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Xbox 360 Finally Getting Blu-ray
Starturtle writes "Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer had admitted that Microsoft had been working on support for Blu-ray under Windows during this year's Mix08 conference. Rumors began to swirl and many began to expect Microsoft to announce a Blu-ray peripheral for the Xbox 360.
However, Microsoft came out and denied all rumors, stating that they were not exploring any kind of Blu-ray add-on or in talks with Sony about integrating Blu-ray into the Xbox experience.
After months of rumors and denials, the Xbox 360 with a Blu-ray disc drive is due to be manufactured soon and shipped in Q3 of 2008. Pegatron Technology, an OEM subsidiary of Asustek Computer, is reported to have received the winning order from Microsoft for a Blu-ray equipped Xbox 360."
the corporate denials were being taken with a very big pinch of salt by everybody... sure, they weren't in talks with *Sony* to put a Bluray drive into it.
phew, at least that dilemma is sorted out. just one big one left...
the next 360 game should be Steve Ballmer on a snow board chasing Jerry Yang, trying to hit him with a chair, called Yamped!
Second, to reduce the clutter of more boxes under your TV (apart from the extra drive of course).
Third, it will also presumably be a lot cheaper than buying either a PS3 or a dedicated blu-ray player. And if you already have a 360 (some people do, for some reason..), why not?
* proud owner of a PS3 >_> currently pissed off that GTAIV isn't playing nicely with PS Network *
which is totally what she said
it will also presumably be a lot cheaper than buying either a PS3
I don't believe this. The PS3's current price reflects the fact that Sony is not only the gatekeeper for that platform but also that they manufacture a bunch of its components themselves. MS has a disadvantage here because they can't do neat tricks like deciding "we're not going to make any profit on parts X, Y, and Z until it costs less to produce them".
The funny thing is that it seems like MS has been trying really hard as of late to make their console business profitable. If they really are going forward with a Bluray 360, they're in a really tough spot: it will be a PR coup for Sony if costs more than a PS3.
Of course, this type of PR win will only sway the Sony/MS battle for all the nerds who argue about video games on the Internet. They will both still be trailing Nintendo.
The Cell processor is hardly 'standard' computer hardware.. the 360 is a lot more standard, kind of similar to Macs of yesteryear in that it uses a PPC processor. I agree that they are rubbish, but that's mostly just because they're designed by Microsoft rather than the individual components. The only decent hardware I've ever seen by MS was the sidewinder force feedback joystick (the first one - the second was rubbish). Everything else breaks; wireless mice and keyboards someone stupidly ordered at my company, I would have got logitech stuff, and I told him that after the MS stuff started acting up. It was then put into the company handbook that all IT purchases have to go through me :p hehe. Anyway, the 360 hardware individually is fine, but the thermal design isn't great (similar again to Apple ;) my Macbook Pro gets hot and bothered very quickly if you try to play 3D games)
which is totally what she said
And besides - my primary computer is a laptop, and I just don't have enough space to rip high def to my laptop willy-nilly. (See also, reasons why I don't want a 22 megapixel camera.)
I bet they're getting a handsome licence fee for every Blu-ray reader sold. So Microsoft will be paying them every time they sell a 360.
They've already won the format war, they have little chance of winning the console war (A large chunk of PS3 sales have been purely for its capability as a good Blu-ray player / DVD upscaler), if they're smart they'll stick to what they're making money on now and work on getting it right for the next generation.