MS tramples external Blu-ray drive talk

By Robert Purchese Published 10 October, 2008

Says focus is on Xbox 360 games.

Microsoft has denied that an external Blu-ray drive for Xbox 360 is in the works.

"As we've said before, Microsoft has no plans to introduce an Xbox 360 Blu-ray add-on. Games are what drive consumers to purchase game consoles, and we remain focused on providing the largest library of blockbuster games available," Microsoft told Edge Online in a thinly veiled swipe at the competition (presumably having temporarily forgotten about its price cuts, Avatars, movie downloads, music festivals, theme packs and all the other things it does which aren't games).

Reports surfaced earlier this week claiming Microsoft had already commissioned the manufacture of the hardware with Toshiba-Samsung. The rumoured price was to be between USD 100 and USD 150.

But speculation of internal or external Blu-ray drives for Xbox 360 has been rife since the death of the HD-DVD format earlier this year. And Microsoft has consistently swatted them down, maintaining that digital distribution will be the real future.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (76) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Darren #1 3 years ago

    Of course they have no plans to release a BD add-on, they want *all* Xbox 360 owners to download their poorer quality overcompressed (both video and audio) HD movies from the Video Marketplace. ;)

  • bengray66 #2 3 years ago

    I agree with two points there.

    1) Focus on games. 360 / PS3 are GAMES consoles, not all in one multimedia centres. I think that might have helped the Wii break the family market. Homes already have DVD players, CD players etc, and the wii is primarily a Games console.

    2) Digital Download, it is the future. Blue Ray is a (expensive) stop gap. Things like Steam etc are showing that Digital Downloading is working. (Though personally i do like to have the game in my hands)
    Edited by 1 at 10/10/08 @ 11:33

  • awb83 #3 3 years ago

    MS never gave a toss about hd-dvd anyway

  • chris_ace #4 3 years ago

    Post deleted at 11:55:13 13-12-2011

  • agparrot #5 3 years ago

    Perhaps there has been some sort of Blu-Ray deal between MS and Toshiba.... for the Xbox 720 or Nextbox or whatever you want to call it. It makes sense that as games get bigger, and assuming they are staying in disk format, that you'll want to use whatever storage medium is available to you.

    Can't personally see another wave of DVD based consoles myself, but who knows?

  • LHH #6 3 years ago

    More games! Yay!

    Besides, MS are implenting a copy to HDD feature in the new update, who would want a copy to HDD and then install to HDD feature!?!?!?

    Meh, who cares, just hearing them say they're concentrating on the games is more than enough for me.


    [fanboy]concentrating on stealing more games from p$3, eh people?[/fanboy dies]
    Edited by 1 at 10/10/08 @ 11:38

  • dr_faulk #7 3 years ago

    Connect 360 with my Mac is the solution. Screw the Bluray!

  • NickJC1 #8 3 years ago

    Since day one people have said PS3 is just a smoke screen to get Blu-ray into people's homes. The games were never important. We now see that they were right. Sony have let every exclusive go without a fight and don't seem to care about events such as TGS.

  • The_Inquisitor #9 3 years ago

    Oh Eurogamer... I've gone and told my mate about this and now I have to tell him I was wrong. Thanks for making me look like more of a fool.

  • Ryze #10 3 years ago

    Just make a fucking 360 Ultimate with a Blu-Ray drive already.

    ...and release that fucking motion pointer while you're at it. Fucking hell man. Big companies are fucking touchy over other companies' tech.

    Just get your fucking box into as many living rooms as you fucking can, then push all of the contentent you want to sell by using the following:

    - Quality, accessible content
    - Competitive pricing
    - ENTICING MARKETING

    Jesus Christ. You'd think it was rocket science.

    Blu-Ray would STOP MANY FROM BUYING PS3s... for BLU-RAY.

  • drumbaby #11 3 years ago

    Msoft: 'The focus is now apparently on games because our cynical HD DVD confusion tactics went tits up, and to go Blu-Ray would concede that Sony were/ are right. Thanks for listening to our usual tosh.'

  • anomagnus #12 3 years ago

    why bother with blue ray

    is it a market leader? no, its not

    has it been proven to be the sales driver behind ps3? no, it has not

    Blu ray is nothing more than a niche market for definition wank fests

  • Dizzy #13 3 years ago

    >MS never gave a toss about hd-dvd anyway

    And neither do they give a toss about Bluray. They got royalties from both formats for their codecs anyway.

    MS really has zero interest in optical media... that is not their business. Logical that they hope digital downloads will take off, they are not the only ones (Apple for example). Anyway... who is waiting for a Bluray add-on anyway? Can't imagine anybody will buy that.
    Edited by 1 at 10/10/08 @ 11:52

  • stevethemeat #14 3 years ago

    noooo, i wanted a blu-ray player and was hoping that in addition microsoft would also get the amazing cell processor as well

  • lambtron #15 3 years ago

    Who cares.

    I play games on my 360 and watch upscaled DVDs. For that it's perfect (or near enough ;)).

    If I really feel the overwhelming need to watch a bluray there's always my PS3. But so far it's happened a grand total of once. And that's because the bluray in question was a freebie.

  • RickHard #16 3 years ago

    I actualy would quite like to have an external bd player, so MS if you hear me : I'D LOVE TO HAVE ONE, BRING IT ON !!!

    Digital distribution may be the future but we are quite not there yet, as IMO it still takes too long to download a movie in HD resolution.

  • andijames #17 3 years ago

    Funny they say digital distribution is the future yet don't include a hard disk with certain builds of there console :)

  • stevethemeat #18 3 years ago

    UMBERTY

    Buying a superconsole with twin hdmi outputs running at 1080p, with 7 usb ports and full backwards compatability and a large selection of great games, with superior multi-platform conversions, that would not be a crock of shit

    If you bought into sonys bullshit and bought the real PS3, now thats the biggest crock of shit of the century

    Edited by 1 at 10/10/08 @ 12:41

  • CreepinJesus #19 3 years ago

    There's no hyphen in HD DVD ! Or rather, there wasn't :p

  • dryden555 #20 3 years ago

    blue ray movies are wayyyyy over-priced so I dont see the point of the BR drive unless your are truly movie crazy

  • chris_ace #21 3 years ago

    Post deleted at 11:55:13 13-12-2011

  • Kill_Crazy #22 3 years ago

    @farticusmaximus

    And what if we dont want a 360? What if we don't think the 360 has a games catalogue worth onwning? What if we prefer the PS3 controller? What if we prefer PSN to Live? What if we think hearing damage is pointless? Dont try to justify any of these points as I'm just not interested.

    Buying a console is not simply a cost decision. I don't like the 360. I don't like it's games and frankly I find the 360 community to be full of shitheads like you. PS3 Has the franchises I like and the online features I want, end of story.

    So you see there are reasons to buy a console other than just the price. Now shut the fuck up and play your console, and I'll play mine.

    /see what i did there ;)

  • Kenshin001 #23 3 years ago

    "Anyway... who is waiting for a Bluray add-on anyway? Can't imagine anybody will buy that."

    /points at HD-DVD player add on buyers

    /laughs

  • Dizzy #24 3 years ago

    >/points at HD-DVD player add on buyers

    Ha yes the .01% of the 360 user base

  • Ryze #25 3 years ago

    ^ Looks to me like all of that was fixed before I decided to buy the console.

    /doesn't buy PS3 yet

  • moggsy #26 3 years ago

    @ RickHard

    You can start watching a film before it has fully downloaded on the 360. On my 10Mb connection I can start watching a HD film a few minutes after I've started to download it.

    Oh and the quality of the picture and sound was great - maybe not good enough for the anal among us but good enough for me.

  • Whatsfor #27 3 years ago

    @Dizzy
    >MS never gave a toss about hd-dvd anyway

    And neither do they give a toss about Bluray. They got royalties from both formats for their codecs anyway.

    Surely you mean the H.264 that Apple pioneered? The same H.264 AVCHD codec that blu-ray uses?

  • Octoroc #28 3 years ago

    ***cancels pre-order ***

  • Ryze #29 3 years ago

    @Whatsfor

    ...not forgetting the VC-1 codec included in the spec for both HD DVD and Blu-Ray.

    aka: WMV9 - Windows Media Video 9

  • Vic #30 3 years ago

    @ Ryze

    360 Ultimate SKU on its way. MS likes to add features incrementally. First it was HDMI, then it'll be wi-fi (which they should add) and next it'll probably be a high-margin Blu-ray SKU, instead of an external drive. Though the 360 is so noisy, who the hell would want to have it on any longer than is neccessary.

  • Darren #31 3 years ago

    Can I say that I *love* Blu-ray (BD) movies and thus equally adore my PS3? :)

    It's a shame that Xbox 360 owners might not be able to watch BD movies on their consoles but these days the standalone players are much cheaper than they were and you can buy a decent quality player for under £200 now. If Microsoft released an add-on for the 360 it probably wouldn't come cheaper than £150 anyway.

  • Lamb #32 3 years ago

    Actually making a compelling game that people want to buy is rocket science.

    I don't like how the 360 does not have WiFi built in vs Wii and PS3.

    The 360 is feeling dated at the moment. It needs a way better graphics card, more ram, a disc drive that doesn't make noise, plus it needs to be smaller its too big and bulky. Give it another couple of years for supply chains to provide more powerful cost effective technology for it and the XBOX 720 could be a sexy powerhouse. And discs are still the way to go for at least the next twenty years because you can't download a massive game in under an hour in most parts of the western world and asia.
    Edited by 1 at 10/10/08 @ 13:18

  • IronGiant #33 3 years ago

    Amusing how many people that used to champion HDDVD are now distancing themselves from a HD disc format. You want digital downloads to take over, fine but you'll be waiting for a few more years yet. Blu Ray is on the up, go read the articles about how well the Iron Man Blu Ray has sold, even outselling the DVD version at some retailers.

  • Lawlost #34 3 years ago

    Digital distribution may well be the future but M$ need to bring down the price of their hard drives for the 360, £100+ for a 120gb hard drive, you can get a terabyte external drive for that kind of money.

  • makeamazing #35 3 years ago

    Sorry but the guy that said Digital Downloads is the future... yes it is.. but probably in about 10 years time (unless you live in a country that has good internet speeds, unlike most of europe or the UK, with its rubiish upto 8 mb). Unfortunately unless someone can stump up £15 billion we wont be getting the speed we need for movies or large amounts of content.

    As for Blu-Ray, the quality is amazing, and will do well imho... people are expecting it to just replace DVD over night, its going to take a couple of years.

    Now waiting for Zulu on BR which trust me, the quality difference between that and dvd is massive.

  • CannonAnBall #36 3 years ago

    I was worried about the hype surrounding Blu Ray. Was it worth it?

    I've bought a nice 1080p tv and hooked up my ps3 and gave a blu ray disc a try. Awesome. If you don't know any better then dont worry about it. I love movies and spend a lot of time watching them so I'm well prepared to spend a little extra (at the mo I'm paying no more than 13.99 for them). My list for Lovefilm is all Blu Ray, no way am I going to bother with DVD unless I have to.

    MS tried the HD route and got their fingers burnt.

  • Widge #37 3 years ago

    360 with internal bluray would be a major selling point. I can't see it this gen but hopefully next. I fail to see why moving away from being a pure games box into a do anything box is a bad thing in anyones eyes. "Here is some additional functionality for you" to be met with "NOO! Christ no! Make it stop! Pass the mind bleach!"

  • Vic #38 3 years ago

    Well that would be perfect for MS. People pay plenty for the digital downloads in the first place, and later they buy new HDD's at rip-off prices. How much will their inevitable 250GB HDD cost? £150?
    Edited by 1 at 10/10/08 @ 13:31

  • Dizzy #39 3 years ago

    "Surely you mean the H.264 that Apple pioneered? The same H.264 AVCHD codec that blu-ray uses? "

    No VC-1.

    Anyway.. codecs are evolution of existing ones usually.

  • Xerx3s #40 3 years ago

    "Welcome to XBrick fanboi central, oh dear..."

    The irony is on you.

    "Amazing how many people have been mugged into the it's a cheap console mantra. Add all the useful/necessity stuff on to it like the aforementioned HDD and it costs more than a PS3 + the annual shafting of the Live subscription. Bargain. What a crock of shite..."

    No it doesn't. You can have all you need for as little as 260 euro, can't find a ps3 anywhere near that. Now crawl back under that rock you insecure little person.
    Edited by 1 at 10/10/08 @ 13:45

  • Doctor_What #41 3 years ago

    @ Farticus: I think Umberty is trying to balance out the astonishingly pro-MS posts on here by bringing some balance to the debate. It's fairly trollish to call him a 'shithead' for pointing out that the Arcade model costs a lot more than it first seems when you add on a decent HDD, wireless (which I agree isn't essential for everyone), and the yearly Live subscription. If that's the kind of behaviour that's acceptable in what you describe as the 'Xbox community' then I'm pretty glad that I don't get involved with it often.

    Why does everyone have to say that one machine is better than the other? I've got all three: the Xbox has better games but I find online gaming to usually be full of twats and so Live seems like a big rip-off to me, the PS3 has less AAA games but more than enough to keep me happy and the media capabilities are just perfect for everyone in my house to use, and the Wii doesn't get used much except for Wii Fit.

    In my house the PS3 wins because it's so handy for media as well as for gaming. We like HD movies. We like the interesting and arty PSN games. If we didn't care about the media capabilities so much then I'd possibly prefer the Xbox (although the fan noise really irritates me unless the game is massively engrossing). I can see that all the machines have their strong points, their strong titles, and their commmunity benefits and drawbacks, so calling a person a shithead for trying to point out that things aren't universally rosy on the Xbox side of the fence is rather unfair.

  • DaveBassant #42 3 years ago

    Choice, that's the key word, if there are any 360 owners who are still interested blu-ray though all is not lost!

    Decent blu-ray players are falling down quite fast in price and if you pick up a copy of this months what? hi-fi you can find some cheaper alternatives than the PS3 which have better picture and sound quality.

    With the upscaling they can achieve (again, better on some seperate BR players) I think it must be a serious consideration for anyone looking to upgrade their current DVD player.

    imo BR is here to stay until very-fast broadband is the norm and storage becomes cheaper, BR discs can be 50gb after all!


  • Widge #43 3 years ago

    I prefer optical media. A 1GB HD rip of something like Heroes does not match up to something like a Sky+ HD feed. You don't even need to be anal to spot the blocky compression. In turn Sky+ just isn't quite as sharp or as good as a bluray.

    Interesting article on digital download quality here too:

    http://gi zmodo.com/5048025/giz-explains-...

  • Widge #44 3 years ago

    I read that Whathifi. I think the best standalone now is a Sony effort. When it comes to speed, navigation and picture, the PS3 is still fantastic, they did mention that the sound quality didn't match the standalone though.

    £250, which is £50 cheaper than the PS3 if you don't care about the other functionality that the PS3 has.

  • andijames #45 3 years ago

    @farticus

    Why do you have to be so pompous and aggressive when someone doesn't have the same opinion as you? We live in a a free world where people are entitled to there own opinions and manners cost nothing so why don't you have a little dignity instead of sounding like a pompous prick all the time?

  • Darren #46 3 years ago

    @Doctor_What - Like you, I own all three current generation consoles and completely agree with what you wrote. I enjoy using all three machines (shame about the lack of decent software on the Wii but hey!) and as far as I'm concerned no one format satisfies all my gaming needs but between the three of them I'm as happy as Larry (whoever he is!). :)

  • chessboxer #47 3 years ago

    I hope M$ stand by their digital distribution belief and release their next console without an optical drive.

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #48 3 years ago

    I'd still like it if they offered a cheap Blu-Ray add-on, though...

  • Widge #49 3 years ago

    This is the thing, you're going to piss someone off no matter what. I want to keep the physical stuff but not have to bolt bits on. So thats 3 opinions in as many posts.
    I reckon put as much as you can into one box and you run less risk of pissing people off, apart from the "I just want a cheap games machine" crew!

  • electrolite #50 3 years ago

    I don't think this is a bad move by Microsoft for what they're trying to do-reach the mass market. Bluray doesn't really register that much with the masses as a selling point. If it is to ever penetrate the mass market it'll be in a few years IMHO, not this generation.

  • Dark_Stranger #51 3 years ago

    Google fights "Umberty" vs. "Farticus"

    and the winner is...

    http://ww w.googlefight.com/index.php?lan...

  • polar #52 3 years ago

    I really don't see why MS would be bothered with Blu Ray for the remainder of this console generation, as mentioned, they are backing digital downloads. Their failure of their HD DVD drive (and countless other peripherals over the years from other console manufacturers) proves that consumers aren't really interested in tagging on inferior quality attaachments to their consoles. If someone is interested enough in AV quality and want to appreciate good HD pictures and sound, then surely they'll go buy a stanalone player? Movie playback is a nice bonus in a console, but it's not what we buy them for - it's the games remember?

    As for the stupid fanboy cock waving of this comments thread - I'm surprised that people still give a shit about this type of thing. Exlcusive games are a rare breed these days, so both consoles offer broadly similar gaming experiences. Why not just buy the console you like and enjoy it?

  • GamesConnoisseur #53 3 years ago

    MS need to either sticks to their gun or allow BD add on early enough, if they later change their mind in 2009 and say okay BD is there if people want it. I would think that be too damn late to make any difference in stopping people to get PS3 for BD playback!

    I dont think its cost them much to provide the optional add on for those who really wants it, I dont need one ONLY because I already have PS3! But if I didnt and that certainly would be a big factor in my decision in getting PS3.

    Digitial Download may be the future, I agree one day that would be the normal route but it is not yet, and I dont use any download movies at all, simply cos its not as fully accessible (no subtitles tracks) or with additional features as available on DVD/BD that make it worth having.

  • Darren #54 3 years ago

    @polar - The failure of the HD DVD drive add-on happened not because people weren't interested in it but because Microsoft pulled the plug on it when they realised that studio support for it would be sparse to non-existent (seeing as everyone was switching over to Blu-ray). HD DVD's problem was that it was too similar to Blu-ray but it wasn't as widely promoted nor did it have as much studio backing and support. I think had there only been one format, HD DVD, then it would have done as well if not better than Blu-ray. Statistics show that Blu-ray movie sales are on the increase and are comparable with DVD at the same point in its life, that's despite the consumer confusion over having two very similar products. If people really weren't interested in BD movies then that would not be happening. Personally I buy all my movies on BD now except for TV boxsets which I still buy on DVD. I'm buying less and less DVDs though and more and more BDs. It's probably the same for others too, that's how the market gradually expands.

  • Widge #55 3 years ago

    Its certainly moving in the same way DVD did. More hardware being made, you're starting to see all in one home cinema kits with bluray, bigger sections in shops. As I keep on saying, you've got the likes of Sky continually ramming home HD = future, HD = future over and over again. People have upgraded their Sky to be HD, the next place they look is their DVD player.

  • Eiko-UK #56 3 years ago

    If the 360 had a blu-Ray drive then the price would be closer to a ps3... but without Wifi... or free online gaming... and without proper 1080p playback!

  • aphexstwin #57 3 years ago

    walk into asda or tesco, they visually promote blur-ray and hd. its the future becoming current. i also have all three plus laptop, my ps3 gets slightly more use because it is more useful - for me. even as a browser, its poo yes but i cant put my laptop on the hdtv.

    imo though, i wish microdollar would fuck off with the digi-distro. its optical for me. the missus want sex and the shitty on the blur-ray for chrimbo, how can i tell her i'll get her a download instead? and how the fuck do i wrap it?
    Edited by 1 at 10/10/08 @ 15:11

  • andijames #58 3 years ago

    Plus if you get a blu-ray add on won't it only be compatible with the machines with HDMI as that's the only port that supports HDCP?

  • Xerx3s #59 3 years ago

    "If the 360 had a blu-Ray drive then the price would be closer to a ps3... but without Wifi... or free online gaming... and without proper 1080p playback! "

    Zing! Good that it has wifi and 1080p then eh?

  • andijames #60 3 years ago

    @X

    Yep it has Wi fi at a cost of an extra £60 though if i'm correct?

    It does do 1080P though yes.

  • andijames #61 3 years ago

    @farticusfacemaximus

    Rediculously Expensive: How much was the PS2 and PS1 when they launched? Did you buy one?
    Underperforming: Have you played many PS3 games? WipeOut, LBP, GT4:p, MGS4 to name a few
    Undersupported: Who doesn't support the PS3 that supports the 360?

    If you can actually back up any of your views then you may have an arguement. I had a 360 so i know it's a pretty good piece of kit but i'm not going to knock it for the sake of it. The PS3 isn't exactly a bad machine though is it? Blu-ray, PSN, quality games, wifi built in, hdmi as standard, hard disk as standard.

    Each to there own in the end of the day but don't sit there shouting the odds when, quite frankly, you don't have an arguement and are rude beyond belief.
    Edited by 1 at 10/10/08 @ 15:45

  • polar #62 3 years ago

    @ Darren

    Perhaps I wasn't clear enough with my post. I agree with you that the HD DVD add on failed becuase of the weakness of the HD DVD format (mainly the lack of studio backing and the poor marketing). However, I think another factor in its failure was the fact that videogame consumers don't generally support console add-ons very well. We buy them mainly for the games and while extra features are attractive when we're buying the consoles, I think we're far less likely to embrace extra features that we have to pay for after the fact. I bought a HD DVD drive, but only when they were reduced to under 50 euro and the discs themselves were a fiver. I think my point still stands - film enthusiasts are much more like to buy a standalone player (to go with their big plasma tv and their expensive surround sound set up) than they are to buy ad on for a console.

    As for your average consumer, I think Blu Ray is quite a far way off from teh ubiquity of DVD for people to rush out and buy and add on for their console. It's different when the technology is included in the price of the console from the offset, as people consider it a "free" bonus feature. I just don't see an add on Blu Ray drive being a great success for Microsoft purely because the technology isn't mainsteam enough just yet. Maybe in a couple of years and certainly for the next xbox.

  • Darren #63 3 years ago

    @polar - Oh yeah I agree with you 100% that add-ons don't sell well for consoles, even ones that benefit games so one that didn't clearly was at a disadvantage straight away.

    With the PS3 though, one of the deciding factors in whether you pay the high price for the machine, particularly when it was £425, is whether you want BD or not. In my case that was a resounding yes and, of course, having the facility built into the machine makes it all the more tempting to buy the movies (assuming you have an HDTV obviously). Maybe on that score, releasing a BD add-on for the Xbox 360 some three years into its life would be pointless as it is never going to sell as well as the PS3 hardware itself no matter how much it's promoted. Perhaps HD DVD might have fared better had it been part of the 360's spec from the start, we'll never know. It would have delayed the release of the machine though but with the RROD fiasco that might actually have been a good thing in the long run! Still what's past is past, right?

  • andijames #64 3 years ago

    @farticus

    Yes i'm aware of the irony but somehow yours doesn't come across as ironic. It's more aggressive, defensive and fucking rude. I'm not saying you should of replied like that no you're entitled to your opinions as much as the next person but you don't have to start getting aggressive with everything you say it's way too defensive. The irony of it being you're accusing PS3 owners of being defensive.

    So no you have your opinion that's fair enough but don't generalize everyone into a certain category (PS3 owners - gutter?).

    /rant ends back to subject..

  • rudedudejude #65 3 years ago

    The problem is ms will ultimatly lose xbox sales over not launching an add on drive.

    Casual / norms / families will mostly go for a ps3 if the dad doesnt play games but likes films, and the kids play games.

    I know a few friends and families who mostly go for the ps3 because 'they get a free blu ray player built in'. Ms overlooking this fact are narrowing their market, but they'll probably do well enough off it to not give a shit anyway.

  • onyx_elite #66 3 years ago

    @all you people baying like freakin wolves over the same old crap

    It would be nice to see just one of these threads not turn into a high school slap-fight. it seems that these days we can't tolerate the existence of a console news article without someone sticking their oar in and 50 'hardcore fans' retaliating for several pages. Both consoles have their pros and their cons, they're both highly capable pieces of technology with different operating strategies within the same market.

    It's no surprise that each console has it's fans that will get so heated; Sony's machine has the benefit of a free online service, an established industry reputation and a console name so synonamous with the media that people often say 'Playstation' instead of 'games console', but they've fallen foul by consistently failing to deliver on their promises, having a generally disdainful approach to their customers and, until recently, a serious lack of half decent unique IP.

    Likewise, Microsoft have been able to build upon an established superior online service, a broad range of exclusive 3rd party titles and a marketing strategy that seems friendly and organic to it's user-base. Unfortunately, its Achilles' heel will always be it's hardware reliability, poor support for user-generated content and the fact they appear to have missed the boat on the current generation of disc media.

    They both have reasons to be supported or disregarded but articles like this might start to generate some half-way sensible debate/conversation if people learned to think before they typed and stopped griefing at each other over what is fundamentally technology intended for entertainment.

  • bad09 #67 3 years ago

    Well I think MS are missing the boat - especially after experiencing their terrible downloads.

    Hell I like the all in one approach. Yes I laughed heartily as Sony when they said people would buy the machine even without games but when HD DVD when tits up that's exactly what I did. I've not looked back since HD movies are awesome and blu has caught up with HD DVD technically now with BD live. (got some good games too before any SDF cretin starts!)

    Yes Blu is still expensive compared to DVD but if you buy online prices range from £12-£18, that is reasonable if you ask me. Just do not go anyway near the high street!

    / sits impatiently for Hulk next week and Iron Man few weeks after.....
    Edited by 1 at 10/10/08 @ 18:24

  • TRUTH #68 3 years ago

    Blue-ray has already been surpassed by Super Hi-Def - rumors already next gen game/dvd systems + tv are being developed with this in mind. Blue-ray seems to be a stop gap for true higher def as on pc's.

  • DanC89 #69 3 years ago

    Good point.

    Lord knows why I've only got a 60GB PS3 and not a 360 by now. *whispers Metal Gear* ;)

  • bonker #70 3 years ago

    "It's also interesting to see how quickly you forget how piss poor the first 18 months of the 360 software was.Absolute dross, atrocious frame tearing even on firsty party stuff, network issues, disc scratching, RROD being ignored until it hit epidemic proportions. Hardly the utopia everyone preaches on here now is it? "

    But when it was good, it was very, VERY good ...

  • SAH1977 #71 3 years ago

    Downloads are the future, in 10 plus years time. Everytime time MS mentions Blu-ray, it's an admittance the format is successful.

  • bad09 #72 3 years ago

    "It's also interesting to see how quickly you forget how piss poor the first 18 months of the 360 software was......."

    ?

    I went to the launch event in London and came out thinking "wow those games were great I can't wait for this thing to be released!!" It certainly wasn't as bad as the PS3's first 18 months :)

  • TRUTH #73 3 years ago

    Blue-ray hasn't really kicked off. Been back from Japan, and over there they couldn't careless about Bluray movies. PS3 games hardly hit the charts. Also with Super Hi-def (already on Pc's) coming to the next gen PC's, consoles, tv's - bluray is more like a stop gap. With Pioneer, Samusung, Panasonic, Apple already mentioning suoer hi-def, I can't see blue-ray really cathing. It's been almost two years and still no impact on sales of bluray.

  • des #74 3 years ago

    Nobody cares about some overpriced crap add-ons.

  • clockworkzombie #75 3 years ago

    Digital downloads may well be the future for RENTAL, if you want to own something the price per gigabyte on a DVD cannot be beaten.

    Imagine having to download all your games and movies. How many external hard drives will you need for backup purposes.


    I am one of those people that purchased a HD DVD unit for the 360, I purchased it knowing there was a good chance it would fail but figured the cost of the drive was cheaper than a stand alone unit anyway.

    I would purchase a blu ray add on as it would delay my PS3 purchase until there are some games I want to play. There is nothing that makes me HAVE to buy one though I suspect wipeout will be a contender as wipeout XL/3097 was one of my favourite games and on that topic PLEASE bring back the negcon.

  • bluebird #76 3 years ago

    anyone with the nickname farticusmaximus looses cred in my book... nevermind the nonsense coming out of you.
    *block*

  • spongebob #77 3 years ago

    BD would make my X360 the ultimate entertainment system, so why in the heck they don't release it?