Gates announces HD-DVD drive for 360

[takao]

external add on drive ? .. i don't know if that's a smart idea as much as i like hd-dvd...

anybody seen the massive sizes the next generation formats player have ? it's gonna get interesting how microsoft designs a player to go hand in hand with the 360 or when sony finally releases their ps3
and of course the cost of it all

 

[Symtex]

external add on drive ? .. i don't know if that's a smart idea as much as i like hd-dvd...

anybody seen the massive sizes the next generation formats player have ? it's gonna get interesting how microsoft designs a player to go hand in hand with the 360 or when sony finally releases their ps3
and of course the cost of it all

I think it's a great strategy for people who don't own HDTV and doesn't want to pickup an hefty price increase and still wants to buy a X360. You would be suprised how much the general population sees the console.

 

[takao]

I think it's a great strategy for people who don't own HDTV and doesn't want to pickup an hefty price increase and still wants to buy a X360. You would be suprised how much the general population sees the console.

well i'm more concered about this "add-on this add-on that" practice

perhaps your right .. it would increase the already hefty price even more

i guess it even gets worse with the ps3... looks like the price difference between consoles and PC is breaking down for the next 1-2 years untill the technology is cheap enough

 

[javiercr]

Looking at an optimistic MS view...If Blue-Ray wins and nobody has a HD-DVD writer the better for Microsoft, people won't be able to copy the 360's games (with whichever method they find to chip the 360)

 

[greatdevourer]

Call me mad, but what's someone as experienced as a 6502 doing posting in completely the wrong forum. It's not as though the games forum is labled "Ames-Gay" or hidden away in the Hardware Help. Damn...

Pretty cool. I guess it's good that I didn't get mine in december

 

[Randall]

Steve Jobs was only one year off.


Wouldn't this be kinda like a VHS/Betamax player? Kinda redundant if you ask me. I believe one or the other will flop and go into the trash with all of the betamax players.

Yes it will. HD-DVD is already doomed to fail. One, because Microsoft almost always backs the wrong pony, and two, because Blu-ray will be Bundled in with the Sony Playstation 3. If you remember Playstation 2's release, it really helped push DVD sales by lowering the price of hardware players dramatically. It stands to reason that the same thing will happen here, and Blu-ray will win the format war in part because of PS3. Even more importantly though, the movie industry seems to prefer Blu-ray over HD-DVD at the moment. Although many studios are hedging their bets and currently are backing both formats.

It is worth mentioning that since the specs for Blu-ray require Java, that this is a key reason Microsoft is choosing to back HD-DVD. They shudder at the thought of having to ship Vista with Java included in order to drive the BD-ROM players.

 

[XNine]

... Doesn't it look like MS are going the way of Sega... just with this extra drive scenario? Sega CD anyone?

So thats (using rough numbers)... £270 console, £100 games, £70 wifi adapter, £120 HD-DVD player. £560. jesus. I worry about the sanity of gamers and how they've become a slave to paying this kind of money because its new.

Good idea for MS not to use it for games though. that would near on destroy the console... HDD? internet connection? HD-DVD? when there's the Rev and PS3 in the corner with one flavour to suit all.

and do we really need another external object to go with our 360s?

I laugh in MS general direction

Anyway, Blu-ray is gonna kick HD-DVD's ass anyway, so I'm not worried.

 

[Abulia]

Looks like i'm not buying a blu-ray or HD-DVD player until this standoff is settled. Whatever they come out with, It had better be backwards compatible with DVDs.

Ditto. This announcement has no impact on me as a 360 owner and early adopter.

Also, I don't understand the thinking of 360 owners being pissed. I wouldn't want to pay for or subsidize the price of a component (HD-DVD) that I have no use for that 1% of the users would even care about.

Finally, when the format war does get settled, what's to stop an external Blu-Ray drive for the 360. Options better, correct?

 

[yellow]

Die HD-DVD! Die!

 

[dotdotdot]

I think it's worth noting that this external HD-DVD drive does not preclude Microsoft putting HD-DVD drives in new Xbox 360s... and, keeping with the concept of a Core 360 vs. a Premium 360, not everyone will want to pay for HD-DVD if they don't plan to use it. Keeping it as an add-on, particularly when we don't really know how much a PS3 will cost with the expensive Blu-Ray drive, makes financial sense.

Microsoft already said that 360 games will NEVER be released in HD-DVD format, so this add-on is actually going to be targeted at a very small market... those who are using the 360 as their digital entertainment hub and who don't want a separate Blu-Ray and/or HD-DVD player.

Its also smart to make it an add on - XBox 360 can play DVDs, a strong format (strongest right now). If it has HD-DVD built in, and Blu-Ray does better, than it would be useless.

 

[clayj]

Its also smart to make it an add on - XBox 360 can play DVDs, a strong format (strongest right now). If it has HD-DVD built in, and Blu-Ray does better, than it would be useless.

Exactly.

Also, it's very worth noting that the Blu-Ray/HD-DVD market (hi-def movies on disc) is expected to be QUITE small for a few YEARS... at first, only early adopters and videophiles are expected to invest in the new technology, and a lot of them are scared off right now by the impending Blu-Ray/HD-DVD Format War.

Think of HD-DVD and Blu-Ray as the laserdisc to DVD's VHS. Clearly better technology, but it ain't gonna take over anytime soon.

 

[rickvanr]

I think it's a great strategy for people who don't own HDTV and doesn't want to pickup an hefty price increase and still wants to buy a X360. You would be suprised how much the general population sees the console.

That'd be a good point if the Xbox wasn't already $500 dollars, and I'm guessing thats the range where the PS3 will debut at.

 

[Nermal]

Die HD-DVD! Die!

And what exactly inspired this comment? Was your family attacked by a pack of rabid HD-DVDs or something?

 

[0098386]

Anyway, Blu-ray is gonna kick HD-DVD's ass anyway, so I'm not worried.

I dunno... purchase cost will determine everything. No matter what developers, console manufacturers, anyone else does. Its all down to what people will buy. if one film is £15 opposed to the same quality £25 version then what will people buy? Most folk won't even mind a slight drop in quality (if there would be one), not the public. we probably would. but not my grandparents, or my neighbour, or the dog walkers.

Then again the same people would probably still go for the SD version! regular DVDs are going to see us well for many many more years.

 

[G5Unit]

Man DVD are going to start to fizzle out now JUST when they replaced VHS a few months ago! What I mean is they aren't releasing movies on VHS anymore.

 

[clayj]

Man DVD are going to start to fizzle out now JUST when they replaced VHS a few months ago! What I mean is they aren't releasing movies on VHS anymore.

Nah... regular DVDs are going to be around for a LONG time. It's just that now there's going to be an upper-level market for the high-def crowd.

 

[EricNau]

Nah... regular DVDs are going to be around for a LONG time. It's just that now there's going to be an upper-level market for the high-def crowd.

Does this mean we are going to see movies in VHS, DVD, PSP, HD DVD, and Blu-Ray? This is crazy.

 

[clayj]

Does this mean we are going to see movies in VHS, DVD, PSP, HD DVD, and Blu-Ray? This is crazy.

VHS ain't gonna be around much longer. (As Harry Doyle [Bob Uecker] said in Major League, "Thank God.")

 

[ZildjianKX]

Anyone else notice that all the HD-DVD players seem to be 1080i, while all the Blue-Ray players are 1080p? Not sure whether 1080p 30 fps or 60 fps.

Anyone know if all the HD-DVD players run Windows CE? *shudders*

 

[DISCOMUNICATION]

Hurry up and wait

Think of HD-DVD and Blu-Ray as the laserdisc to DVD's VHS. Clearly better technology, but it ain't gonna take over anytime soon.

If that is true we should all completely ignore this and wait for HVD. I can't wait for 2009. Of course this tech will take at least 2 years to catch on and come down in price so... I can't wait till 2011! Kidding

 

[nimbus]

I still think that its rediculous and pathetic that after a mere few months after it's launch, they announce that they are adding an HD-DVD add on. What does that say? It says they were ill-prepared for launch.

Look at it this way, they want to seem cheaper, but all these things are adding up. Core 360, fine, but you can't do much without the Harddrive.
"Premium" 360 is cool, but now they are adding something that perhaps should have been with the system in the first place...just a few months after launch.
I'd much rather have a system that is ready, out of the box, instead of having to have another box connected to my "media center/game unit." Ill-prepared I tell ya. Maybe HD-DVD will do ok to make it worth it. I swear they are making PS3 look better and better everyday they mention something "new" about the 360...

 

[Randall]

I still think that its rediculous and pathetic that after a mere few months after it's launch, they announce that they are adding an HD-DVD add on. What does that say? It says they were ill-prepared for launch.

Look at it this way, they want to seem cheaper, but all these things are adding up. Core 360, fine, but you can't do much without the Harddrive.
"Premium" 360 is cool, but now they are adding something that perhaps should have been with the system in the first place...just a few months after launch.
I'd much rather have a system that is ready, out of the box, instead of having to have another box connected to my "media center/game unit." Ill-prepared I tell ya. Maybe HD-DVD will do ok to make it worth it. I swear they are making PS3 look better and better everyday they mention something "new" about the 360...

That's right. PS3 will ship with Blu-ray installed, and therefore Blu-ray will have much more success right out of the gate. Microsoft really dropped the ball on this one. Bigtime. I can see them releasing Rev B by the time PS3 comes out, advertizing HD-DVD built in. It's enough to make you sick, and gamers should be rip-**** about it right now.

 

[greatdevourer]

Tbh, I don't know why there's such an uproar over this. 30GB or 50GB... you can fit a 2hr movie in 720p onto a DL DVD, ffs! And this is now, not a year down the line when the file formats are even better! The differences in format don't actually affect the movies, but the consoles themselves. If you think about it, having your format lose out is good for the console, as it makes it a lot harder to pirate games for it (think GameCube here - from a piracy standpoint, that thing was a fricking fortress)

 

[clayj]

I still think that its rediculous and pathetic that after a mere few months after it's launch, they announce that they are adding an HD-DVD add on. What does that say? It says they were ill-prepared for launch.

It says nothing of the sort. Beyond the shortage of units available for sale, every analyst report I've seen has been supremely impressed that Microsoft was able to launch worldwide with a large slate of games.

Look at it this way, they want to seem cheaper, but all these things are adding up. Core 360, fine, but you can't do much without the Harddrive. "Premium" 360 is cool, but now they are adding something that perhaps should have been with the system in the first place...just a few months after launch.

Er, they ARE cheaper. HD-DVD is totally going to be a niche product... not everyone is going to want to buy HD-DVD movies, so why burden EVERYONE with the additional cost (and, ultimately, increase the price tag of the 360) by including a high-end drive in the 360? Besides, there is NOTHING to stop Microsoft from shipping new 360s with HD-DVD internal if they really want to. And there is nothing to stop them shipping an external Blu-Ray drive for the 360 if they want to. It's called being flexible.

Contrast the PS3, which is going to include a new Blu-Ray drive that not THAT many people are going to buy movie discs for... and, paradoxically, the PS3 having a Blu-Ray drive will potentially hurt Blu-Ray, as the artificially low price of the PS3 (you know Sony's gonna lose their ass on each PS3 they sell) will hurt Sony's and other vendors' sales of standalone Blu-Ray DVD players. Seriously, why would you shell out $1,000 for a standalone Blu-Ray player when you can buy a PS3 for $500 (or whatever they'll cost)? It might help PS3 sales, but it'll do squat for other Blu-Ray player sales. Prediction: You will see people buying PS3s NOT to play games on, but just to play movies on. Bad move for Sony.

I'd much rather have a system that is ready, out of the box, instead of having to have another box connected to my "media center/game unit." Ill-prepared I tell ya. Maybe HD-DVD will do ok to make it worth it. I swear they are making PS3 look better and better everyday they mention something "new" about the 360...

Face it, you just hate Microsoft. Admit it. It'll make you feel better.

And it's (correct usage) ridiculous (correct spelling, Harvard man) and pathetic (at least you got THAT right) how much energy you seem to waste on negativity.

 

[TheMasin9]

typical microsoft

already offering upgrades to a system that JUST CAME OUT. what a terrible product. why didnt they just wait and make a decent product one with full features, no heat defects and a goddang hd dvd/blue ray drive.... i will forever hate ms...