Microsoft To Drop HD DVD

HockeyPuck writes to let us know that Microsoft has decided to stop making HD DVD players for the Xbox 360. No word on supporting Blu-ray on the platform though. "Microsoft said Saturday it would continue to provide standard warranty support for its HD DVD players. Toshiba President Atsutoshi Nishida last week estimated about 300,000 people own the Microsoft video player, sold as a separate $130 add-on for the Xbox 360."

Comments

Now that that's over

[JackieBrown]

Will the new ones come with blueray?

Re:Now that that's over

[Loadmaster]

Why would they? The old ones didn't come with HD-DVD. If you mean will MS make a Blu-Ray add on then maybe. They said back in 2006 they'd think about it if Blu-Ray won. I doubt it, though. MS said that before the Video Marketplace had much content. It's been speculated that MS adopted HD-DVD simply to confuse the market and indirectly push digital download services. Face it, MS wants DD to win because that's where they make the most money.

This won't help the xbox

[mgv]

I think that this isn't a good sign for the xbox either. Existing owners feeling that they have obsolete hardware, and a clear advantage to the playstation.

Microsoft has damaged its whole gaming platform by getting into a sparring match with Sony over video formats.

Michael

Re:This won't help the xbox

[MBCook]

I have a 360. I couldn't care less. That was an add on who only served to play movies. It had no other function. The fact they will no longer sell it doesn't alter my opinion of the console.

My understand is that the DVD playback on the 360 is horrid. I've never used it for that, but I've read about it. You can find more than a few examples with a quick Google search. That has always made me weary of the HD-DVD playback the console would offer.

Re:This won't help the xbox

[Izabael_DaJinn]

I have a 360. Why would I feel it is obsolete? It plays games as well as a PS3 (more so because as of this writing it still has way more cool games.)

(But I also have a Wii, and when we play it on our HDTV and I get sick of shaking my arms around like an r-tard, I DO feel like I bought obsolete hardware!)

PS3's are still over-priced for a game system as far as I am concerned.

Xbox 360 will most likely drop it's price another $50 bucks this year too. A $299 price point is very tantalizing for people. It sounds a lot better than $399 esp. if one is buying it as a game machine.

Also a recession year isn't the best year for a $399 game system either. I would say the 360 vs. PS3 war is just getting underway. Sony will have a good year, but will it be enough? Everyone I know who owns a PS3 also owns an Xbox360 anyway.

As far as cinema, we get most of our movies off of a.b.hdtv.x264 (spare me the "Fight Club" rules, please), so I don't have a rush to buy an over-priced standalone Blu-ray player either. When they drop to $200 I will most likely grab one.

xoxo
*iza

Re:This won't help the xbox

[DrEldarion]

Here's hoping the scratch resistant layer is pretty damn tough! It is. I can't find the article, tragically, but someone took the Talladega Nights blu-ray that came with their PS3 and put it through a torture test, and it performed amazingly.

But will Blu-ray win?

[Tancred]

Or will online distribution overtake it? I don't buy physical CDs anymore and would like to buy video content online as well.

Whack, Whack, Whack...

[Nom du Keyboard]

Whack, whack, whack, the sound of the last nail in the coffin of HD-DVD. I'm glad it's dying earlier, rather than later.

Re:Online distribution of HD content take too much

[vux984]

The short answer is that by the time Blu-ray can be delivered digitally without any quality loss and without serious drawbacks in delivery time, something better than Blu-ray will be on the market. This BD replacement will outstrip our Internet connections, too. We'll be right back at physical media for the optimum quality. We're many, many years from networks that can completely outpace that.

Will anybody care? The HD formats (blueray/HDDVD) already really aren't overwhelmingly compelling vs an upconverting dvd to a lot of people. Yes you can see the difference but its not 'omg that's amazing am I'm going to rush out to buy Zoolander and Disney's Cars *again* just to see it like this...

Now, how much better is the *next* thing going to be?? 2160p? with 11.2 audio? Is the public going to care? Or is it going to be like DVD-audio, a format that only the 'philes masturbate about in there perfectly constructed home theatres.

Consider music. CD is good enough; DVD audio is getting almost nowhere after 10 years. At some point this happens to video... I think HD is already pushing it as far as mainstream adoption. HD^2? I'm not sure I would bet on that horse.

It's about the games...

[Joseph Hayes]

Having been a console and pc gamer all my life (28 years) I have seen all the consoles come and go over the years. What it's really about is sitting down, chilling and gaming. Whether that is with your family, your best friend, or by yourself... it has to be fun. We'll see how the PS Home thing works out, but for now the 360 is king when it comes to playing while at home by yourself, because you aren't "by yourself", the whole world is waiting to play you. Hardware is only a tool. If you buy a game console for the optical drive then you are buying the product for a reason secondary to gaming.

Being a former Wii owner and current 360 owner I can impart this into the conversation: My mom and dad got me a Wii because they remembered when they bought me a NES back in 1986 with zelda and excitebike. So they did a 20 years later kinda thing and it was great. I played through Zelda :TP and it was great, Ocarina of Time great. But I ended up hocking it on eBay this last Thanksgiving for $400 and bought a 360. Why? because the games just weren't what I was after. I hate to say it because Nintendo go this wrap back when the Genesis came out, but the games seem kiddish, plus it's nice to just kick back and play instead of standing and flailing about.

The 360 and PS3 are a little premature in the "HD Generation" of gaming. HDTV's are just now becoming affordable at 1080p. I would hate to be someone who bought a 720p native resolution TV, but it's not that big a deal when it comes to watching TV, GAMING however is a whole different story. 1920x1080 is a beefy resolution for even the latest PC's to to handle at a playable framerate. PC gamers have been playing in HD for years now, ever since games were playable in 1024x768 on their monitors. But HD is the buzzword for the new tv market, and they have to give it name. I guess HD sounds cooler than HR (High Resolution).

I for one look forward to the NEXT generation of consoles. 1080p Big HDTV's will be even more affordable, The format war is over, and consoles will have to huddle up with a company to come up with some really impressive hardware to ensure their console has a 4-5 year minimum lifespan. In that respect, Sony has delivered on with it's last two consoles with DVD, and now with the Cell and Blu-Ray. I am a fanboy of neither Microsoft or Sony, I am a gamer and I just want a way to play good games at a reasonable price. My opinion on this generation at this time, Microsoft wins.