Microsoft Shows Off 360 HD-DVD Drive

C|Net is reporting on a demo Microsoft put on, showing off their HD-DVD drive for the Xbox 360. The unit, which is expected out for the Christmas season, is an external add-on for the company's next-gen console. From the article: "The device--about the size of a hardback book--played "The Phantom of the Opera" as Collins pulled up a menu bar to display a few of its navigation and interactive features that can be called up on screen while a movie is playing. Collins said Microsoft's HD DVD drive will be among the least expensive of the HD DVD players, but he declined to disclose the drive's retail price."

*Applause*

[p0tat03]

Kudos to MS I say, for giving consumers the choice. I for one can't care less about HD DVD, but I love my Xbox360, and I'm glad I didn't have to buy into some newfangled (and overrated) format that I would never use.

If I ever DO get an HDTV though, this might be a nice addon...

Re:Price point

[Anonymous Coward]

Here's the problem with that, though - the PS3 is only a "better deal" if Blu-Ray wins the format war. What if Blu-Ray goes the way of the Betamax, and Sony's just screwed you by bundling something that's obsolete in their console for a few extra hundred bucks?

With the limited number of titles out there in *either* format, I'm not picking up either an HD-DVD or a Blu-Ray player until the dust settles and someone "wins" the format.

Re:*Applause*

[poot_rootbeer]

right up until they start releasing certain games only on HDDVD because the size is too large for a regular DVD.

I believe Microsoft has already stated that the HD-DVD drive will be used for movies only, though that's as subject to change as anything else in this world.

I'd love to play Lord of the Rings or Madden with HD cut scenes.

I would hate that.

It's already jarring enough on a title like LotR for PS2 when the graphics cut from DVD-Video cinematic cutscene to realtime rendered polygons. Making the cutscenes look even better would only make the in-game graphics look worse in comparison.

Re:I Wonder

[DarkDragonVKQ]

The only problem is that game developers trying to make a game for a console want a standard so they know what they can do when designing it. So having some people with an HD-DVD drive and others not makes it hard to make a game that way.

But yes that's how a drive typically works. Its usually done by software or the CPU. Compared to a player where its dedicated hardware doing the work (which is much more efficient).

Re:*Applause*

[Anonymous Coward]

Very, very unlikely. Publishers would much rather butcher a game to make it fit DVD than sell to the 30% of people who buy the HD-DVD add-on.

right and wrong

[the computer guy nex]

"So, $399.99 for a new 360 with HDMI output (needed for the ubershizzle HD-DVD) plus another, what, $199.99 for the HD-DVD player? Wow, comes to the same price as a PS3 - only that's an all-in-one system with complete compatability with both PS1 and PS2 games. If Sony takes a beating over that price point, then it's only fair to batter MS for arriving at the same price. Oh, and if that snazzy HD-DVD player costs more than $199.99, then it's game over man."

Yes, it does come to the same price as a PS3. Only one difference - most people could care less about HDDVD or BR and would rather just play games.

The Blu-Ray drive does not fit a market. Gamers are usually younger and do not have the HD capabilities for the movies. Home theater enthusiasts with the proper setups will be buying a professional high definition player from a different vender. How many home theater enthusiasts out there use the crappy DVD player from an xbox or a ps2??

Re:Price point

[Quino]

Here's what makes me think Sony went about this the right way (despite the constant lamenting I hear on Slashdot): if you're the backer of Blu-Ray, you have to like your worst-case scenario. This is that Sony (your partner in the format war) bombs out badly with the PS3, selling only single digit millions of PS3 units.

That's still millions of Blu-ray players out there, vs. how many HD-DVD players?

I'm not saying by a long shot that the format war is essentially over and Blu-ray won, but at this point I have to say that I like its chances much much better than HD-DVD.

Of course, if Sony's PS3 doesn't bomb out, then things only get better for the format.

I agree with you that there is little incentive right now to go out and buy the MS add-on, especially since the results of the format war aren't clear.

* of course, the flip side of this is that the new video format is adopted so slowly (say, in 10 years people are still selling good ol' DVDs and DVD players, and Blockbuster is still primarily renting DVDs), in which case Sony's positioning with Blu-ray and the PS3 is moot. Then Sony will have paid a high price for higher-capacity storage for games (maybe in itself, and independently of video playback and video formats, not a bad tactical decision -- who knows)

SEGA

[Anonymous Coward]

Dosent anyone remember sega CD? Nintendo learned their lesson before they made the N64 DD I heard there was even talk of having one for the SNES. If MS wants to take over the living room they better not clutter it up with an add on HD-DVD drive.

Re:Meh

[MHolmesIV]

Aah, but you're counting wrong, see. For 10 million people out there (by November), the HD DVD addon will not cost them the price of the 360 + the addon, they already _have_ the 360. So which is easier, paying $600 over 2 years, or paying $600 all at once, for me, I could justify the $400 cost of the 360 last year, and I can easily justify the cost of a ~$200 HD DVD drive this year, but I could not justify the $600 cost of a PS3, it's just too much all at once.

So for the millions of people who already have a HDTV and a 360, they're not looking at $600 to get started watching movies, they're only looking at $200, which is a pretty small barrier to entry, and for the people who don't have a 360, they're not looking at $600 to watch a movie (They can buy the Toshiba for between $400-$500), and they're not looking at $600 to play a game (the 360 is $400).
For the PS3, no matter what you want to do, you're looking at $600, up front. Too rich for my blood.

Really?

[SuperKendall]

C'mon MS! Make a $499 "Ultimate" model that has the premium unit plus the HDDVD drive integrated. I'll buy one now no questions asked.

Funny, when Sony does that exact thing people say no-one will want to buy it.

Guess they were wrong.

Re:Cheapest HD-DVD player

[mrchaotica]

Could it be that "crazy ol' Sony" actaully took the right path in this high end market?

HD isn't the "high end" market; HD is the "dumbass sheep who don't realize they're being screwed by DRM" market.

seem to forget..

[zeeroj]

360 HD-DVD..doesn't play games, people. This add-on only allows videoplayback.

Re:There is no lower-tier PS3

[Anonymous Coward]

Ok. That's enough.
Everyone gets it. You can buy the low-end PS3 for 500$. You don't need to spend 600$ for the "full" version.
Guess what?
500$ IS STILL A FUCKTON OF MONEY!
Hell 400$ is still way too much for a game console!

Not the same thing

[xswl0931]

MS has learned the lesson and the difference is that this HD-DVD add-on is ONLY for movies. Games will not play on it. This means that developers won't be creating different games if you have the HD-DVD add-on or not.

Re:I love options

[Anonymous Coward]

First off, your examples are stupid because no one is saying that DVD will be an appropriate format forever; but it is fair to say that DVD should be an appropriate format for the next 5 years. You see, if you take away High-Definition FMV sequences then there really is nothing that should take up all that much space; certainly models and textures are larger, but the PS2 didn't support any texture compression and most games were only on a single layered DVD or on a CD.

Will there be multiple DVD games?

Yes, but is it really all that big of a problem to switch DVD's ever 10-20 hours of gameplay.

Will developers avoid FMV cut-scenes?

Probably, but is this a problem? An in engine cut-scene on the XBox 360 is capable of producing most of the cinematics you'd want; we're no longer working on the Sega CD and Playstation, if you can't produce a decent cut scene without going to FMV you're a pretty crappy developer.

Re:*Applause*

[gabebear]

You got the HD-DVD size backwards: HD-DVD is 15gigs/layer w/ 3 layers max, Blu-Ray is 25gigs/layer with 8 layers max. Currently you can only get 2 layer discs of either format.

Re:There is no lower-tier PS3

[Duds]

You're assuming they'll support memory card readers in those slots rather than selling you the Sony PlayAdapter for $29.99