No HD-DVD games for 360

By Games Industry.biz Published 1 November, 2005

So says Xbox Japan chief.

Japan's chief of Xbox operations, Yoshihiro Maruyama, has confirmed that while a HD-DVD version of the Xbox 360 console is a possibility, the next-generation DVD standard will never be used for games on the platform.

Maruyama's comments were made in an interview with Famitsu Xbox, translated by US website GameSpot, where he expanded on a statement made by Microsoft chairman Bill Gates back in June regarding the potential for a HD-DVD enabled Xbox 360.

"It's a possibility, but it won't have any relationship to gaming," Maruyama said.

"If the Xbox 360 uses a next-generation DVD drive in the future, it will only be used for watching movies that run on next-generation DVDs."

His statement is simply confirmation of what many commentators had already said - that Microsoft can't change the media it's shipping games on halfway through the life cycle of a console, leaving owners of the DVD version unable to play HD-DVD games.

However, it's telling that Maruyama used the phrase "next-generation DVD" rather than HD-DVD specifically. In recent weeks, several supporters of the HD-DVD standard - which is being pushed by Toshiba and its partners - have defected to the camp of rival standard Blu-Ray, which was developed by Sony and will be used by the PlayStation 3.

Microsoft, however, remains a staunch supporter of HD-DVD, for the stated reason that the specification allows for the contents of a disc to be securely "ripped" to another storage device in the consumer's home - such as a Windows Media Centre PC.

The support of the software giant hasn't extended to putting HD-DVD drives in the Xbox 360 though (not least because they probably wouldn't have been ready in time for launch), and is unlikely to carry as much weight as the support of the key Hollywood studios - most of whom appear to be falling in line behind the Blu-Ray banner at present.

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Comments (40) Latest comment 6 years ago

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

  • tonynibbles #1 6 years ago

    o_O

  • symmetry #2 6 years ago

    I support HD-DVD cos Blu-Ray sounds Ghey!

    /child

  • #3 6 years ago

    Makes sense really. Most of Japan has been talking Blue Ray anyway.
    The average Tokyo citizen see's DVD-HD as a waste of time, adn that we should be concentrating on blue ray.

  • JackThompsonsAnArse #4 6 years ago

    Who gives a nob. If the games are great, I don't care if they're on punch cards.

    ICO remains one of the better PS2 games, but who cares that it's on CD not DVD? Well, apart from those whose PS2 drives no longer read CDs like me :o(

  • kangarootoo #5 6 years ago

    Less FMV cutscenes to skip. A boon in my book.

  • groovychainsaw #6 6 years ago

    It'll work like on a pc - you watch. Games will come out as either 4 DVDs or one HD-DVD disc. But I'll still buy a 360 at launch, it'll be a good while yet before microsoft adds an hd-dvd drive to their 360, because the demand for HD films isnt there yet (IMHO).

  • tengu #7 6 years ago

    Ico was on CD? Are you sure?

  • JackThompsonsAnArse #8 6 years ago

    Yep. So was PES and PES 2 IIRC. Loads of early games were.

  • davyuk #9 6 years ago

    Changing the configuration of any console during its lifetime negates the reason for owning a console in the first place.

  • Sabre #10 6 years ago

    Ico isn't on CD its on DVD, i have it.

  • tengu #11 6 years ago

    Yeah, that's what I thought too. Thanks for clearing that up Sabre.

  • Gyruss #12 6 years ago

    /digs out ICO box...

    Yup its on DVD.

  • Aretak #13 6 years ago

    "Yep. So was PES and PES 2 IIRC. Loads of early games were."

    The first PES was on a CD, but the second is definetly a DVD.

  • kangarootoo #14 6 years ago

    " Changing the configuration of any console during its lifetime negates the reason for owning a console in the first place"

    Thats oversimplifying things. There are loads of reasons for owning a console, only one of which is avoiding the component upgrade cycle. Anyway, you have to upgrade the console eventually by way of replacing it. You don't HAVE to add an HD-DVD drive later, its an option. And choice is good right?

  • Teeth #15 6 years ago

    "I think Ico is on DVD, but it was only something like 896MB. "

    Spot the ISO downloader.

  • Tonka #16 6 years ago

    The DVD drive is just a way for MS to launch early and keep costs down. If there was a HDDVD drive or a Blue Ray I'm sure they would have put one in there. I don't think that MS said "We don't need that much storage capacity, let's stick to DVD's" The question is, will this make the Xbox 360 age too quick? And if yes, will that give us an Xbox3 sooner that expected?

  • NoCodeNed2 #17 6 years ago

    Choice isn't so great when not choosing to upgrade precludes you from most of the latter half cycle games of a console.

    That's not good choice, more bad planning.

  • Lothar Hex #18 6 years ago

    I really don't give two shits who uses what discs.

  • kangarootoo #19 6 years ago

    " Choice isn't so great when not choosing to upgrade precludes you from most of the latter half cycle games of a console."

    Errr... isn't this article specifically saying that the HD-DVD option won't affect games though. If that was the case I would agree with you, but they aren't giving us the bad choice are they?

  • Lothar Hex #20 6 years ago

    Know what, I'm sick of the console bias.

    I'm getting a 360. If the PS3 is better I'll get that afterwards. If the Rev is better I'll get one of those as well.

    Just bloody release a game for the damn things.

  • Carlo #21 6 years ago

    "You don't HAVE to add an HD-DVD drive later, its an option. And choice is good right?"

    Where does it say you're getting the option to change the drive of your already purchased 360 to add HD-DVD drives? My understanding was that IF they are going to add HD-DVD to the 360, it will be if future built and sold consoles. You can't 'unplug' your DVD rrive on your existing 360 and put in a HD-DVD, you'll have to buy one of the newer 360s to get the newer drives.

    Choice is good when it's given to you from the beginning. As it stands, the only 'choice' you're excercising is to buy one NOW, without a HD-DVD drive, or wait for a future model, which (may) have a HD-DVD in it...

    (this is just they way I'm reading it, and not be factually correct 'cause nothing's office that I'm seen so far. Someone's bound to correct me)

  • kangarootoo #22 6 years ago

    Well I don't know what their sales model is going to be for the HD-DVD drive. If there was no actual upgrade path then that would suck, I agree.

    Seems to me though that the current situation is this. The XB360 will be released, it will play games (hurrah). SOmewhere down the line there will be an option (in one form or another) to have an HD-DVD drive, so that the XB360 owning gamers that also care about HD-DVD film can own one.

    I'm not quite sure how that is bad news. Including an HD-DVD drive in the release model would drive up the price, and as several here have pointed out, HD-DVD is not a current media type (or even one that most people care about right now).
    Edited by 1 at 01/11/05 @ 11:25

  • Eoin #23 6 years ago

    ICO was on CD in North America and DVD for PAL. That should clear that bit up.

    Anyway, Microsoft have only really confirmed that they're not going to do something monumentally stupid, with the minor point of interest that there's a chance that any future drive upgrade might not use HD-DVD.

  • Gurgeh #24 6 years ago

    You may be able to plug in a HD-DVD drive as well as your current DVD drive, although it might require unplugging your hard disk (if you have one). For that matter you could plug in a Blu-Ray drive if they ever make it clear they support managed copy (which Sony, for obvious reasons, isn't keen on).

  • JackThompsonsAnArse #25 6 years ago

    ICO was on CD in North America and DVD for PAL. That should clear that bit up.

    Aaah, thanks. That does clear it up, thought I was going mad with me blue ICO disc.

  • bunglebonce #26 6 years ago

    In 3 years, when the consoles' lifespans will be beginning to ride the crest of the wave, I think that MS may regret only having a DVD reader for games. Of course it's possible to use several discs, like the playstation did and the PC up until recently has done.

    It could be argued that it's a burden for the user to change discs a quarter of the way through a game or whatever (should've left that back with the Amiga!), but the main disadvantage would be with streaming media during the game from the discs. Would be a bit of a bugger having to change swap disks about in GTA if you want to load a different part of the state and listen to another radio station. As well as storage for super-duper next-gen textures.
    Edited by 1 at 01/11/05 @ 11:37

  • Gurgeh #27 6 years ago

    Re: Sony and DRM check

    http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2 005/10/sony-rootkits-and-digital-rights.html

    "Not only had Sony put software on my system that uses techniques commonly used by malware to mask its presence [rootkit], the software is poorly written and provides no means for uninstall. Worse, most users that stumble across the cloaked files with a RKR scan will cripple their computer if they attempt the obvious step of deleting the cloaked files."

    The software is installed on your computer if you simply try to play one of Sony's DRM protected CDs.

  • alpha-0ne #28 6 years ago

    HP a founder of blue ray is threatening to defect to to the HD-DVD group unless various parts of the HD-DVD standard are included in blue ray

    Contorary to popular belief sony do not own blue ray they are one of 10 companines that own the technology

    I think storgae capacity coul dbe an issue in say 5 years time but what if the lifetime of a console... 5 years
    Edited by 1 at 01/11/05 @ 12:01

  • Dizzy #29 6 years ago

    Maybe you people should worry more about when you will get a HD-TV instead of a next gen DVD format. No use having that without the big fat TV.

    I don't think we need another DVD format... companies just want to sell us the same shite AGAIN and increase copy protection. I will just stay with DVDs for the next 5 years.

    > Next-gen is all about fancy new graphical effects that require high polygon models and bigger and more textures.
    >Should use more space.

    Yeah right.. try finding a current PC game with super high res textures that doesn't fit on a DVD. Good luck.
    Edited by 2 at 01/11/05 @ 13:25

  • Gurgeh #30 6 years ago

    Ars Technicas look at the next-gen consoles (including some speculation on Revolution hardware)

    http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/hardware/ revolution.ars/1

    "the most common criticism that developers have leveled at Sony's and Microsoft's next-generation consoles is that their PPE-based designs perform poorly on physics, AI, and game control code...

    Broadway's tradeoff of TLP for cache space will give it an edge over Cell and Xenon in gameplay-enhancing AI, physics, and control code. Furthermore, this edge could last for the life of the next generation of consoles."

    "Microsoft has already, by all accounts, won the dev tools battle. Everyone from John Carmack to Hideo Kojima has said that Microsoft's XNA toolchain is superior to the PS3's development environment in terms of getting games out the door quickly.

    ...It's too early to say how quickly the PS3 development situation will improve, but it almost certainly will because it has to.

    As for Nintendo, all the Nintendo developers are raving Revolution as a development platform... Its hardware is probably the most conventional of three, so that alone will make developers' lives easier."

    "it's clear that Revolution's connectivity options were included for the purpose of enhancing the multiplayer gaming experience. Nintendo seems completely focused on games, and appears to have none of the ambitions of the other two console makers to see Revolution used as a more general-purpose digital entertainment device.

    The advent of the PS3 and the coming wider array of Cell-based products signals that Sony is tired of trying to make their products and content work securely with the PC, so they've decided instead to have a go at simply replacing it. The PS3 isn't a convergence device, but a sort of anti-PC that takes Sony's practice of proprietary everything to the next logical and global, networked level. Sony is through trying to get along with the Internet and the PC, so they'd like to take their toys and leave.

    Microsoft also intends their next-generation console to be connected to other entertainment devices and to a proprietary and well-guarded online network. And Microsoft by all means plans to load up on DRMed file formats and protocols. But the software maker's approach to connectivity is ultimately quite different than Sony's. Sony, after all, is both middleman and content owner, while Microsoft is solely a middleman... Gates has seen the alternate universe of "PlayStation World," and he realizes that a closed, proprietary hardware/software ecosystem benefits content producers like Sony way more than it benefits service providers like Microsoft"






    Edited by 1 at 01/11/05 @ 14:26

  • Hunam85 #31 6 years ago

    Why do i feel ill be installing games on my 360

  • old_skool #32 6 years ago

    As for MS not using HD-DVD or using it , it simply a question of who's gonna win the next optical storage battle.If Blu-ray wins then MS will simply launch a Blu-ray drive.It won't be used for games( by MS ) anyway.
    Sorry , know this is abit off topic but regarding that article about Kutaragi talking about the ps3 being able to display games at 120 frames per second , I found another article which makes it a bit clearer on why he said that .

    http://biz.gamedaily.com/features.a sp?article_id=10970§ion=feature&email=

    /edit spelling
    Edited by 1 at 01/11/05 @ 15:27

  • JackThompsonsAnArse #33 6 years ago

    Maybe you people should worry more about when you will get a HD-TV instead of a next gen DVD format. No use having that without the big fat TV.

    Got one thanks, had it since the start of the year. Loads more people will buy one before the PS3 is released, and a lot will have one by the time BluRay comes out.

    I don't think we need another DVD format... companies just want to sell us the same shite AGAIN and increase copy protection. I will just stay with DVDs for the next 5 years.

    Personally, while I won't be re-buying the DVDs that I already have when they come out in high-def, I'm waiting on buying a new DVD player until the formats have been sorted out, or someone develops a player that can play both.

    So, in other words, I'm waiting to see which one the adult film industry adopts, as they are the drivers for which format wins (see Betaxmax vs. VHS).

  • Xerx3s #34 6 years ago

    "His statement is simply confirmation of what many commentators had already said - that Microsoft can't change the media it's shipping games on halfway through the life cycle of a console, leaving owners of the DVD version unable to play HD-DVD games."

    /can name several consoles that did so in the past. Be it in some sort of clunky addon. Never had problems with those either.

  • Krun #35 6 years ago

    I cant see the issue.
    If i want to play movies im going to be using my DvD player for a good whle yet. i only just stopped useing video. Im not ready to buy all my films again.

    When the battle between blu-ray and HD-DVD is over and the price on units comes down. I'd expect a standalone unit to cost less and do more.

  • Tellute #36 6 years ago

    "So, in other words, I'm waiting to see which one the adult film industry adopts, as they are the drivers for which format wins (see Betaxmax vs. VHS)."

    The adult film industry isn't going to be a factor this time. The big studios want Blu-Ray while the smaller firms want the cheaper HD-DVD. Chances are it will be the consoles that play a more important role (like the PS2).

  • jozz #37 6 years ago

    I really can't see a lack of HD-DVD being a problem for actually playing games. At the end of the day, games will still be next gen and they will still play the same regardless of what format they're pressed to. Just look at F.E.A.R.- it all fits on one DVD and still plays fine and looks jaw dropping. Can anyone actually estimate when a game will need all that 30 gig disk space? I think it's a slight over-reaction to think that it will present a problem within the consoles life span.
    Another example of matter over media would be half-life 2: it came on 5 CDs but no one held that against the game.
    The only draw back is that you wont be able to play HD movies by putting a hd-dvd/blue-ray disk into the xbox drive. You CAN still play HD-movies by streaming them straight to the hard drive and thats all the problem is for me.
    What if Blue-ray becomes the accepted media format? The Xbox360 would be stuck with a completely defunct drive before it even got out of the gate. That would be worse in my opinion.

  • wired009 #38 6 years ago

    MS is making a mistake by not including HD-DVD in the Xbox360. I don't think it has so much to do with video games as it does other forms of digital media and consumer perception. If game developers had needed more storage capacity than standard DVD I'm sure they would have spoken up. The problem is that next gen DVD is going to appear within a year and MS is going to miss the biggest opportunity they have to leverage a technology that they have placed support behind. Even though the next gen DVD format hasn't come out yet, they have to remember that it will be a selling point by the time PS3 is launced. The distinction between HD-DVD and Blu-ray to the average person will be very small so it won't take much to sway consumer favor for one format or the other. The launch of an HD-DVD player/game console almost half a year before Sony's products would make a strong impact in the format battle and keep Xbox 360 technology appealling to consumers years after the launch. Especially with several major studios already backing HD-DVD, MS would have made a good bet by incorporating HD-DVD in 360. Of course MS could always modify future versions of the Xbox but the marketing impact will really be lost by that point.

  • Talha #39 6 years ago

    Haha ha ha ha I knew this was coming. And I read on a forum somewhere that all X360 launch titles will utilize one core, and that Bill Gates has a secret child somewhere,,

    where is LeDilettante when you need him?

  • Tyronne #40 6 years ago

    Ironic thing is that I was going to wait for a 360 to be released with one of these new style drives before buying it,now I will just wait until the one with the hard disk is down to a lower price and the software is not so bloody expensive.