Helloooo...
360 HD-DVD Drive to be 199 GBP
- Thread starter Hardknock
- Start date
Actually the keyword behind any of this discussion is "sources"; meaning that the entire thing is a hypothetical right now.
I don't think that the price of the add on is what really interest MS.
they want it because they can say ok the xbox can match the ps3 as far fonctionnality is concerned.
And at this time very few persons are conrcerned about hd dvd, but latter in the xbox 360 life this can change , the price of the add on will be lower, so Ms will be able to keep Hd fans in its house.
More, the ms bet is to hurt Br to hurt Sony, if sony fail to impose BR, they will lake money for next gen battle. Ms don't care really about hd dvd.
they want it because they can say ok the xbox can match the ps3 as far fonctionnality is concerned.
And at this time very few persons are conrcerned about hd dvd, but latter in the xbox 360 life this can change , the price of the add on will be lower, so Ms will be able to keep Hd fans in its house.
More, the ms bet is to hurt Br to hurt Sony, if sony fail to impose BR, they will lake money for next gen battle. Ms don't care really about hd dvd.
Yes, this is a marketing play from a few angles:
* On paper, it looks like MS has similar functionality (good enough features to keep existing owners happy, and to balance the comparison with PS3)
* On price, MS may be able to cut more just because fewer people buy the HD-DVD player (i.e., net-net they still lose less money than Sony).
Whether it will work or not depends on:
* How fast Sony can ramp up its PS3 production (assuming all else being equal)
The control is still in Sony's court. If Sony succeeds in mass producing PS3, I believe there is little the HD-DVD bundle can do.
* On paper, it looks like MS has similar functionality (good enough features to keep existing owners happy, and to balance the comparison with PS3)
* On price, MS may be able to cut more just because fewer people buy the HD-DVD player (i.e., net-net they still lose less money than Sony).
Whether it will work or not depends on:
* How fast Sony can ramp up its PS3 production (assuming all else being equal)
The control is still in Sony's court. If Sony succeeds in mass producing PS3, I believe there is little the HD-DVD bundle can do.
Initially, anyway, according to demand. I.e., right now people expect everyone to want the 60gb version. But Sony already announced that each European country will get a ratio of 20gb/60gb versions according to what market research tells them meets the right demand. For instance, they indicated that countries along the Mediterranean have a higher demand for the 20gb version than others.
People seem to be crying because MS won't sell them a super cheap HD-DVD player. Why should they?
Sony are holding off a Euro PS3 launch because of a shortage of blue lasers, but MS are supposed to be buying loads in and selling them cheap? Why the hell should they? To compete with the PS3 (that isn't even going to be out in Europe)?
If the HD-DVD drive can help shift 360's then they should bundle it at a reduced price (which this rumour indicates as their strategy), but why subsidise the sale of the drive to existing 360 owners? They shouldn't.
If the blue laser head costs $175 as stated in this thread (or anywhere close to that), then once you add on the cost of the rest of the unit, it's power supply, assembly, packaging, shipping and retailer margins, why should they sell it to existing 360 owners for $200 and lose money while gaining nothing? Again, they shouldn't.
If you don't like the cost of the drive and don't think it offers good value, don't buy it. Buy a standalone. Once the price of components comes down, and competition increases, the cost of the HD-DVD drive will no doubt drop.
Sony are holding off a Euro PS3 launch because of a shortage of blue lasers, but MS are supposed to be buying loads in and selling them cheap? Why the hell should they? To compete with the PS3 (that isn't even going to be out in Europe)?
If the HD-DVD drive can help shift 360's then they should bundle it at a reduced price (which this rumour indicates as their strategy), but why subsidise the sale of the drive to existing 360 owners? They shouldn't.
If the blue laser head costs $175 as stated in this thread (or anywhere close to that), then once you add on the cost of the rest of the unit, it's power supply, assembly, packaging, shipping and retailer margins, why should they sell it to existing 360 owners for $200 and lose money while gaining nothing? Again, they shouldn't.
If you don't like the cost of the drive and don't think it offers good value, don't buy it. Buy a standalone. Once the price of components comes down, and competition increases, the cost of the HD-DVD drive will no doubt drop.
Last edited by a moderator:
The_Standard
Newcomer
So where are they planning to get the laser diodes for these machines on the cheap?
Everyone in the world seems to be having trouble getting their hands on them, even companies with their own fabs.
This HD DVD add-on thing is sounding more and more like a straw man to me every day.
EDIT: Just saw Function's post above with similar questions.
Everyone in the world seems to be having trouble getting their hands on them, even companies with their own fabs.
This HD DVD add-on thing is sounding more and more like a straw man to me every day.
EDIT: Just saw Function's post above with similar questions.
You asked 'Why would MS launch at this price, where it validates PS3's price?' The answer is because that's (possibly) the cheapest anyone could release at. In other words, MS can't sell it cheaper without losing money. Just in releasing the HDDVD addon, they validate that PS3 is good value (your phrasing), because it is and the only way to make PS3 look bad value would be to release the HDDVD addon at an unrealisitically low price point and make large loses, for negligable gains.
I'm still convinced we have a misunderstanding! I meant why release the product AT ALL! Pricing be irrelevent.
I mean, you've got a 300 dollar entry against a 500 dollar PS3. Simple enough. The consumer can ask "well does the PS3 do anything else?" But nonono. They have to throw out the HDDVD. Now the question inevitably follows "oh well does the PS3 do that too? Oh, it does? Oh so that's why it costs more". I might be taking a skewed (backwards??) view on this but they seem to be helping to play up the PS3's key ancillary function. They are sendin the message that HD movies are desireable and are a value and should be considered in the purchase. Considering that they aren't even using it for games and taht they have not the stake in HDDVD like Sony has in BluRay and it just doesn't add up to me.
It seems more and more like im in the minority being totally baffled by this product.
Because they want to add value to the XB360 platform by allowing gamers to use it as a HD movie player. Otherwise the choice is '$600 PS3' or '$400 XB360 + $400 HDDVD player' sort of thing. Anyone wanting both is going to see PS3 as an economical solution. The HDDVD addon breaks that, providing the same price for the same functions, and the choice becomes one of content and not hardware - which platform has the movies and games I want, instead of which platform does the things I want it to do.
NocturnDragon
Regular
Wait.. doesn't the HD-DVD still use red laser?
No!
Truthfully, I thank you for spelling that out for me. That should be obvious but I'm having a hard time getting my head around it.
Maybe I'm just hung up on the Dreamcast 2 idea. I just think MS is asking for trouble by staying 2 steps behind Sony all the time.
[Slightly OT]
Ahem. To calculate the cost of a product before VAT using a VAT inclusive price, you need to multiply by 100/117.5. The price would therefore actually be GBP 319.15 before VAT, approximately equivalent to USD 595.
A snowball's chance in hell of that price being charged in the US I would have thought so yes, as usual we'll be getting shafted on the price in comparison to the states.
[/OT]
400,000 over a period of time, would they be happy? dont think so
according to sony (but who can believe it until it happens) the ps3 will lanch with 500,000 (each one plays blu-ray) on day one + 2 million by years end, 400,000
hd-dvd only had a chance if it got out quick + established a brand but it has suffered from the same manufacturing problems as blu-ray, hd-dvd has 2 months to establish itself before the ps3 lanches + then if it hasnt (and it looks like no at present) its GAME OVER hd-dvd, beta stuck around for years but i feel in 2008 if u look up hd-dvd u will get the reference 'see recent history book' much like the psp UMD which was even a worse idea to startoff with
