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Microsoft Shows Off 360 HD-DVD Drive

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the christmas-toys dept.

C|Net is reporting on a demo Microsoft put on, showing off their HD-DVD drive for the Xbox 360. The unit, which is expected out for the Christmas season, is an external add-on for the company's next-gen console. From the article: "The device--about the size of a hardback book--played "The Phantom of the Opera" as Collins pulled up a menu bar to display a few of its navigation and interactive features that can be called up on screen while a movie is playing. Collins said Microsoft's HD DVD drive will be among the least expensive of the HD DVD players, but he declined to disclose the drive's retail price."

4 of 124 comments (clear)

  1. *Applause* by p0tat03 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Kudos to MS I say, for giving consumers the choice. I for one can't care less about HD DVD, but I love my Xbox360, and I'm glad I didn't have to buy into some newfangled (and overrated) format that I would never use.

    If I ever DO get an HDTV though, this might be a nice addon...

    1. Re:*Applause* by poot_rootbeer · · Score: 4, Insightful

      right up until they start releasing certain games only on HDDVD because the size is too large for a regular DVD.

      I believe Microsoft has already stated that the HD-DVD drive will be used for movies only, though that's as subject to change as anything else in this world.

      I'd love to play Lord of the Rings or Madden with HD cut scenes.

      I would hate that.

      It's already jarring enough on a title like LotR for PS2 when the graphics cut from DVD-Video cinematic cutscene to realtime rendered polygons. Making the cutscenes look even better would only make the in-game graphics look worse in comparison.

  2. Re:Price point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Here's the problem with that, though - the PS3 is only a "better deal" if Blu-Ray wins the format war. What if Blu-Ray goes the way of the Betamax, and Sony's just screwed you by bundling something that's obsolete in their console for a few extra hundred bucks?

    With the limited number of titles out there in *either* format, I'm not picking up either an HD-DVD or a Blu-Ray player until the dust settles and someone "wins" the format.

  3. Re:Meh by MHolmesIV · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Aah, but you're counting wrong, see. For 10 million people out there (by November), the HD DVD addon will not cost them the price of the 360 + the addon, they already _have_ the 360. So which is easier, paying $600 over 2 years, or paying $600 all at once, for me, I could justify the $400 cost of the 360 last year, and I can easily justify the cost of a ~$200 HD DVD drive this year, but I could not justify the $600 cost of a PS3, it's just too much all at once.

    So for the millions of people who already have a HDTV and a 360, they're not looking at $600 to get started watching movies, they're only looking at $200, which is a pretty small barrier to entry, and for the people who don't have a 360, they're not looking at $600 to watch a movie (They can buy the Toshiba for between $400-$500), and they're not looking at $600 to play a game (the 360 is $400).
    For the PS3, no matter what you want to do, you're looking at $600, up front. Too rich for my blood.