MS fixing Reach campaign co-op issue

Microsoft has reassured Halo: Reach fans that it's trying to fix an issue that prevents 4GB Xbox 360 owners from playing Reach's campaign cooperatively, Eurogamer has been told.

Eurogamer was contacted by a number of Halo: Reach owners about the issue this morning.

Owners of the 4GB Xbox 360 (that 4GB is internal memory) who try to join a co-op campaign are greeted by this message: "One or more players do not have the hard drive required for this game type."

Microsoft's official Halo: Reach FAQ reads:

Q1: The error "One or more players do not have an Xbox 360 Hard Drive. An Xbox 360 Hard Drive is required to play co-op on Xbox LIVE or system link" occurs when I try to play. Why?

A1: One or more players do not have a certified Xbox 360 hard drive attached to their Xbox 360 console. Some multiplayer aspects of Halo: Reach require an Xbox 360 certified hard drive.

Online reports suggest USB memory sticks do not fill in for the absent storage. Halo 3: ODST suffered a similar limitation.

With Microsoft's costly £80 hard drive not on sale till later this month (it's out now in the US), some UK Halo: Reach owners are currently unable to access one of the game's most compelling features.

This morning Microsoft insisted the limitation is "temporary", but could not say when it will be fixed.

A Microsoft spokesperson told Eurogamer: "We are aware of the issue and are quickly working to resolve it."

According to Nukezilla, the problem only affects the new slim 4GB Xbox 360, and standard multiplayer remains unaffected.