UPDATE: NextGen reports that Paramount is denying any plans to drop HD DVD exclusivity. A victor has yet to take the spoils!
It seems as though the funeral march for HD DVD is picking up speed, or if nothing else, a clear winner in the format wars may soon be announced. Paramount, following in the foot steps of Warner Bros., has dropped HD DVD in favor of Blu Ray.
But wait, didn't Paramount have some kind of exclusivity contract set up with the HD DVD people? They sure did, but apparently there is a clause in said contract allowing them to bail in the event that Warner Bros. went Blu Ray. With Paramount having jumped ship only Universal Studios and Dreamworks remain exclusive to the HD DVD format, and there's a bit of speculation that Dreamworks will shortly follow Paramount.
I've waited, postponed, and put off the purchase of a PS3, but much like my inimitable compatriot, I feel like it may be time to grin and bear the cost. If nothing else I'm simply glad I didn't drop my hard earned dollars on an external HD DVD drive.
[via FT] Thanks, Michelle!
Contest:
3:23 PM on 01.08.2008
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And when they do post rumors, they label it as such. You would think an editor would perform more Matlocking, especially after it has been disproven for quite a bit. I would definitely change the title to avoid confusion.
Blu-ray/HD-DVDcombo
A month before Warner dropped HD DVD last Friday, a Warner Home Video exec sent an email to Don Lindich to deny the rumor that they were dropping HD DVD at CES.
Maybe Paramount will not drop HD DVD... but they will also support Blu-ray (again.)
Seriously, just buy a DVD player with upconvert and save a ton of money, or just wait for digital distribution to kill them all.
Blu-ray has won, its only a matter of time now. I'd honestly say it's safe to start investing in Blu-ray if you haven't already
Even MS has reiterated the fact that they won't rule out releasing a Blu-ray add-on sometime down the line.
Agreed.
Xbox 360 ultimate integrating HDDVD was a rumor which MS has denied
@FinalFist
Sony would not play that game with MS... while Sony and MS may be rivals in the consoles wars, they work together in the PC market... considering their relationship in the PC market, Sony would not play keep away the blu-ray from MS... the gain they would get in the console market is not worth the complications it would cause in the PC market
Well it seems that MS's official stance is that they are not including HD-DVD with any SKU so they can give consumers a "choice" as to whether or not to get HD-DVD... So we probably won't even see bundles of 360+external... it seems like they never planned on including it and everything we heard was just baseless rumor
that's MS's official stance... ofcourse, many poeple speculate that their real reason is that they are just covering their asses should HDDVD loose; their support is half-hearted... they don't want to tie themselves to HDDVD the same way PS3 has tied itself to Blu-ray; if they did then the damage would be pretty harsh if the format failed. As it is, if HDDVD fails, MS can easily just back track and make a Blu-ray external drive... they'll still recieve some backlash from unsold HDDVD drives and angry people who bought them, but it's much less damaged as to what might happen if they had a 360 with built in HDDVD...
but that's all speculation ofcourse... afterall, it is true that being cheaper console did help it... although it might not have hurt them to release an expensive SKU as long as they have the cheaper ones available
though we could be certain that they would include HDDVD in their NEXT console if the format won