,102, granted Tuesday to Microsoft, covers methods for storing data about games in progress.
The patent specifically references "a gaming system (that) includes a hard disk drive for storing applications and other data," indicating Microsoft may be more committed to equipping future Xbox configurations with onboard storage than previously thought.