Xbox360 with internal HD-DVD drive in the future?

[MistaPi]

http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/4816/53/

Does this mean we may see Xb360 games on HD-DVD media afterall?

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

Does this mean we may see Xb360 games on HD-DVD media afterall?

No.

“The Xbox is coming out with an HD DVD player towards the end of this year. With Microsoft’s marketing engine behind HD DVD, who knows what will happen.â€￾

True.

“I would imagine that there are plans in place to put an HD DVD drive internally in future revisions of the product,â€￾ says Whittard.

Probably true. I'd go so far as 'imagining' that there were plans in place to put an HD DVD drive internally in the launch version of the product.

“They’re not speaking about it publicly at the moment but I would expect them to do that and fairly soon.â€￾

Quite a leap, IMO.

The only way this happens is if Toshiba sells MS HD-DVD players for the same price as regular DVD drives.

 

[scooby_dooby]

Debunked already:

the guys at the Team Xbox GamerScoreBlog officially debunked the story of an Xbox360 with internal HD-DVD:

Saw a few stories online about an Xbox 360 with a built-in HD DVD drive: not true. We have no plans to release an Xbox 360 with an internal HD DVD. What we showcased at E3 was an external HD DVD drive, and we're sticking with that.

We've always had a games-first emphasis with the Xbox, but some consumers can build on the platform - like by adding a Windows Media Center Edition PC. By keeping the drive external, we're offering consumers a choice in creating their own hi-def experiences. So: no plans for an internal HD DVD.

 

[sonyps35]

nvm, default to scooby's post.

 

[wco81]

Of course they're going to deny it, even if they planned to come up with such a SKU.

Because to not deny it now would undercut sales of their current models, while they were trying to ramp up the supply chain to get the drives and manufacture and get the new SKU into the distribution channels.

 

[scooby_dooby]

Of course they're going to deny it, even if they planned to come up with such a SKU.

Because to not deny it now would undercut sales of their current models, while they were trying to ramp up the supply chain to get the drives and manufacture and get the new SKU into the distribution channels.

Right, so it must be true, considering it was an imagined scenario from a Toshiba executive.

I wouldn't be surprised if they do this, but you won't see it until holiday 08 at the earliest. It would cripple their core package, and instead of having a core for $150 or $199 you have a $400 machine. No i think they'll stick with the cheap DVD for quite some time.

 

[expletive]

Right, so it must be true, considering it was an imagined scenario from a Toshiba executive.

I wouldn't be surprised if they do this, but you won't see it until holiday 08 at the earliest. It would cripple their core package, and instead of having a core for $150 or $199 you have a $400 machine. No i think they'll stick with the cheap DVD for quite some time.

Just because they have a model with an HD-DVD drive doesnt necesserily mean the ALL have to have it. They could still have the core use a standard DVD. I think it would be a pain in the ass to manufacture 2 types of hardware like this though (not that theyd be the only one doing such a thing...).

 

[SPM]

HD-DVD in Xbox 360 won't happen. Xbox 360 games won't be able to use HD-DVD format, it will only be for movies. Adding an HD-DVD drive and an HDMI interface to match Sony will push up the price of Xbox 360 to above the PS3 because Microsoft has no real reason for subsidising HD movie players as Sony does. All in all, this would be a stupid move by Microsoft.

 

[Guden Oden]

This is purely a toshiba PR-head making noise. I don't see why some people get so excited about that.

And I sure as f**k hope those people aren't some of the same ones who have bashed sony for including a bluray drive in PS3 by the way.

 

[MistaPi]

Does this mean we may see Xb360 games on HD-DVD media afterall?

No.

Care to elabrorate? AFAIK theres already a game (or games?) that require a hard drive, so why wont there be any HD-DVD games down the line?
Im not saying you are wrong, just curious as to why.

 

[SPM]

Care to elabrorate? AFAIK theres already a game (or games?) that require a hard drive, so why wont there be any HD-DVD games down the line?
Im not saying you are wrong, just curious as to why.

Because most Xbox 360 owners won't be able to play it - it is a formula for losing money on a game.

Games requiring hard drives won't sell as well as those that don't, but a hard drive is seen as a useful add-on not a replacement (it offsets the cost of memory cards and may be necessary for many online games), and an expensive one. Few will buy an expensive HD-DVD drive just to play one or two games.

 

[a688]

This is purely a toshiba PR-head making noise. I don't see why some people get so excited about that.

And I sure as f**k hope those people aren't some of the same ones who have bashed sony for including a bluray drive in PS3 by the way.

Why? PS3 has blue-ray standard, 360 has DVD standard. If they include it internally, it'll probably be a 3rd sku and not replace the core or premium skus. Thus you can either buy the 3rd sku if you want (like you can buy either the premium or core and add on a hdd later) or buy the seperate drive later. The 3rd sku might be called the "Ultimate" if you think about the vista product skus .

 

[MistaPi]

Because most Xbox 360 owners won't be able to play it - it is a formula for losing money on a game.

Games requiring hard drives won't sell as well as those that don't, but a hard drive is seen as a useful add-on not a replacement (it offsets the cost of memory cards and may be necessary for many online games), and an expensive one. Few will buy an expensive HD-DVD drive just to play one or two games.

But in one to two years from now the price for a plug-in HD-DVD drive might be fairly low?

 

[SPM]

But in one to two years from now the price for a plug-in HD-DVD drive might be fairly low?

Who is going to spend $120 or so plus the cost of a game for a low priced external HD-DVD (or more probably a Bluray drive) two years from now just to play one game? That is the problem for anyone launching an HD-DVD game for the Xbox 360. Hard drives have other uses and are cheaper so they are an easier sell, although the fact that they are optional means they are still a problem for anyone writing a game that requires one.

 

[one]

If they want to use HD DVD for games they have to add a drive with better transfer speed as HDD is not standard in Xbox 360. Current HD DVD-ROM drives are all at 1x (36Mbps) AFAIK. Besides, an HD DVD combo drive with 12x DVD transfer speed may be difficult too.

 

[Tap In]

No HDDVD for games.

 

[Rolf N]

Ten million units 'til PS3 launches
4xMSAA in every game
Harddrive never required for gameplay

No HDDVD for games.

 

[Dave Baumann]

Actually, Moores sentiment has always been their aim 10M - its now a coincidence that this happens to be when PS3 launches. And, we have to wait and see just yet.

 

[scooby_dooby]

If they want to use HD DVD for games they have to add a drive with better transfer speed as HDD is not standard in Xbox 360. Current HD DVD-ROM drives are all at 1x (36Mbps) AFAIK. Besides, an HD DVD combo drive with 12x DVD transfer speed may be difficult too.

Or they wait until the technology has matured and has dropped in price and then bundle it in.

Doesn't make any sense though, as of now games don't even need a full DVD, maybe if disc space actually becomes a signifigant limitation they'll look at that, but DVD might end up being just fine for the life of the console.

 

[Jabjabs]

I could see them releasing a limited edition 360 that has a HD drive but only in very small numbers just to please the extremely rich people who want them.