HD-DVD 360 is a go... whenever...

[eeje13]

As reported at softpedia.com (http://www.softpedia.com), Microsoft will marry the Xbox 360 with HD-DVD drives when it's ready.

Considering that such a decision would postpone the launching date, Microsoft will equip the initial models with classic DVD drives, and only after the new HD-DVD are ready, the Xbox will incorporate them.

You can read more here (http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-Microsoft-Toshiba-HD-DVD-Alliance-Changes-Xbox-360-3902.shtml).

I like that they say classic DVD drives, it sounds very regal (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=antiquated)!

[Vermillion]

Seeing as an HD-DVD drive is my only reason to not by a 360, that is good to hear.

Now if they come straight out and say "We'll sell the drives retail to those first movers to install after the fact", then this may be the b-day present I get myself.

[Zeal]

Adding on the HD-DVD drives later is suicide. The fuck is Microsoft doing. God.

[novicius]

Sony had several revisions of the PS2 (quietly, I might add) even before rolling out the PSTwo. Consoles quietly evolving is nothing new.

[bobbler]

Not sure why this has been spreading around so much today. That softpedia post is about a month old (and it's talking about the 'deal' that MS has made with toshiba to provide software -- they are adding a healthy dose of speculation on top of it).

I wouldn't really call a month old post by some random site a confirmation of it -- don't you think we'd have heard a bit more about it between when this was originally posted and now?

There may well be an HD-DVD drive in Xbox360 -- but this post on softpedia site isn't what I'd be putting my faith in.

[StrifeSnake13*]

This news is over a month old! it's from june 28th, and it's not even confirmed.

[Zeal]

http://www.msghelp.net/images/old_news.jpg

[Twigz'N'Berries]

Let's be honest, if MS is doing this, they are going to have two big problems. First, some people will be pissed that they have bothered preordering (namely myself) if the first wave will be with the old dvd drives. Second, other (people more intelligent and patient than me) will wait to buy the xbox360.

To be totally honest, it doesn't matter (much) to me because I'm getting 360 day one...but it is irritating to know that I will now have to go out and by a new drive for it later...if that will even be possible.

Oh, and if this is true, this would be the last thing MS would want to advertise before launch, so it would make sense that they keep this quiet. If this is true...then MS has begun the decent into the myriad of shady business practices, AKA Sonyism.

[if76]

I like the idea of being able to upgrade your dvd drive to hd-dvd on 360. I'll probably do this regardless of whether or not microsoft condones it.

[if76]

To be totally honest, it doesn't matter (much) to me because I'm getting 360 day one...but it is irritating to know that I will now have to go out and by a new drive for it later...if that will even be possible.


Yeah because I'm sure you'd rather pay more for your console so it'll play some format with an uncertain future.

[mister_slim]

I should just cut and paste something from one of the 'PS3 hard drive optional' threads.

[Draft]

Well, if Softpedia says it, it must be true?

[jeffool]

Hey... Maybe they'll do The Right Thing(tm) and give free upgrades to HD-DVD drives? (Or completely replace all X360s?)

[Draft]

Or maybe it's bullshit. Sega already took the aftermarket upgrade plunge, and showed everyone it just doesn't work. Sony thought they'd take a stab at it with the hard drive, and it didn't work for them either. MS would have to be collosaly stupid to attempt something like this, and say what you will about them, they aren't stupid.

[Twigz'N'Berries]

Yeah because I'm sure you'd rather pay more for your console so it'll play some format with an uncertain future.

No, I'd pay more for a console if the games are more involved. With a game that could hold anywhere from 15 to 30GBs, you can have a ton of spoken dialogue, multiple branching storylines, awesome graphics...and cg movies. Especially considering that some developers will try to make multi console games for 360 & PS3. There is going to be substantially more storage on the PS3 (assuming that blu-ray stays in which I'm sure it will).

As for price, I think Sony will rake the Japanese over the coals on the price, but will price it competitively for use in America and Europe. The PS3 is more about getting their proprietary formats and the Cell into homes than just moving videogames.

[*Legion*]

First, this is hardly confirmed.

Second, just because HD-DVD shows up in later 360s doesn't mean that GAMES will use HD-DVD! The feature may be for little more than watching HD movies.

Few developers, if any, would develop only for the HD-DVD segment of the 360 market, but the feature would still be very useful for some people. Just as people buy a million different Game Boys that all play the same games, some people will buy another 360 in order to get an HD-DVD player out of it too.

[*Legion*]

Their is going to be substantially more storage on the PS3

Which is already getting pegged by Japanese RPG developers for..... longer, more hi-res endless cutscenes. Hoo-ray! :(

[Cyrano]

Here's a quote from the article:

"Gates also said that the Microsoft-Toshiba alliance is not a unilateral partnership and that many of the equipments manufactured by the Japanese company..."

"Many of the equipments"? Is that a Bable Fish translation? I wouldn't trust that site if it posted that 2+2=4.

[DriveALW]

First, this is hardly confirmed.

Second, just because HD-DVD shows up in later 360s doesn't mean that GAMES will use HD-DVD! The feature may be for little more than watching HD movies.

I have to agree with this. If they want to add an attachment for viewing HD movies, then I can't really fault them for it. But if they're planning on an add-on for games based on HD or, maybe, a new wave of systems with HD drives standard, it's just going to bring up all the old problems with add-ons. Like sega cd and 32x and even multitaps, publishers won't develop (many) games for 360 that not every 360 owner can play. If they made it a standard upgrade on the 'next wave of consoles' they'd definitely piss off the early adopters, and it's really unlikely they'd want to have two relatively different versions of the console out at once. If there's any truth to this, I certainly hope they announce their true intentions before launch.

[Kamalot]

No, I'd pay more for a console if the games are more involved. With a game that could hold anywhere from 15 to 30GBs, you can have a ton of spoken dialogue, multiply branching storylines, awesome graphics...and cg movies.
With a few rare exceptions, more storage does not equal a more involved game. Games today aren't that much more involved from games on the PS1, N64 or Dreamcast, even though we have gigs and gigs of space available on regular DVDs.

As for filling discs with more media, I'm not interested. Why would anyone want MORE prerendered CG in their games? Spoken dialogue? No thanks. More often annoying and stilted.

[Ajr]

Second, just because HD-DVD shows up in later 360s doesn't mean that GAMES will use HD-DVD! The feature may be for little more than watching HD movies.
That is sensible, how many games are going to need over a Dual Layer disk of data, that can't just package two or more disks. Of course, one or two games might be released on HD-DVD, but that wouldn't be the majority.

[Twigz'N'Berries]

With a few rare exceptions, more storage does not equal a more involved game. Games today aren't that much more involved from games on the PS1, N64 or Dreamcast, even though we have gigs and gigs of space available on regular DVDs.

As for filling discs with more media, I'm not interested. Why would anyone want MORE prerendered CG in their games? Spoken dialogue? No thanks. More often annoying and stilted.

Really. So in an upcoming game like Oblivion, would you want dialogue re-used? Or would you prefer each NPC to have their own voice and statements? On the next generation of GTA you wouldn't want each building's interior to have its own personality, nuances and decorations? You wouldn't want more radio stations with more content (less repetition)? The argument that having the extra space is not a worthwhile endeavour would have to be attached to a price hike of more than $30 bucks to make me want to rethink the idea...maybe more than that.

As for not liking CG movies, it is a personal preference. If it moves the story along it would be great to have more. I already know of one developer who wishes for the excess storage that the HD-DVD drive would offer. Itagaki from TN said as much. I know I've read in eastern markets the CG movie isn't held in the same esteem as you expressed.

(I liked the CGs in Ninja Gaiden, DOA, etc)

As for the two-disc argument, who here really liked having to pop out a disc in the middle of a game? I hated it on dreamcast (shenmue) and I'd hate it on a 360. The first time this happens, you can bet your house that Sony will rip into MS and tout that advantage over 360....and they would be 100% right. It can definitely takes you out of the moment in a game.

Todays discs hold 9 gigs. The idea that the next generation's games would exceed this limit isn't out of the question. History shows that as programs become more complex and storage grows bigger, we always find a way to use it.

The way I see it, the HD-DVD for gameplay is my major concern. I'll buy a regular player to watch movies, I want my games to have the extra space. I just don't want the 360 to do something stupid like launch basically two different systems months apart from one another. Because I assure you, there are developers out there who may eventually take advantage of that extra space to create something phenomenal.

[MosBen]

On the one hand, the idea that more content is somehow bad or unnecessary is silly, but I can't help but think the idea that switching discs mid-game is somehow of any real concern is silly too. Is it good? Well, I guess not. Do I care? Nope, as long as it's not something you have to do all the time.

Anyone looking at upgrading their drive after its released shouldn't expect anything more than the added functionality of HD-DVD movies. If you're never going to use that feature, then you probably don't need to upgrade. I don't know why people freak out about what a mistake addons are for a company to release. Did Sony rest the success of the PS2 on the hard drive? Of course not. They knew that only a select group of people would buy then and that was perfectly born out. Pointing out that most people didn't buy some particular addon and then claiming that this shows the addon was a failure assumes that the addon was supposed to be univerally adopted in the first place, which just isn't true. These companies have seen the same states as everyone else and if they release an aftermarket addon they expect it to only sell to a minority of the userbase.