CNet reports that Microsoft was granted U.S. patent 6,716,102 yesterday, which details a method for saving games on a game console hard disk. The word on the wind has been that Microsoft will forgo the hard drive in the Xbox 2, putting some sort of flash memory device in its stead. While CNet speculates that this patent may portend an Xbox 2 hard drive after all, the March 2001 filing date likely makes this a hold-over from the first round of Xbox development. I suspect Microsoft will let us know at this year’s E3.
