Microsoft: Shut up about HD DVD drives

Maybe the big announcement is a Blu-ray drive for the 360. If it's motion controls, someone's getting a wiimote to the head.

well that's a big relief for me, not another SKU! lol, well it was a smart decision by microsoft to sell the HD-DVD externally, now they can easily hop the fence and join the victors of this format war.

Another sku=another product I have to explain to dumbass people while I'm at work.

derr whats the difference between an elite and the go pro bundle?

Get the fuck out of the store, that's what.

hey, you guys think microsoft will ever release a 360 with a built in hddvd player??

@JACK: Me too! I heard they're calling it the Xbox Ultimate!

This post was made awesome just because its got the soup nazi tag! But yeah Sony don't own Blu-ray in totallity many other companies developed it and they would sell it for the right price to Msoft.

They knew it was going to fall so they didn't integrate it.

I have this source who works in the upper echelons of Microsoft, but I can't say who 'cuz he'll get fired if MS finds out. Anyway, he says: "There will be a new 360 SKU called the 360 Platinum. It will include the 360 with a Blu-Ray drive, 4 wireless controllers, a 500GB hard drive, Halo 3, Gears of War, and best of all it will cost $249! ($800 in equivalent Euromonies)"

Just doing my part to keep the rumor mill running.

i find this funny. An x360+bluray=PS3 imho. It seems awfully familiar to Mr. Garisson turning gay then getting a sexchange then turning lesbian.

Also, blurayp.

Damn you Back button! I pressed you ages after I'd posted that comment! Sorry all.

xbox 360 with blueray? w00t?

Just got my 360 a few days back .. wanted the hd-drive because you get 5 free movies with it.. but now? .. i will think about it ;)

watching talladega nights on the 360 hd-dvd drive ...that must be something cool right ??? .... guest not :)))

Oh, if they even released an external BluRay drive for the 360, the PS3 would very quickly find itself relocated to my bedroom, left to gather dust.

Whenever somebody wins this handbag battle wake me up, by then some holographic disc format will be cheap enough to shit all over the competition anyway. I hate this video format war, can we all not just get along.

i'll say it again, call me what you will... the next xbox will come faster because of this.

A smart decision, but they're going to have to integrate something for their next console. Hopefully one of the new formats will be the clear winner, by that time.

@ lostalaska

"i'm really not a "collector" of movies so I just want an inexpensive solution for watching movies in the HD format."

The 360's video marketplace? 300 in HD. That's what I'm using to watch HD movies during this war. The big bitch is the fact that I have to leave my 360 overnight and watch it the following day. Good thing is I can leave my 360 on sleep mode while it downloads. Also, a lot of the movies they have suck.

@jackofnotrades, Damn, how many times must people say it in order for people like you to believe it? The mass consumer doesnt own a connection to the internet fast enough to cater this type of media distrubution. You say it will come in the next 2 generations? Ok, well you try convincing the typical consumer that has a cable connection (which still isnt whats needed to enjoy hd content on demand) that they need to stop paying 40 bucks a month for their hi-speed internet which is more than sufficient for there needs, to a much faster, more important pricier fiber optic connection so they can enjoy hd movies? Yea, i dont see this happening till about 2020.

@hammburglar
I think the reason poeple say that is because they are mainly looking at PS3 vs 360 which is really the only true DIRECT competition going on in this generation, where as the Wii sits nicely on the sidelines reminaing successful no matter what either of the two other systems does.

It's true that Blu-ray beating out HD-DVD won't win the console war for Sony; The wii is a very different console from either the PS3 or the 360 and as such if rather immune to how good either one does... no matter how good PS3 or 360 does, it's own sales will not suffer. However, the format that comes out on top will probably play a fairly big role in the future of PS3 vs 360... unlike the wii, the two consoles are considered to be very similar... where as some might think "wii360" or "PSWii" not that many people consider 'PS360"; many games between the two multi-platform on each other and it's damn expensive to get both. So the PS3 and 360 can be seen as being in competition.

It's true that the 360 does not rely on HD-DVD as PS3 relies on Blu-ray, but HD-DVD failing will still hurt the 360 and give support to to PS3. As the popularity of HDTV increase poeple will want something to play it, and the PS3 is a good deal since it's both a console and a player; it may also be cheaper than 360+blu-ray external drive. Not to mention, with the failure of HD-DVD their is bound to be some backlash coming from gamers who forked over the extra cash for an HDDVD external drive; and this just piles on to past frustrations with red lights and such. If PS3 really starts picking up it's game, the failing of HDDVD could lead to the PS3 gaining some huge strides over the 360 in the long run... grant it, since the 360 can come out with an external blu-ray player, HDDVD's failure won't hurt them as much as a blu-ray failure would hurt PS3 (practically game over for PS3 should that happen)

So no, Blu-ray's victory won't "win" the war for sony as Wii will ALWAYS remain a constant source of competition, but it may play some serious roles in the future of the PS3 vs 360 war

i hear the 360 is getting a Blu ray player this Spring!!

//rumor started//

So, I don't have to worry about my new-ish 360 being dated. I'm happy.

@monte
those are very good yet wordy points.
i was just addressing the people that seem to believe blu-ray victory = ps3 victory. which could happen if sony does, like you say, pick up their game. but they cant sit there fat and happy just because they have super awesome blu ray. because shouldnt this console war be about next gen gaming not next gen movie viewing. but hey maybe im just crazy.

:(.

Picking up Blu-Ray ASAP would be a good idea for Microsoft; Sony has had a few strong titles but no real online experience (at least not compared with Gears of War, Halo, and Call of Duty...which there's no reason to own on a PS3 unless you hate the idea of online play or don't mind having the experience ruined by a nonexistant infrastructure and completely absent player base).

Microsoft doesn't have as strong of an exclusive lineup this year, while PS3 is getting MGS4, Final Fantasy, and LittleBigPlanet (Not to mention finally getting Lost Planet). They're catching up, and deterring the massive sales that Blu-Ray playback has steered towards the PS3 would be a really bad move.