Shock as Gates Shows External HD-DVD Drive for Xbox 360 – Full Report

but 6 months later an hddvd drive will still cost liek 150-200 by itself... if not more... 6 months would have aloud ms to make a game system that also happens to have the ability to play hd-dvd's and only costs.. what... like 600 dollars?! aint no way. this is precisiley why no one has seen anyhtign of the ps3 even though its rummored to be releasing in like may? or so we dont have so much has a hands on with any sort of interactivity or even an alpha dev kit image to go on... and peopel think ti will release in 4 motnhs!? not with any sort of quality in tow it wont. MS made a game system, with media extender funtionality. now they are giving peopel the option to extend that even further if they feel the need. did you know at ces they also demoed (not MS some other company) a wireless hd video system... so you can have your tv and xbox in seperate rooms if you fel tliek it... not the sort of thing most peopel want... so what? should ms force people to pay more for a system that does this when i wire works?
wireless controllers have been logn in the comming and only cost marginally more than a wired one, but this s**t is brand new not even out yet and people think they aught to be gettign it for free... how long had dvd players already been on the market when the ps2 launched? 2-3-4 years? its not the same situation at all.

ill admit i woudl have loved to have gotten an hd-dvd drive built in for 400 bucks... but im certainyl not suprised i didnt.
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Agreed.


Mind you... The Gamecube wasn't meant for online. They released the Network/Broadband Adaptors all the same. I'd say that was on a similar level to Microsoft not supporting HD-DVD then releasing an 'adaptor' to play them. Only difference is that Microsoft pretty much intended to have HD, only just may have had time constraints, where Nintendo definitely didn't want online either way.

Still, you see my point.

EDIT: This has just brought something else up, Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD. The main thing going for Blu-ray was that the PS3 supported it as standard. The main thing (up until its launch) going for HD-DVD was that the XB360 was supporting it. Now HD-DVD is no longer standard on the 360, this leaves a bit of a question mark over future support for the medium as well.

My word, will Sony finally launch a bespoke medium that the public may actually go for, for once? Tune in next week, folks.

Most of you guys are missing the point here.

First and foremost the hd-dvd drive that will be added to the xbox360 will have to interface with the xbox 360 hardware so unless the huge propietary AV digital connector can transfer data in both directions the HD-dvd drive will have to connect via the usb connections. It is very likely that the AV connector allows for 2 way communication, either way the cpu for the x360 will serve as the data encoder.

So why is this important...well because you have to have a decent set of hardware in order to decode HD signals. This means that HD-dvd drives will likely be as expensive as purchasing the x360 plus the add on drive. I mean if all you are adding is an optical drive (laser, lens, spin motor and door motor, plus enclosure and data connector) you can have a fairly cheap add on. Why would anybody want to add on to x360...well for the sole purpose of watching HD-dvd's on their x360 without having to pay over $400 for a seperate player that only plays hd-dvd's. Not a bad deal in my book.

For those of you thinking that Sony is any better a position obviously have no idea how bad things are looking from sony's end. Sony is banking their machine on the success of blu-ray media much like they did with ps2, the only problem is that BD-rom is not a defined standard like dvd was when ps2 launched. I would be suprised if sony was able to luanch before thanksgiving and even then have very limited available for sale not to mention the cost. If you think the selection of games for x360 is bad (it really had one of the better set of launch titles in recent console releases), wait to see sony's launch of tech demos and half butt attempts of first gen games.

I will also say that MS owns the market in online gaming. live gold is worth every penny ($4 a month) and it is smooth as silk not just for games, but for online community and downloads. Its pretty pimp when you are playing DOA 4 online and a friend signs on (which lets you nkow) and you send him a game invite and in 30 seconds you can fight and talk with him like he was in the room when he is really a couple of hundred miles away. x360 and live is allowing for old college gaming even though my friends all live in different places now. I seriously doubt that PS3 will have anything near the coolness of live when it launches.

Christian

OK, As for Nintendo making mistakes...You got me there. They are still king of Handhelds though.

Nintindo broadband adapter supports 1 game I believe (Phantasy Star Online) It's only other use is alowing the hack/mod comunity to play backups/emulators and rip games. Not the best addon to release.

I can play DVDs on my xbox, but I dont because I have a NICE dvd player.
I do watch xvid/divx/avi/iso and all other media formats on my xbox..because it is the only device in my living room I CAN watch them on.

HDDVD may be cheaper as an addon for Xbox360..for now. But one day standalone HDDVD players will be $150, and much fuller equiped with extras and you will buy that anyways.

I am still not convinced either format will take off because of all the draconian DRM built in not to mention this crap about not working on my existing HDTV because I dont have HDMI. Stuff like that will ensure neither format takes off.

And dont get me started on all these PSP movies coming out for $20 that can only be played on 1 device...STUPID, yet all the studios are releasing stuff for it. (Yes it is better than the GBA movies that came out, but the GBA and DS own the handheld market..and that is not changing)

In reply to CRS11 whatever your name is, We all acknowledge MS online efforts, but their efforts are built on an area the Dreamcast broke ground on first for consoles, and since MS had a Windows finger in the Dreamcast pie. it seems they built on that with Xbox and made Live based on previous DC/PC online functions.

Indeed all companies make mistakes, Nintendo Sega etc. I do feel that this HD-DVD one is a hugely bad one for MS. I'm sure it would be nice to play 30GB movies/tv series early, but I feel that both new DVD formats are just gonna drive prices up so high again that no one will bother to buy them.

I can remember that feeling of seeing a DVD player in the window of Dixon's etc knowing I couldn't afford it. I hate that feeling but I don't feel a HDDVD add on 'just to watch fooking movies' is gonna tempt me, when 360 is already expensive enough. MS could be trying to sell 360 on the movie angle like Sony did. However I don't think this will tempt many, don't forget that many people have already built up a huge collection of DVD movies and tv series. I don't see them ditching them just to upgrade players. Only hardcore movie fans will invest in HD-DVD early, not really gamers.

Personally I don't think the market is ready for HD-DVD or Blu-Ray, give it another few years maybe and come back. These two format are gonna divide both the gaming and the film market. Higher prices are annoying and in some regards developers can have too much space for a game these days.

If I still get a 360, I'll have too skip the HD-DVD add-on, 360 already has enough accessories, thanks.

The name is Christian but my sn is crs117...

Anyway what i am trying to say here is that its not a win lose situation for MS as the device will not be used for games...only movies. PS3 requires that you purchase a BD-rom drive when for games DVD's are totally sufficient (sp) (if you cannot fit a game on a single DVD for this gen then your game is ridiculous).

Everybody is bashing MS saying oh they screwed all the early adopters when the add on is simply to turn a $400 gaming machine into a hd-dvd player for a nominal price (likely around $100-$150) which will still be less then the cost for the ps3. Not only that but its optional.

Any early adopters for the x360 are in large part early adopters to HD displays and Broadband internet. This means that while it may not affect you, many folks would love to have a movie to show off in its Hd glory. So this goes right in line. Not only that but many of us are using our x360 as media clients for content currently on our computers and it would be nice to be able to have one centerpiece component from which much of our media in our den's or rooms can come from and that could well be the x360.

Also you obviously have not seen XBL (xbox live) implemented in the x360. It is a far cry from xbox live on the xbox and a very far cry from any online implmentation on any console previously (dreamcast or not). Once you get into XBL on the 360 you will wonder how the world in gaming out on so easily before it.

Christian

It really bothers me when I see journalists saying the Sega CD/Mega CD was a failure. It was the single most successful system add-on in the history of gaming.

There were over 200 titles released for it. How many titles support the PS2 hard drive? 2? Maybe? How many support the network card? You start to get my drift.

The Sega CD/Mega CD was a huge success.

That's nearly one title for each hardware unit they sold.

SegaCD was the most successful example in a field where spectacular unsuccessfulness is spectacularly common.

It sold poorly. You can tell yourself (and us) otherwise... But you are creatively misinterpretting the facts.

Tell that to Squaresoft. :P

When PS2 launched, all the games, I mean ALL the first gen and even second gen titles, were on CDs, but gradually, more and more began to make use of the extra space of DVDs (DVD5s), for hi-quality intro's, etc. Now some games even come on DVD9s.

Most likely all early PS3 games will be on DVDs, but as all the PS consoles have had 6/7 year lifespans, eventually down the line most games will start to use Blu Ray (Hi-Def cutscenes will take up much space no doubt too).

From 1991 to 1995 Sega sold 6 million Sega CD/Mega CD units. That is NOT a failure.

Source and a good article on Sega CD/Mega CD history here.

http://www.eidolons-inn.net/segabase/SegaBase-SegaCD.html

It's a fraction of the number of Genesis units they sold over the same period of time, but it certainly doesn't qualify as a failure.

sorry, your right, but i just dont like microsoft anymore, and that is the exact reason is that if they would have standard hd-dvd, i would get it, but im not because it didnt come with one.

one site answers it all:
www.f**kmicrosoft.com

I don't understand the point, surely if you wanted a HD DVD drive you'd juts go and buy one for your TV not for that big, ugly, box?

HD-DVD doesn't support 1080p. Just nitpicking =P