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Microsoft says HD DVD for Xbox 360 is still enjoyable

With Peter Moore gone to EA Sports, Microsoft Game Studios corporate VP Shane Kim is now one of the more public figures behind the Xbox 360. Speaking to GameDaily, Kim answered several questions regarding the current state of the Xbox 360 business.

The black eye on the Xbox 360’s reputation is the apparent fragility of the hardware. Early units were especially prone to the “Red Ring of Death,” indicating a hardware failure. Microsoft has since made numerous revisions to the Xbox 360 hardware, and is backing up all consoles with a 3-year warranty against the defect.

“We certainly regret the issues that some customers have experienced with Xbox 360, which is why we took the step of extending our warranty to an unprecedented three years,” said Kim. “However, we feel very confident in the quality of the consoles that we are producing, and our hardware experience and talent continue to grow.”

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said earlier this year that the company now has a commitment to make the Xbox 360 “the most reliable video game box out there.”

The frequent occurrence of users having to send away their consoles for refurbishment also introduced a completely new problem – DRM issues from downloaded Xbox Live Arcade games. The problem has only recently been resolved, Kim explained. “This process will only require you to connect to Xbox LIVE once to download the content again. Once you follow this process, you should be able to play previously downloaded content whether you are signed into Xbox Live or not.”

While Xbox Live has become a crucial fixture in Xbox 360 gaming, Microsoft has yet to convince PC gamers to fully adopt the service. “We are continually investing resources in both Games for Windows and the Xbox 360. PC gamers are moving more and more online so you'll see us invest more in this space moving ahead,” said Kim. “You'll see our service on Windows continue to evolve just as Xbox LIVE has incorporated new functionality over time.”

The Xbox 360 console was a popular HD DVD player thanks to its relatively affordable add-on drive. Those who jumped into the format, however, are now left with a dead end piece of hardware due to Toshiba’s surrender of HD DVD.

Kim, however, still has many great things to say about the HD DVD peripheral: “While it is unfortunate that HD DVD was discontinued, there is still enjoyment to be had from your Xbox 360 HD DVD Player. You can take this as an opportunity to build out your movie collection! There are around 500 HD DVD movies to choose from and many at great deals, so there is a fair amount of content for HD DVD on the market.”

“It also is a terrific DVD player and it allows you to have game discs and movie discs, whether HD DVD or DVD, within the console at one time. The HD DVD player also adds two additional USB ports to your console,” concluded Kim.

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Ridiculous...
By Enoch2001 on 4/17/2008 10:47:37 AM , Rating: 3
Microsoft has their head buried in the sand. Just freak'n release a BlueRay drive for the 360 and call it a day. They'll need *something* to compete with the PS3's high-def movie capability and supporting a dead format with no more movies in release is not an intelligent business decision.




RE: Ridiculous...
By PAPutzback on 4/17/08, Rating: 0
RE: Ridiculous...
By masher2 (blog) on 4/17/2008 1:18:58 PM , Rating: 5
> "Noone at MS can deny the PS3 look like something you'd want to see in your rack "

Not in my rack. Its curved design isn't stackable, and it lacks a proper front control panel for one.


RE: Ridiculous...
By AlphaVirus on 4/17/2008 1:46:27 PM , Rating: 2
They have "game console stackers" available for purchase for less than $30.
It can be used for the 360 if you dont want heat problems, for the PS3 if the object is too unstable on the curved surface, and the Wii if the object is larger than a cd case.

A quick google search "PS3 Horizontal System Stacker"
pulls up this for $20
http://www.madcatz.com/Default.asp?Page=328&


RE: Ridiculous...
By theflux on 4/17/2008 1:46:37 PM , Rating: 2
Wait, you actually stack things on top of your 360? What do you stack on top of the HD DVD add-on? What do you stack on top of your Wii?


RE: Ridiculous...
By whirabomber on 4/18/2008 6:06:12 AM , Rating: 2
I have my HD DVD sitting on top of my 360, which could easily have room for a Wii, too as there is plenty of space. Just don't cover those cooling vents, though. I use my HD DVD player to stack games and movies my lazy backside hasn't put away yet.

MS can impress us by patching the HD DVD player to allow the use of audio CDs - right now you get a polite message to stick the audio CD somewhere else as the HD DVD player won't play it.


RE: Ridiculous...
By theflux on 4/18/2008 12:59:53 PM , Rating: 2
Ok, but see you are stacking an add-on on top of the console. The PS3 requires no such add-on, and therefore no need to stack. When people say "stackable" they usually are trying to imply that they can't load the 360 down with a receiver and a DVD player or some other nonsense.


RE: Ridiculous...
By deeznuts on 4/17/2008 2:35:46 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Not in my rack. Its curved design isn't stackable, and it lacks a proper front control panel for one.


For every stack, there is one component on top. Don't need to be a genius to figure out which one to put on top.


RE: Ridiculous...
By theflux on 4/17/2008 4:59:21 PM , Rating: 1
Every person I've ever met that complained about the PS3 not being stackable had a 360 with nothing stacked on top of it. It's just one of those things that some people pick for lack of a real reason.


RE: Ridiculous...
By elmikethemike on 4/17/2008 7:26:42 PM , Rating: 2
lol

The folks at DT post the Sony news without spin, but certainly love to comment on it.

Yours is about the dumbest thing I've ever read.


RE: Ridiculous...
By ajfink on 4/17/2008 10:10:39 PM , Rating: 1
I bought a PS3 two days ago (already own an Xbox 360 - with the HD-DVD add-on) and those damn curves make it impossible to stack with anything.

I wouldn't doubt Sony doing that on purpose...grawr.

The thing is a folding beast, though. I'd consider picking up PS3s with broken optical drives if they didn't still sell for $150.


RE: Ridiculous...
By omnicronx on 4/17/08, Rating: 0
RE: Ridiculous...
By Homerboy on 4/17/2008 11:07:50 AM , Rating: 5
I completely enjoy my 360 for gaming solely... however I have to disagree with you. The 360 is certainly touted by MS to be an entertainment unit. That was the ENTIRE intent of the box. That is why they heavily promote its streaming video ability, why they (did) heavily promote the HD-DVD drive.

Don't try to fool yourself otherwise.


RE: Ridiculous...
By omnicronx on 4/17/2008 11:18:54 AM , Rating: 1
quote:
however I have to disagree with you.

Exactly.. you disagree with me, obviously Microsoft and their huge marketing team disagrees with you. Thanks for proving my point.

It was also pretty obvious Microsoft could care less if either Next-Gen high def format won, looking at their business plan you can pretty much see they are focusing on digital downloads.

Sure they added MCE capabilities, and I find them very useful, but it is still a gaming console first, MCE machine second. Sony's cell processor is not suited for games either, Microsofts GPU is faster and better optimized than the PS3's cell powered RSX.


RE: Ridiculous...
By omnicronx on 4/17/08, Rating: 0
RE: Ridiculous...
By afkrotch on 4/17/2008 12:24:58 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Exactly.. you disagree with me, obviously Microsoft and their huge marketing team disagrees with you. Thanks for proving my point.


www.xbox.com

Looks to me their huge marketing team disagrees with you.

quote:
It was also pretty obvious Microsoft could care less if either Next-Gen high def format won, looking at their business plan you can pretty much see they are focusing on digital downloads.


Yes, that's why Microsoft was heavily supporting HD-DVD, but not Blu-ray.

quote:
Sure they added MCE capabilities, and I find them very useful, but it is still a gaming console first, MCE machine second. Sony's cell processor is not suited for games either, Microsofts GPU is faster and better optimized than the PS3's cell powered RSX.


Oh dear god, you don't even understand the console's hardware.

The PS3 is powered by a Cell proc and an Nvidia RSX gpu. Xbox 360 is powered by a IBM Xenon proc and ATI Xenos GPU.


RE: Ridiculous...
By omnicronx on 4/17/08, Rating: 0
RE: Ridiculous...
By Fallen Kell on 4/18/2008 1:26:22 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Thanks for the lesson! Using the words Cell powered was a bad choice of words. My point still stands though, the Xenos unified architecture, is more effiecient, more backwards compatible, easier to code for and is overall a better GPU. This makes it a better suited gaming machine, thanks though for once again nitpicking on the fine details, and bringing this thread off topic.


Do we need to get into the debate here? Lets remember the facts. The Xenos was the pre-cursor to the R600. It can do 500million polygons per second, and 10 floating point operations per clock (or approx 5 billion per second (in theory remember)).

The RSX is based on the G70 chips, and can draw 1 billion polygons per second (note twice as many as the Xenos), and 27 Floating point operations per pixel shader pipe per cycle (with 24 pipes), for 648 per cycle, and 356 billion per second (again in theory). We do know in fact that the PS3 is able to perform 2 terraflops when combined with the Cell processors (or 2,000,000,000,000).

Might it be easier to program for a unified shader? Maybe, but then again, programmers have only been programming on them for 3 years now, while there have been over 10 years experience programming on a non-unified architectures. You also need to remember the bottle-necks that ATI's first generation unified shader product had on the PC (which is based on the Xenos, which also probably suffers the same bottleneck), of not having enough shader units that could perform a floating point operation (since not all of them could). And this makes sense from the numbers of only being capable of doing 10 floating point operations per cycle, when in fact it has 48 stream processors.... Again, the same bottleneck which caused the ATI R600 which had 320 stream processors to be outperformed by the Nvidia G80 which only had 128....


RE: Ridiculous...
By Reclaimer77 on 4/17/08, Rating: -1
RE: Ridiculous...
By i3arracuda on 4/17/2008 11:52:00 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Funny I remember the 360 launching with huge titles like Gears of War and Halo 3. Not " Its a high def DVD player ".

Rewriting history to make your point more valid doesn't make it true.


Touche.

Gears of War and Halo 3 were not launch titles.


RE: Ridiculous...
By lotharamious on 4/17/2008 12:01:14 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
The 360 is certainly touted by MS to be an entertainment unit. That was the ENTIRE intent of the box.

quote:
That is 100% false.

No it isn't; it's quite the contrary. Read Time Mag's article "Inside Bill's new Xbox" from May 2005. I am unable to quote from it, but trust me when I say Bill wanted your entire household revolving around the 360. Anyone care to prove me wrong with that article??


RE: Ridiculous...
By therealnickdanger on 4/17/2008 1:33:18 PM , Rating: 2
I'm a pretty big pro-MS guy, but even I'm not going to say to your face that the 360 is simply a "gaming machine". From the start, even before seeing concept designs, we were all told that the "NeXtbox" was going to be a gaming/entertainment hub device. Microsoft's party line has always been, "It's a gaming console first". Yes, that's true, but what is it second ? If you want to get technical, ultimately, it's only really one fifth about gaming:

1. Games
2. DVD/CD/HD-DVD
3. Online content kiosk
4. Personal media streamer
5. IPTV device

The 360 is exactly what it was prophesied to be: an entertainment appliance. It just so happens that it FAILS at being a Blu-Ray player, so of course Microsoft has to do their little dog'n'pony show to keep their salivating fanbase content. It's really not a big deal.

I've got my 360 for everything that it excels at doing and my BH200 for movies. I couldn't be happier!


RE: Ridiculous...
By bill3 on 4/18/08, Rating: 0
RE: Ridiculous...
By i3arracuda on 4/17/2008 11:39:39 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Just does not make good business sense, however you want to slice it. You may WANT an external BD drive, but it sure as hell is not a NEED for Microsoft to stay competitive.


The 360 is an entertainment console. You said it yourself in your own comment when you referenced their 'growing download service'. They currently have an HD-DVD add-on that is completely unnecessary for gaming. It has a media center built into the dashboard. It's a couple of tabs away from the 'Live' tab.

Microsoft will release a BD add-on if demand warrants it.

But, my favorite part is the section I quoted. In the same breath, you mentioned 'good business sense' and likened it to a notion that a company should put their interests ahead of their customer's wants and needs.

Now that's a roadmap to success.


RE: Ridiculous...
By omnicronx on 4/17/08, Rating: -1
RE: Ridiculous...
By afkrotch on 4/17/2008 12:34:43 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
If Microsoft really cared that much about the next gen portable media, then I just do not see why they let HD-DVD go without a fight. After all they did have the muscle to do so. Its my opinion they just wanted to delay the adoption of both formats so they could lay the groundwork for the digital download service and get it off the ground before either format became mainstream. Of course this is all speculation, but it makes sense if you think about it.


Cause Microsoft wasn't the one creating HD-DVD. They were simply supporting it. Microsoft isn't in the business to create and standardize next generation disc hardware.

And delay both disc formats? That's got to be the dumbest speculation I have ever heard. How much of the world do you think has fast internet access to download over 10 gigs of data in less time that it takes me to drive to Best Buy and pick up a blu-ray movie?


RE: Ridiculous...
By omnicronx on 4/17/2008 1:17:19 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
And delay both disc formats? That's got to be the dumbest speculation I have ever heard. How much of the world do you think has fast internet access to download over 10 gigs of data in less time that it takes me to drive to Best Buy and pick up a blu-ray movie?
Anyone not willing to pay 25 American or 30-35 canadian for a movie. 10 gigs is also an overstatement, they only have 480p and 720p (depending on the movie) available for download. Its not as time consuming as you think to go turn on your console and leave it to download for a while either. A lot more people use the service than you would think. I would also like to remind of of the thousands upon thousands of people that do just that with torrents every day. If its so time consuming and blockbuster is so close, then why are thousands of people doing it right now?

quote:
Cause Microsoft wasn't the one creating HD-DVD. They were simply supporting it. Microsoft isn't in the business to create and standardize next generation disc hardware.And delay both disc formats? That's got to be the dumbest speculation I have ever heard.
So let me get this straight, you are all saying BD is needed to compete with the PS3, yet because Microsoft is merely 'supporting' HD-DVD , they do not care if it failed? If a high def format was so important to sales, then Microsoft would not have let this happen in the first place. This is where the 'dumbest speculation I have ever heard' comes from. You are playing both sides, pick one!


RE: Ridiculous...
By afkrotch on 4/17/2008 1:49:07 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Anyone not willing to pay 25 American or 30-35 canadian for a movie. 10 gigs is also an overstatement, they only have 480p and 720p (depending on the movie) available for download. Its not as time consuming as you think to go turn on your console and leave it to download for a while either. A lot more people use the service than you would think. I would also like to remind of of the thousands upon thousands of people that do just that with torrents every day. If its so time consuming and blockbuster is so close, then why are thousands of people doing it right now?


10 gigs is hardly an overstatement for a 1080p video. Shoot, it's an understatement. And who wants to be stuck with a crap 720p compressed video? Xbox Marketplace's current HD lineup doesn't compare to available HD-DVDs or Blu-ray movies.

I'd also like to remind you the thousands upon thousands of ppl who use torrents everyday to download less than 1 gig per torrent and not 10+ gigs of data per torrent. Largest I ever downloaded was 50 gigs and that was 300 megs per file within the torrent, not a single file.

Cause Blockbuster isn't free.

quote:
So let me get this straight, you are all saying BD is needed to compete with the PS3, yet because Microsoft is merely 'supporting' HD-DVD , they do not care if it failed? If a high def format was so important to sales, then Microsoft would not have let this happen in the first place. This is where the 'dumbest speculation I have ever heard' comes from. You are playing both sides, pick one!


Tell me, exactly how you think Microsoft could have prevented the failure of HD-DVD? They have no control over all the individual movie studios that moved to blu-ray. Toshiba has no control over that. Dumping money into a failed format would be no different than flushing it down the toilet.

About the only thing Microsoft could have down was make the HD-DVD drive integrated into the Xbox 360 and we know that wasn't going to happen. Confliction of strategies.

Microsoft does care if it fails. Problem is, they have no way to actually stop it. HD-DVD is like a sinking ship. All the ppl onboard (supporters) started bailing, instead of picking up buckets to empty the water and keep it afloat. Even the Capt (Toshiba) got off the ship. Microsoft is all alone on the sinking ship named HD-DVD. Think they could have saved it?

Microsoft doesn't make movies to put onto HD-DVD. Microsoft doesn't manufacture the hardware. Thinking they could simply throw money at it to fix the problem is retarded.


RE: Ridiculous...
By omnicronx on 4/17/2008 2:07:34 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
10 gigs is hardly an overstatement for a 1080p video. Shoot, it's an understatement. And who wants to be stuck with a crap 720p compressed video? Xbox Marketplace's current HD lineup doesn't compare to available HD-DVDs or Blu-ray movies.
Xbox 360 marketplace does not have 1080p videos, so I don't know what you are talking about. And many people, as BD adoption shows, do not care about the difference between 480p and 720p let alone 720 and 1080. Once again, you may care, but the vast majority does not.
quote:
I'd also like to remind you the thousands upon thousands of ppl who use torrents everyday to download less than 1 gig per torrent and not 10+ gigs of data per torrent.
Now you are arguing for the sake of it. Many movies xvids especially hit the 2gig barrier, a 720p movie download on average from Marketplace is around 2 gigs, with the 480 versions obviously being smaller. Microsoft will never offer a 10gig download either as only 11 gigs of space is usable on a 20gig 360.
quote:
Microsoft doesn't make movies to put onto HD-DVD. Microsoft doesn't manufacture the hardware. Thinking they could simply throw money at it to fix the problem is retarded.
What exactly do you think Sony did then? Humour me please


RE: Ridiculous...
By hduser on 4/17/2008 1:22:52 PM , Rating: 2
Microsoft didn't create HD-DVD but they did have a hand in authoring the HD interactive layer which Sony spurned in favor of BD-Java. So Microsoft did have some interest in pushing HD-DVD.

Anyways, my opinion is that while it MIGHT be a good move for Microsoft to support Bluray just to stunt PS3 market penetration as a player. But, Microsoft would lose face because of the failed HD-DVD and it might be interpreted as an acceding the market to Bluray.

The Xbox 360 wouldn't be my first choice as a media hub. I can't get a gauge on the fan noise because the built in DVD drive positively screams. The ala carte method of adding on to the 360 doesn't make it a slick set up for bluray or HD-DVD.


RE: Ridiculous...
By RandallMoore on 4/17/2008 11:49:39 AM , Rating: 2
9 GB of storage is already not enough for todays games. I bet by the end of this year you will change your mind about the 360 having blu-ray. I'm jumping for joy about my decision to get a PS3. Honestly not trying to look like a fanboy, but i would be pissed with the decisions coming out of MS l8tly. If you are happy about your choices in console, then i'm fine with that lol. So im not trying to piss in anyone's cornflakes. I just think MS has made a mistake with blu-ray. If HD-DVD would have won, i would expect sony to start making HD-dvd ps3's. Or at least make sure all the games came out for blu-ray somehow...


RE: Ridiculous...
By Hiawa23 on 4/17/2008 12:07:31 PM , Rating: 2
9 GB of storage is already not enough for todays games. I bet by the end of this year you will change your mind about the 360 having blu-ray. I'm jumping for joy about my decision to get a PS3.

9 gigs seems fine for most games as mostly all the 360 games are just as impressive as the Blu ray enabled games on the PS3, & i also got a PS3, of which I own 4 games for, & almost 40 for the 360. Ms has already stated DVD 9 is it for games, so no matter how many of you who don't make games scream DVD9 isn't enough for games, well, it has to be cause if devs are going to make games for the 360 which moves more units of software than the PS3 & Wii, then they wil have to work around this, besides, seems like many of the Blu ray games are just as short, or the space is wasted using 10 languages, & uncompressed stuff like that. The 360 is fine for MS this gen. All they need to do is continue improving LIVE, improve the consoles reliability issues, & continue to crank out games, up the file limit for the LIVE Arcade games & they should be in a good position to launch the next Xbox which will probably use Blu Ray, but like I said MS stated numerous times Xbox 360 games will not be on either HD format, & I think it is probably past time that many get over that.


RE: Ridiculous...
By RandallMoore on 4/17/2008 12:19:25 PM , Rating: 3
You have good points in your argument, but i still feel like there will be games coming out soon enough that will prove that the extra space is needed. It may not be apparent now, but if that happens,(as of right now) Sony will have their backs covered while MS will be missing out.

Who knows though, I'm certainly not a fortune teller... It possibly might be a few more years until the space becomes a barrier. I'm just convinced that MS is backing themselves into a corner unless they have some tricks up their sleeves.


RE: Ridiculous...
By Hiawa23 on 4/17/2008 12:52:38 PM , Rating: 2
You have good points in your argument, but i still feel like there will be games coming out soon enough that will prove that the extra space is needed. It may not be apparent now, but if that happens,(as of right now) Sony will have their backs covered while MS will be missing out.

Who knows though, I'm certainly not a fortune teller... It possibly might be a few more years until the space becomes a barrier. I'm just convinced that MS is backing themselves into a corner unless they have some tricks up their sleeves.

I think we all agree, games could benefit if they had more space just like the consoles could benefit if they had more ram like the PCs. All I am saying is MS said DVD 9 is it for the 360, & devs have no choice but to work around this or just put the games on the PS3 & sell much less, or go even better make the games for the Wii. May not be as graphically impressive or sound better or have as good online structure, but with the games being 480p & take up much less space than the 360, that is an option.

Ahhhh. probably not, but you get what I saying. Personally, I thought all 360s should have been released on HD DVD, cause like you any many say 15 is better than 8 or 9, but I deal with things as they are, not what if or what should be, & DVD 9 is what we have right now for the console, & I am fine with that.


RE: Ridiculous...
By wempa on 4/17/2008 1:03:43 PM , Rating: 2
9GB was already not enough space for a few Xbox 360 games. Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon are 2 that come to mind. It's a choice they are stuck with. So, for the small percentage of games that actually need that extra space, they'll need to figure something out like extra discs or use some of the hard drive. Either way, it shouldn't be a major concern.


RE: Ridiculous...
By bill3 on 4/18/2008 12:59:36 AM , Rating: 2
You know you can download a Crysis rip that is 6GB. 6GB and it looks miles beyond anything on either console graphically, and also runs in much higher resolutions (so it needs even more memory than it would if it just ran at 720P like a console game).

This basically tells me DVD storage is not a big issue this generation. Certain games, mostly RPG's with a lot of FMV, could use the extra storage, but not many. RAM is a much bigger limiter anyway. If you want PS3 graphics to look better, you'd be much better off with 1GB RAM and a 9GB DVD than a 25GB Blu Ray and 512MB RAM, and that's a fact.

Also Blu Ray is slower, so that's why so many PS3 games are now requiring mandatory installs to the hard drive (while 360 counterparts run straight from the disc) that can take up to 30 minutes and use up a lot of your hard drive space. So Blu Ray is hardly all a bed of roses as PS3 fanboys have you believe.


RE: Ridiculous...
By afkrotch on 4/17/2008 12:39:46 PM , Rating: 2
Only way for MS to get around this is to use a next gen disc format in future consoles, compress games on the dvd and require users to install it (like a PC), require users to download game content, or stream data.

Even if blu-ray lost, PS3 cames would still stay on blu-ray. As it's the main disc format, it'll be the way games come out. A lot of old consoles used a proprietary disc format to combat piracy.


RE: Ridiculous...
By afkrotch on 4/17/2008 12:19:48 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
How many times must this be said, The 360 is a gaming console, the PS3 is an entertainment unit (sony's words not mine), there is no need for a BD player on the 360 for it to stay competitive. In fact I would imagine that their growing download service could possibly rake in more cash than providing a BD addon. Just does not make good business sense, however you want to slice it.


So why did MS ever make an HD-DVD add-on? Apparently it made good business sense before, so why wouldn't it make good business sense for the BD add-on?

And seriously, is your whole arguement based around wording? 360 a gaming console and PS3 an entertainment unit. Well, let me quote for you.

quote:
straight off the Xbox website
Xbox 360® is the fully-loaded entertainment experience right out of the box, with a hard drive, wireless controller, and headset. The HD component cable gets you gaming in high-definition.


If you look on the site nowhere does it mention that 360 is a gaming console. Now it does spam all about the 360 centering around "entertainment."

A BD-Drive is a need to stay competitive with the PS3, as it seems every couple months, the PS3 has a price drop. Some games also break the storage boundries of DVD-9. Blue Dragon is a what? 3-4 disc game?


RE: Ridiculous...
By Reclaimer77 on 4/17/2008 12:24:57 PM , Rating: 3
You guys are getting too cute with finding articles and what not to back up your point. Its UNDERSTOOD the 360 is a gaming console. MS has already stated several times, when asked about Blu Ray support, that its a gaming console first.

Just because you THINK MS should support Blu Ray doesn't mean they will or should.

I could " prove " to you that my car is also a great place to sleep, have sex, and eat in. Does that mean its not for driving places ?


RE: Ridiculous...
By afkrotch on 4/17/2008 12:48:56 PM , Rating: 2
Entertainment. Gaming is entertainment. Watching videos is entertainment. Listening to music is entertainment. Viewing your pictures is entertainment.

Only things that I've seen MS say about blu-ray support is "when there is a demand, we will support it."

Your analogy is also quite flawed. Here's a better one.

You say that the 360 is strictly an on-the-road car, while it also has the ability to drive on the dirt, on snow, on ice, on sand, etc. Everything on the Xbox site claims that the 360 is such a great All-Terrain vehicle.

With your analogy it's like saying the 360 plays games, does your dishes, lays concrete sidewalks, and transports ppl from one place to the other. Too different.


RE: Ridiculous...
By omnicronx on 4/17/2008 2:22:49 PM , Rating: 2
Give it up man, stop twisting words. Microsoft clearly states that the 360 is a gaming machine first, and Sony clearly states the PS3 is an entertainment unit. Nothing else matters, your opinion, my opinion, or my dog sparky's opinion.

This thread was suppose to be about the 360 and the need for a BD player, nothing more.

quote:
Only things that I've seen MS say about blu-ray support is "when there is a demand, we will support it."

And right now, there is not enough demand, thus no BD player. Any other argument at this point is moot because you can not back it up.


RE: Ridiculous...
By deeznuts on 4/17/2008 2:39:56 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
You guys are getting too cute with finding articles and what not to back up your point. Its UNDERSTOOD the 360 is a gaming console. MS has already stated several times, when asked about Blu Ray support, that its a gaming console first.
That's because they lost. If HD DVD had won, they'd be saying how the 360 is the ultimate CE. Get your head out of the sand dude.


RE: Ridiculous...
By Reclaimer77 on 4/17/2008 3:42:29 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
That's because they lost. If HD DVD had won, they'd be saying how the 360 is the ultimate CE. Get your head out of the sand dude.


They didn't lose. Toshiba lost. HD DVD was not Microsoft's baby. Microsoft didn't NEED the 360 to be the best HD DVD player. Sony however, has made it plain thats what the PS3 was intended to be with Blu Ray.

I mean, really, its comical how anyone with a shred of common sense is getting rated down and flamed by you rabid Sony fanbois.


RE: Ridiculous...
By deeznuts on 4/17/2008 4:55:45 PM , Rating: 2
MS backed HD DVD back in 2005.
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2005/sep0...

They lost. If HD DVD had won, do you think MS would shrug and say, "oh well, our 360 is a gaming machine, we only sold the HD DVD Add-on just because."

Oh, and for those who say MS doesn't try to promote the 360 as an entertainment device:

quote:
The Xbox 360-HDTV relationship is "even higher than I think we thought it would be," says Microsoft's Peter Moore. "We obviously made a big push that the 360 makes high-definition entertainment. That has been foremost in our message and consumers who made all the pre-orders knew that in particular. It's given them plenty of time to prepare for (HDTV)."
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2006-01-04-xbo...
see that word foremost?


RE: Ridiculous...
By omnicronx on 4/17/2008 12:48:49 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
straight off the Xbox website
Xbox 360® is the fully-loaded entertainment experience right out of the box, with a hard drive, wireless controller, and headset. The HD component cable gets you gaming in high-definition.
Fine! I really don't care what you want to call it, game console first, second, sideways... MS has cleary stated every time someone asks about a BD drive that it is a gaming console first.. I will agree that originally the MCE feature was highly marketed, but in the end turned out to be somewhat of a failure. Microsoft has changed their tune though, since the release of the xbox arcade Microsoft has been trying to get the imagine of gaming console first. It seems to me they feel the wii is their real competition and that the PS3 is in its own niche.
Not that any of this really matters, as the topic had to do with the need for a BD drive, not whether or not the console is an 'entertainment unit'.

quote:
So why did MS ever make an HD-DVD add-on? Apparently it made good business sense before, so why wouldn't it make good business sense for the BD add-on?
I've already stated the reason I think MS sided with HD-DVD was solely to slow down adoption of both formats. If MS was so intent with HD-DVD why with their deep pockets did the not try to bail out Toshiba? I firmly believe Microsoft thinks that downloadable media is the future, and the lack of any news on a BD drive on the horizon only deepens my belief.
quote:
A BD-Drive is a need to stay competitive with the PS3, as it seems every couple months, the PS3 has a price drop. Some games also break the storage boundries of DVD-9. Blue Dragon is a what? 3-4 disc game?
But back to the OP's post, and the point I was trying to get across, a BD drive is not needed. The 360 still has the highest attach rate by FAR, their online download service is flurishing, and Microsoft keeps denying a BD addon again and again. Many people still do not have HDTV's, and most people wanting a BD drive merely buy a PS3. Furthermore what makes you think BD group is going to give Microsoft a licensing deal that would make it all worthwhile in the first place.

Essentially until I see it, I won't believe it, nobody here has given me any reason to believe otherwise. All indications from press releases, to licensing issues say paint a different story than what you guys seem to believe. Whether you like it or not.


RE: Ridiculous...
By omnicronx on 4/17/2008 12:59:15 PM , Rating: 1
As for the DVD9 bounderies, It's called compression. Microsoft has stated since day one, that DVD9 will always be the format used for games. Even huge games like the up and comming GTA-4 will not fit on a normal DVD9.

Rockstars solution; compress the textures wow! Difference between the two games graphics wise, little to nothing. Who would have thunk it. Having the ability to pack 10 languages on a BD with uncompressed LPCM is not a needed feature, nice.. but not needed.

I do agree though by the end of the 360's lifecycle DVD9 will be their failing grace, but its not going to make a difference for another few years, and by that time your 360 will probably be dead anyways =D

Just incase you guys think I am being a fanboy of some sorts throughout these posts, I own all 3 next gen consoles, and I personally bought my PS3 for the BD drive, so i know there is a market for it, but people like you and me are the minority.


RE: Ridiculous...
By afkrotch on 4/17/2008 1:18:41 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Not that any of this really matters, as the topic had to do with the need for a BD drive, not whether or not the console is an 'entertainment unit'.


You brought it up, not me.

quote:
I've already stated the reason I think MS sided with HD-DVD was solely to slow down adoption of both formats. If MS was so intent with HD-DVD why with their deep pockets did the not try to bail out Toshiba? I firmly believe Microsoft thinks that downloadable media is the future, and the lack of any news on a BD drive on the horizon only deepens my belief.


MS sided with HD-DVD before there was even a real format war. When things turned for the worse for Toshiba, they bailed out. I doubt any amount of money MS gave them would have changed that fact.

Sony definitely thinks downloadable media is the future, but that future isn't any time soon, according to them.

Read enough? There is already rumours of a Lite-On blu-ray drive for the 360. Course, just a rumour.

quote:
But back to the OP's post, and the point I was trying to get across, a BD drive is not needed. The 360 still has the highest attach rate by FAR, their online download service is flurishing, and Microsoft keeps denying a BD addon again and again. Many people still do not have HDTV's, and most people wanting a BD drive merely buy a PS3. Furthermore what makes you think BD group is going to give Microsoft a licensing deal that would make it all worthwhile in the first place.


MS denies having one in the works, but doesn't say they will never have one. Also not adding one simply doesn't make much sense.

How many companies have denied having something only to release it months later?


RE: Ridiculous...
By omnicronx on 4/17/2008 3:05:16 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
MS denies having one in the works, but doesn't say they will never have one. Also not adding one simply doesn't make much sense.
How many companies have denied having something only to release it months later?
And when that day comes I will be the first to jump over to your side, but right now judging by their actions MS seems to agree with me not you. The past actions of other companies does not validate your response. Right now MS feels there is no need for a BD drive, there is really no way you can prove otherwise.


RE: Ridiculous...
By wallijonn on 4/17/2008 2:55:52 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
So why did MS ever make an HD-DVD add-on? Apparently it made good business sense before, so why wouldn't it make good business sense for the BD add-on?


Because MS did the HD-DVD GUI apps and codecs instead of using the BD Java GUI codec. If MS adopts BD then they will have to pay the BD consortium licencing fees whereas they were not paying the HD-DVD consortium, the HD-DVD consortium was paying MS. Ergo, MS will "lose" money by going BD. If MS goes BD then they will have to use Jave which is also "the enemy".


RE: Ridiculous...
By tallcool1 on 4/17/2008 2:48:42 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Kim, however, still has many great things to say about the HD DVD peripheral: “While it is unfortunate that HD DVD was discontinued, there is still enjoyment to be had from your Xbox 360 HD DVD Player. You can take this as an opportunity to build out your movie collection!
Sounds to me like MS is also marketing it as a entertainment unit/movie player and not just a game machine (per your comment). Quote right from Microsoft Game Studios corporate VP Shane Kim.


RE: Ridiculous...
By omnicronx on 4/17/2008 3:30:01 PM , Rating: 2
Wow, how many more poeple are going to grill me on this in a thread that was not suppose to be discussing this at all.
I should have worded it differently and yes I am wrong because it is not solely a gaming machine. BUT MS says that is primarily a gaming console in every press release asking about BD.

Just to stop anymore posts on the subject.
I WAS WRONG! END OF DISCUSSION!


RE: Ridiculous...
By Reclaimer77 on 4/17/2008 3:35:03 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Sounds to me like MS is also marketing it as a entertainment unit/movie player and not just a game machine (per your comment). Quote right from Microsoft Game Studios corporate VP Shane Kim.


Thats not marketing. Hes doing damage control.


RE: Ridiculous...
By feraltoad on 4/18/2008 3:20:49 AM , Rating: 2
I wish my Sony entertainment unit (I just bought one for BD now that it has been settled) was a MCE extender like the xbox, or would get a decent interface for streamed media. I have my MCE desktop hooked to an TV, but I would have liked the PS3 to be able to do a decent job with the streamed media from the PC when I want to use the PC separate but the female wants to watch a recorded ghosthunters episode. The media is there, but it looks sloppy and isn't very woman friendly. I wasn't expected something on par w/MCE, but I was expecting something half way decent. It sucks. Any tips for a better interface? I've found nothing. I hope Sony has an update up their sleeve for that. I can get a nice looking interface from Orb, but only through internet streaming which hurts quality and speed. BTW try Orb, it is amazing! I can't believe how it can stream media across the internet. I was watching live TV on the PS3 that Orb was streaming across the internet from the TV Tuner card on my PC! How cool is that from a free program? Totally unncessary given my setup, but if you had a phone that does internet with a web browser you can get access to ALL of your media (music,pics,video) AND watch TV, AND schedule a program away from home!!! Check out youtube and search "orb iphone" to watch a video. *I have no stock in Orb, just geeking out.


RE: Ridiculous...
By Reclaimer77 on 4/17/2008 11:09:26 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Microsoft has their head buried in the sand. Just freak'n release a BlueRay drive for the 360 and call it a day. They'll need *something* to compete with the PS3's high-def movie capability and supporting a dead format with no more movies in release is not an intelligent business decision.


SIgh.... how many times do I have to beat this into you people ? This article is simply not a big deal because NOBODY bought the 360 for " hi def " content ! Its a game console first. It was always a game console first. It does not, and never will, need Blu Ray.

The PS3 is the best Blu Ray player on a market. Not the best gaming console. To compete with the PS3, MS would have to turn the 360 into an AV device more than it is a gaming console. Your looking and two entirely different strategies and telling one side they have to adopt the others methods.

And last time I checked, MS doesn't lose money on every 360 sale like Sony does with the PS3. I think its your head thats buried in sand.


RE: Ridiculous...
By Timeless on 4/17/2008 11:55:33 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
And last time I checked, MS doesn't lose money on every 360 sale like Sony does with the PS3. I think its your head thats buried in sand.


Last I checked Microsoft started selling their console a year before Sony did. You're head is buried in the sand as well.


RE: Ridiculous...
By Reclaimer77 on 4/17/2008 12:42:38 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Last I checked Microsoft started selling their console a year before Sony did. You're head is buried in the sand as well.


How is when it was released mutually exclusive to the profit of each unit ?

Now your just fishing man.


RE: Ridiculous...
By omnicronx on 4/17/2008 1:05:47 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
How is when it was released mutually exclusive to the profit of each unit ?
Components become cheaper over the lifecycle of the product.

His response was unwarrented though as the PS3 was losing much more money at launch compared to the 360. So regardless of how much time the 360 has been on the market, the ps3 has always been more expensive to produce when compared to the same period (i.e comparing margins of both consoles 1 year after release). There was a reason it was retailing at 599 =P


RE: Ridiculous...
By afkrotch on 4/17/2008 1:57:10 PM , Rating: 2
On the other side of the coin, this can also lead to Sony being able to make the most off of each console, when they decrease production costs.

If both MS and Sony were able to drop production costs down to $50 a console, who do you think will gain the most with current MSRP of their respective consoles?


RE: Ridiculous...
By omnicronx on 4/17/2008 2:33:41 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
On the other side of the coin, this can also lead to Sony being able to make the most off of each console, when they decrease production costs.
Something gives me a feeling the again PPC cores in the 360 are easier and cheaper to produce than the cell(although ppc based too). I am also pretty sure that the DVD player in the 360 is always going to be cheaper than a BD drive. Furthermore the size of the hard drive will also make a difference. The ps3 is never going to cost less than the 360, it uses more expensive components which are not going to decrease in price more than the same components the 360 uses.


RE: Ridiculous...
By ok630 on 4/22/2008 1:42:05 AM , Rating: 1
Die painfully okay? Prefearbly by getting crushed to death in a garbage compactor, by getting your face cut to ribbons with a pocketknife, your head cracked open with a baseball bat, your stomach sliced open and your entrails spilled out, and your eyeballs ripped out of their sockets. Fucking bitch


RE: Ridiculous...
By afkrotch on 4/17/2008 1:04:05 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
NOBODY bought the 360 for " hi def " content


Guess that includes HD games too.

quote:
The PS3 is the best Blu Ray player on a market. Not the best gaming console. To compete with the PS3, MS would have to turn the 360 into an AV device more than it is a gaming console. Your looking and two entirely different strategies and telling one side they have to adopt the others methods.


Huh?

PS3 plays games, HD movies, videos, music, view pictures, download content, connect to computer, etc.

Xbox 360 plays games, HD movies, videos, music, view pictures, download content, connect to computer, etc.

What's the difference in their strategies?

quote:
And last time I checked, MS doesn't lose money on every 360 sale like Sony does with the PS3. I think its your head thats buried in sand.


Nah, instead MS lost billions to the RROD and increased warranty. As for right now, both MS and Sony's respective game divisions are making profit. They are still both in the red, but at least they are coming out of it.


RE: Ridiculous...
By Reclaimer77 on 4/17/2008 4:22:17 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Guess that includes HD games too.


I think you know I mean movies. Stop playing games.

quote:
What's the difference in their strategies?


I guess you forgot about that period in time. Gamers were extremely put off by the crazy cost of the launch PS3 and its lackluster game titles. Sony pulled no punches that if you wanted the best Blu Ray player, you would have to buy a PS3. There is a HUGE difference in Sony vs Ms strategy for gaming consoles. Sony's strategy isn't about gaming. It was about using the PS3 to push their new high def movie format. I'm sorry but this isn't even in debate. Its a fact.


RE: Ridiculous...
By bill3 on 4/18/2008 1:07:53 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
As for right now, both MS and Sony's respective game divisions are making profit. They are still both in the red, but at least they are coming out of it.


The difference is Sony made money last Q (they actually lost a lot before that) on PSP, PSP software, PS2, PS2 software, and PS3 software. All those are highly profitable, but they still lost a lot of money on PS3 hardware. Dont kid yourself otherwise. They are just making profit on PSP+PS2 but losing money on PS3.

Microsoft only has one console, they've been making money on that one console, 360 hardware is profitable.

Very soon I think you will see MS slash the 360 price a lot (to 199/269/369 I believe), and Sony will be powerless to match. You might see Sony cut 50 in the fall if they get desperate, but that's the most you could possibly expect.


RE: Ridiculous...
By aju on 4/17/2008 11:30:56 AM , Rating: 2
I agree that they should add an external player for those that want to add that functionality. But saying that it is necessary to have a Blu-Ray player compete with the PS3 means that the Wii better do it to or it will become irrelevant. The simple truth is that the Xbox 360 was designed as a HD gaming counsel. If you are looking to watch HD movies and TV, you would be better off buying a HTPC with a Blu-Ray player and HD TV tuner in it. Then you can watch HD movies on your big screen HD TV, watch and/or record your favorite HD TV programs, play your favorite PC games, surf the web, view podcasts, YouTube, etc… Besides, adding a Blu-Ray drive to a PC is very cheap compared to a player. NewEgg has them for $140 with free shipping. Leave the counsel for playing counsel games.


RE: Ridiculous...
By Hiawa23 on 4/17/2008 11:56:38 AM , Rating: 2
Microsoft has their head buried in the sand. Just freak'n release a BlueRay drive for the 360 and call it a day. They'll need *something* to compete with the PS3's high-def movie capability and supporting a dead format with no more movies in release is not an intelligent business decision.

based on everything MS has stated about what the 360 is geared for which are games, I really don't see that MS needs anything to compete for high def movies vs the PS3. they are not supporting HD DVD anymore, Kim is right, there is nothing telling me I can't continue to enjoy the HD DVD movies I own & plan to buy more at cheap prices. I also have a PS3, but would rather buy DVDs than Blu ray as all my players in my house play dvds & only got one blu ray player on PS3, of which I only use for gaming.


RE: Ridiculous...
By Reclaimer77 on 4/17/2008 4:24:47 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
based on everything MS has stated about what the 360 is geared for which are games, I really don't see that MS needs anything to compete for high def movies vs the PS3.


Better watch it. Apparently saying that is blasphemy in these parts :D I'm surprised you weren't rated down already ! lol


Typical marketing stretch...
By Micronite on 4/17/2008 9:59:04 AM , Rating: 3
quote:
...it allows you to have game discs and movie discs, whether HD DVD or DVD, within the console at one time.


Wow! What a feature.




RE: Typical marketing stretch...
By Lonyo on 4/17/2008 10:24:07 AM , Rating: 3
Saves lazy people the hassle of switching a game disc out all the time just to watch a film.


By NullSubroutine on 4/18/2008 6:01:00 AM , Rating: 2
I actually loved having the two drive to be honest. Plus the HD-DVD drive is much quieter.

I mean, my GF can take the movies in and out and I dont have to worry about her taking my game out and scratching it.


RE: Typical marketing stretch...
By SlipDizzy on 4/17/2008 10:24:31 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
The HD DVD player also adds two additional USB ports to your console


I think you missed the key feature.


RE: Typical marketing stretch...
By Visual on 4/17/2008 10:30:48 AM , Rating: 3
And you can use these extra ports to... umm.... let me think...
... plug two more HD-DVD addons?
;)


RE: Typical marketing stretch...
By MrSmurf on 4/17/2008 11:03:56 AM , Rating: 2
Hey, each HDDVD drive you add, you add 1 extra USB port! woohoo!


RE: Typical marketing stretch...
By chiadog on 4/17/2008 10:32:44 AM , Rating: 5
Free integrated HD-DVD player with each USB hub!


RE: Typical marketing stretch...
By PAPutzback on 4/17/2008 10:53:00 AM , Rating: 2
Nice. Doh! I can't bump you up now.


RE: Typical marketing stretch...
By jeromekwok on 4/17/2008 12:32:00 PM , Rating: 2
It is the largest, most expensive and most energy inefficient USB hub ever made.


XBL Issues
By BMFPitt on 4/17/2008 10:33:10 AM , Rating: 2
That was long overdue. I had to rebuy Uno when I moved from my old roommate's 360 to my own so my fiancee could play it with her account.




RE: XBL Issues
By Xenoterranos on 4/17/2008 11:09:57 AM , Rating: 2
When I first got my 360 a bunch of friends came over with halo, gears, etc...

...we spent 3 hours playing the Uno demo.

::hangs head::


RE: XBL Issues
By kzrssk on 4/17/2008 11:19:03 AM , Rating: 3
Hahaha. Even with a Wii, a 360, and a high-end computer, I find myself replaying old SNES and N64 classics more often than playing newer games, so I know what you mean.


RE: XBL Issues
By chdude3 on 4/17/2008 11:36:40 AM , Rating: 2
When is this fix rolling out? I still have games and content that I can't play when I'm disconnected from Live!


booo
By Datcyde on 4/17/2008 11:41:27 AM , Rating: 2
M$ it would be nice if you use that drive and make games for it. 15GB is alot. And maybe make a DL HD-DVD to keep up with some titles the PS3 will have.




RE: booo
By Hiawa23 on 4/17/2008 12:24:33 PM , Rating: 2
M$ it would be nice if you use that drive and make games for it. 15GB is alot. And maybe make a DL HD-DVD to keep up with some titles the PS3 will have.

this would make no sense at all. So you would make games for a dead device that only 200k-300k max gamers have compared to all DVD based 360s that all consoles share. Makes absolutely no sense. Seems like many of you might as well get over this DVD 9 issue, cause if you plan on gaming on the 360 like I do & have been since day 1, then DVD 9 is it. I got a PS3 cause I have always been a multiconsole gamer & I pull for no one, but looking at the cosoles, it aint even close, the 360 might go down as one of all time favorite cosoles ever.


RE: booo
By afkrotch on 4/17/2008 1:31:34 PM , Rating: 2
I have a PC, two 360s, and PS3. MS needs to get rid of region coding on there games.

PC first, PS3 next, then 360. That's my order of favortism. PS3 just has more games I enjoy and the 360 is stuck attempting to compete with my PC, which it tends to fail at. FPS is just better with a keyboard/mouse and looks better on the PC.


By prenox on 4/17/2008 5:41:26 PM , Rating: 2
Hermes: That's statistically impossible.




By Alpha4 on 4/17/2008 6:46:43 PM , Rating: 2
Hah! Futurama FTW!

Anyway, I cannot see the Xbox 360 ever surpassing the PS3's reliability, as established in this DT article: http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=8454

quote:
The final testing area was inside a sauna, where temperatures started at 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and went up to 120 degrees over the last 24 hours...

...“The console was extremely hot when we finished the overall test but had come thru all environments with flying colours.”
Its kind of hard to top that :/


By Alpha4 on 4/17/2008 6:53:18 PM , Rating: 2
Btw, as an off-topic-yet-relevant bit of trivia, did you know that the man who voices Marcus Phoenix in GOW also voice-acts Bender in Futurama? For some reason I'm fascinated by that.


By crazyblackman on 4/17/2008 8:55:02 PM , Rating: 1
The 360 is a hunk of cheap crappy technology. Period. Just wait till GTA IV ships and your 360 RROD's during the loading screen for the most anticipated game to hit the market in years. Or...just wait and see what happens when the Xbox Live servers go into overload status and kicks you off because everybody tried to play GTA IV online.

Did you see that? I just put the curse on your 360.

MS paid 50 mill for GTA IV DLC?? You WILL be charged for it. It WILL NOT be worth it. You ARE being hoodwinked. ALL OVER AGAIN.

They will do ANYTHING to beat the PS3 at this point. The 360 has a very bad rep at this early point in its life cycle and things are NOT looking good for MS. Where are all the new games?

They are on the PS3.

GAMING CONSOLE OR ENTERTAINMENT HUB?
9 GIG DVD or 50 GIG BLURAY?
OLD TIRED ARGUMENTS THAT ARE STILL BEING WAGED BECAUSE OF MICROSOFTS
CONTINUING FAILURES! WHO CARES ANYMORE!!

It is over for the 360. Period.




By bill3 on 4/18/2008 1:28:16 AM , Rating: 2
Err, PS3, had the 120 million selling PS2 legacy. It has had a 1/3 price drop in nine months. It has the better future lineup by far according to the media. It has essentially free Blu Ray, a $400 value. It's competitor has no Blu Ray, yet costs virtually the same. It's competitor, also has a loud console with a well publicized 33% failure rate.

And yet in March 360 outsold PS3.

That's nothing less than frightening, quite frankly.

PS3 software sales are also abysmal.

To say nothing of this fall, have you seen the Gears of War 2 scans from Game Informer magazine? Do a google search for them. It's easily one of the best looking games you've ever seen, and all confirmed on the game informer podcast to be in-game. I wasn't expecting much graphical leap, instead we got a huge one.

PS3 has a reputation as having better graphics, but it doesn't. Multiplatform ports that run and look worse on PS# almost without exceptionstill 1.5 years after release prove it. It's tapped out where 360 has not been. Gears 2 is more evidence of that. 360 hasn't even scratched the surface.

To say nothing of the price drops that Sony wont be able to match MS has lined up. Most likely no later than fall a 360 Premium will sell for 269 with a 60GB hard drive, while PS3 will still be 399.

Yeah, good luck Sony.


By crazyblackman on 4/18/2008 1:55:38 AM , Rating: 1
WHAT???

quote:
And yet in March 360 outsold PS3.


Thats not what I read. You pulled that outta your ass. Where's your source?

quote:
Multiplatform ports that run and look worse on PS# almost without exceptionstill 1.5 years after release prove it. It's tapped out where 360 has not been. Gears 2 is more evidence of that. 360 hasn't even scratched the surface.


Time to reach for the Charmin again. You are fabricating wildly now. Tapped out. I consider the RROD failures as the same thing as the damn thing being tapped out. The system is already working too damn hard. The Devs are pushing it to it's 9 gig dvd limits already.

quote:
360 hasn't even scratched the surface.


Oh and by the way...the 360 has scratched EVERY disc surface as well(chuckle).

quote:
Most likely no later than fall a 360 Premium will sell for 269 with a 60GB hard drive, while PS3 will still be 399.


ANOTHER PRICE CUT? Gee, I don't want to say that sounds like desperation...OK...starting to sound a teensy bit desperate to me.

And by the way...I'm sure that 50 mill worth of 360 GTA IV DLC would have easily fit on a bluray disc...for free.

Clown.


By Reclaimer77 on 4/18/2008 4:47:41 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Where are all the new games? They are on the PS3.


The biggest release PS3 has had in 2008 was the HD version of Ninja Gaiden. A 2 year old Xbox original release.


Ship now, fix it later
By tallcool1 on 4/17/2008 2:43:40 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
the company now has a commitment to make the Xbox 360 “the most reliable video game box out there.”

Maybe you should have commited to making quality hardware in the first place!




RE: Ship now, fix it later
By sweetsauce on 4/17/2008 6:02:51 PM , Rating: 1
They were too busy committing to being the #1 next-gen console. Seems like smart business to me. Don't start with the wii crap, its not a next-gen console, and they don't even try to reach the same demographics.


RE: Ship now, fix it later
By bill3 on 4/18/2008 1:12:14 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Maybe you should have commited to making quality hardware in the first place


At least it's more powerful than the PS3, though. Score one for Microsoft, I'll take it.


Consolation...
By greylica on 4/17/2008 1:01:05 PM , Rating: 2
Well, your HD-DVD turned out to quasi-crap, but you can choose between more 500 orphan discs to make a companion...




RE: Consolation...
By Hiawa23 on 4/17/2008 1:54:42 PM , Rating: 2
Well, your HD-DVD turned out to quasi-crap, but you can choose between more 500 orphan discs to make a companion...

I am sure I am in the minority here, but that comment makes no sense. A movie is a movie to me, whether it's on BR HD DVD or DVD makes no difference to me. I happen to enjoy my HD DVD player, & plan to enjoy it for years to come. I still watch VHS, & DVD is fine for my main viewing. I enjoy popping in a BR into the PS3 once in awhile, & HD is nice but it aint really needed for me as far movies go. It really doesn't change the movie experience for me. Some of you act like it is an absolute necessity or something. The only reason I even bought an HDTV was for gaming, & that's it. Games I like in HD, but TV programs & movies are nice, just not a must for me.


That sounds stupid!
By Belard on 4/17/2008 5:16:31 PM , Rating: 3
The HD-DVD add-on should be used to build-out your HiDef video library?! What moron would do this? There is almost 500 titles, and most of it is junk. Even at $10 a pop, that'll be $1000 spend on 100 titles... and when the HD-DVD player dies in 1-3 years, then what do you USE to play a dead format? Go out and buy another HD-DVD player? Er no.

Oh wow, it's also good to store a movie? It sucks up space, its VERY LOUD which kind of kills the movie experince. This is why, back in 2000 when I had a DVD player in my PC, after watching 2-3 movies on my 19" screen in my computer room with a NOISE PC (just one of them) - I went and spent $300 for a Sony DVD player and hooked it to my 32" TV... the noise and small screen sucked.

Adds 2 USB ports? This guy Kim can't count! The Xbox HD-DVD add-on has 2 USB out-put ports, BUT it requires using one of the USB ports on the xbox itself! So you only gain 1 USB port... earth shattering.

Glad to see that Xbox360 is in good hands.

PS:
quote:
Bill Gates said earlier this year that the company now has a commitment to make the Xbox 360 “the most reliable video game box out there.”


LOL - Bill Gates said that about Windows too, but every few years or so... Where are we today?

Sorry Mr. Kim - The PS3 was always cheaper than the Xbox once you add all the add-ons... the games for the PS3 are now at a good level. $400 = PS3: HiDef player, wireless controllers and wireless networking, standard Flash cards for memory storage and 40GB HD. A 360 with 20GB mostly full HD = $350 + $90 for wireless networking + $50 for defunct HD-DVD player = $490... was about $550 when HD-DVD was alive.




RE: That sounds stupid!
By crazyblackman on 4/17/2008 9:06:42 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
LOL - Bill Gates said that about Windows too, but every few years or so... Where are we today?


I'm loving UBUNTU 7.10. It's stable, it's trouble free and it's definitely NOT made by MS. Oh, and did I mention that it's FREE?


By Wolfpup on 4/17/2008 12:37:12 PM , Rating: 2
...so games can be authorized to a new console to be played offline, that's AWESOME, and puts them ahead of Sony, and WAY ahead of Nintendo.

The HD-DVD comments are so ludicrous they're hilarious. But oh well, they've got to put some spin on it. Yeah, you can have a DVD and game in the console at the same time, and you get a USB hub. Whoopee! ;)

Oh well, it was pretty obvious Blu Ray was the winner before either launched, so this shouldn't have come as a shock to anyone who bought one.




Thanks Shane!
By theflux on 4/17/2008 1:48:32 PM , Rating: 2
Here I thought I had wasted $200, but now I realize it was just an overpriced USB hub! Thanks!




DVD player? Not so much...
By Aikouka on 4/17/2008 4:03:16 PM , Rating: 2
I don't think I can agree with Mr. Kim about it being a decent DVD player. The biggest problem is that the old XBOX 360s shipped with video output capability that maxed at VGA. This isn't an issue as component is good enough for most (and some TVs have VGA), but the problem is, the 360 will not upscale unless (a DVD) you are using VGA or DVI/HDMI. So only the newer 360s can output a DVD in an upscaled manner without resorting to VGA. I believe MadCatz was making a solution to output HDMI on any XBOX 360, but I don't remember hearing anything more about it and I do not think it will allow upscaling unless the MadCatz unit will handle it somehow.

Because of this, if I want to play a DVD, I'd rather use my PC or my PS3... both of which will upscale in their current setup (note that I cannot use the VGA port on my TV with my XBOX 360 because my PC is using it).




I see Yam has his usual 360 bash up
By bill3 on 4/18/2008 12:42:28 AM , Rating: 1
Hey, Yam, I bet you're either going to ignore the recent NPD's showing 360 beating PS3, or you're going to only headline the Wii and ignore the PS3/360 battle, whereas whenever the PS3 beats 360 you mention it first.

I wonder why Yam didn't post this, more positive interview with a Xbox figure?

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_conte...

quote:
Microsoft tells Next-Gen that the battle for the core gamer is over: Xbox 360 has won.

Xbox 360 group product manager Aaron Greenberg told Next-Gen in a phone interview Thursday following the release of March's NPD sales figures, "I think the battle for the core user is sort of over, if you will. We're heading now well beyond 20 million in console sales.

"I feel we've secured that core buyer, and that gives us quite a bit of an advantage versus PS3, which is late to the game and still at a price disadvantage relative to the Xbox."

Asked if his verdict is being doled out too soon, as big PlayStation 3 titles such as Metal Gear Solid 4, LittleBigPlanet and Gran Turismo 5 loom on the horizon, he asserted that Xbox 360 has indeed outdone PS3 in the core market.

"I think the type of audience that [Sony is] going after with many of those games, frankly, are Xbox 360 owners...They're trying to go after a consumer that has already bought an Xbox 360, which frankly has a much broader lineup with more titles and more exclusives. You could say that [Sony] showed up with too little, too late."

But even Greenberg will admit that on a global scale, the console war battleground is hotly contested, particularly in Europe, where the PlayStation brand, along with sales for Sony's console, remain strong.

"Without a doubt, Sony is a very formidable competitor in Europe, and they have entrenched themselves as an established brand, and we recognize that," he said. "But it's also part of the reason why we say Europe is the battleground territory for us this generation. So we've really double-downed our efforts there in marketing spend and our aggressiveness in that market."

Greenberg said Microsoft is forecasting Xbox 360's installed base in the US to be two- to three-times that of the PS3 by the end of 2008.

In addition, he said in the US and in EMEA territories, the Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto IV has had more pre-orders than the PS3 version by a 2:1 margin. That game launches on April 29.
ew
For more from Greenberg, read Next-Gen's full interview




By crazyblackman on 4/18/2008 2:10:25 AM , Rating: 1
quote:
"I feel we've secured that core buyer, and that gives us quite a bit of an advantage versus PS3, which is late to the game and still at a price disadvantage relative to the Xbox."


Gee Microsoft. Don't dare let a little thing like ethics get in the way of your sale of known defective merchandise just to secure a lead with the core gamers. What an admission. PS3 WAS late to the game but will finish strong as they are still selling PS3 consoles to 360 owners as well, who feel ripped off by MS.

quote:
n addition, he said in the US and in EMEA territories, the Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto IV has had more pre-orders than the PS3 version by a 2:1 margin. That game launches on April 29.
ew


There's that 50 mill DLC again. Break the bank Microsoft. Do everything you have to to sell that crappy console.


"I f***ing cannot play Halo 2 multiplayer. I cannot do it." -- Bungie Technical Lead Chris Butcher

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