Fred Derf Veteran Posted December 7, 2006 Veteran Share Posted December 7, 2006 I know there were rumours back in September. I know that Microsoft publicly addressed those rumours by saying there were no plans for an internal HD-DVD drive and the, at the time, forthcoming version of the external HD-DVD player would play movies only and not games. I know that Microsoft was worried about fragmenting the Xbox 360 userbase and they were worried that game developers like to develop for the lowest common denominator so as to reach the greatest potential marketplace. Still, one has to wonder if they denied those rumours for the purpose of encouraging sales of the upcoming external HD-DVD drives. After all, they wouldn't want customers waiting many months for an internal solution if there was the possibility of selling an external solution today. Is it impossible for the external HD-DVD to be used for gaming or it that just marketing-speak? Perhaps all that it will take is a firmware upgrade. If sales of the external HD-DVD drive are strong enough, might it become a potential marketplace for HD-DVD games? I personally think it is only a matter of time before they release a "Xbox 360 HD" that comes with an internal HD-DVD drive (and probably a larger internal HD too). I'm not saying that it will happen in the next few months, but some Xbox 360 games are already using 4 DVDs that need to be swapped in and out. I think it will depend on the success of the external HD-DVD player, the success of HD-DVD technology in general and also the success of the PlayStation 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunarFalcon Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 I think it's pretty likely in a another year or 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheppard Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 I dont think they would be stupid enough to do this, putting games on HD-DVD would be a really big mistake, i dont think the external HD-DVD drive has the bandwidth/latency/whatever to be able to stream games over USB which would require buying the whole new console just to be able to play the latest HD-DVD games. If they ever do include an internal HD-DVD drive i think that it will just be for films only, the day they put games on HD-DVD like they said they wouldnt is the day i get rid of my 360. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HannibalSmith Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 it makes sense for them to do it especially considering they are now making money on the xbox hardware, give it another year for the price of hddvd drives to come down and they'll stick one in developers will still develop for dvd of course but the hd dvd users will be able to watch their movies easier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheppard Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 Thing is if they make an xbox with an internal hd-dvd drive there will always be the temptation to release a game on hd-dvd instead of multiple dvds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Dick Montage Subscriber² Posted December 7, 2006 Subscriber² Share Posted December 7, 2006 They will not do this until HD-DVD becomes important enough. By that I mean that it is either widely adopted of BluRay fails. Till then it will be the external option, giving them an item to sell under the guise of giving users choice. Just an opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheppard Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 I think the only reason they didnt include it with the original 360 design is because they didnt want to do a Sony and put a potentially failed media format and be stuck with it. With external drive they have the security and could support blu-ray at some point if hd-dvd bombs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digitalx Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 listen man you obviously didn't get the point first time round. HD-DVD drive is external for reason it is soley for the purpose of HD movies on HD-DVD disks. HD-DVD disks arn't made for games and games will not be developed on them for the first couple of generations [this was said by one of the heads of the HD-DVD alliance.]. So why would they turn the xbox 360 in a HD-DVD movie player? you're right they arn't that dumb when there are players on the market to soley play HD-DVDs rather then waste time making a whole fancy console to play movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheppard Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 What do you mean HD-DVD discs arent made for games, of course they are, the discs are there just to hold the contents, blu-ray wasnt made for games yet Sony put it in the PS3. At the minute they are giving users the option to buy a cheap HD-DVD player, rather than spend $700 on another box to put under the tv they give the option of buying a $200 version for something they already have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digitalx Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 What do you mean HD-DVD discs arent made for games, of course they are, the discs are there just to hold the contents, blu-ray wasnt made for games yet Sony put it in the PS3. back in June/Julyish on BBC's click they were focusing on HD-DVD and blu-ray they asked one of the heads of the alliance if having microsoft on their side and a rumor of HD-DVD add-on for xbox 360 would see HD games being developed to compete directly with Blu-Ray on PS3 and the guy said "No, HD-DVD will be focused only on data storage and HD movies for the first couple of generations then maybe we will see." That's what I mean they arn't made for games. If they were don't you think you would see one by now ?. and blu-ray was made with intention of being put in the ps3 so users could play large high quality HD games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheppard Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 back in June/Julyish on BBC's click they were focusing on HD-DVD and blu-ray they asked one of the heads of the alliance if having microsoft on their side and a rumor of HD-DVD add-on for xbox 360 would see HD games being developed to compete directly with Blu-Ray on PS3 and the guy said "No, HD-DVD will be focused only on data storage and HD movies for the first couple of generations then maybe we will see." That's what I mean they arn't made for games. If they were don't you think you would see one by now ?. and blu-ray was made with intention of being put in the ps3 so users could play large high quality HD games. Microsoft didnt create HD-DVD like Sony did Blu-Ray, and Sony didnt create Blu-Ray for games, they created it as another propietary media format that they can try and force onto the market so they can collect bags of cash from licensing and royalties. HD-DVD is as capable of holding games as Blu-Ray is. The only reason you dont see HD-DVD games is because no other games machine/console has HD-DVD widely available, Microsoft chose not to impose a format onto gamers that didnt want or need the ability of HD-DVD, thus not passing the cost down to the consumer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PL_ Veteran Posted December 7, 2006 Veteran Share Posted December 7, 2006 An Xbox 360 HD would probably be MS's third console, or maybe even be called something else. Perosnally, I hope MS does a Nintendo, and carries on in a non-linear fashion. Everyone remembers Sega's big mistake. Sure, hybrid disks are possible, but why split things more, even with the stupid Core choice. :no: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheppard Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 Im not saying it was a smart choice for having 2 SKUs, but i think they were right so people didnt have to spend the extra ?70 over the core version to enjoy the same games, they could buy a memory card and a game for the price difference of a premium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadFerIt Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 Im not saying it was a smart choice for having 2 SKUs, but i think they were right so people didnt have to spend the extra ?70 over the core version to enjoy the same games, they could buy a memory card and a game for the price difference of a premium. i really don't think it is. the core is actually a waste of money considering how much you don't get with it. no hdd, wireless controller, component cables, headset, ect ect. anyone who buys the core thinks they're getting the cheaper choice, however a memory card itself costs what.. 40 cad. that means for 60 more instead of a core/wired controller/composite cables/memory card they get the full premium package. not to mention the biggest issue.. if the developers had a hdd by default. they wouldn't have to make an option for consoles with no hdd. that way load times would always be improved by caching, if the developer is willing to take the time to. now to be honest, a lot of games do fine without the hdd.. but there will always be certain games that really should require it such as oblivion. the load times without the hdd are horrendous, and even with it you can tell they weren't able to utilize it efficiently. i'm curious how the ps3 version of oblivion will work though.. it has the hdd by default of course, but with the slower read speed of the blueray it might wind up very similar to the 360 or worse.. then again bethesda have had about 9 months to improve the loading system so hopefully it's faster. and if it is, they should patch the 360 version lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huleboeren Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 An internal HD-DVD would never happen. That would split the X360 games market up.. One group that plays small games and another group which plays the big games :/ ...never They cant force it us to buy it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meshuggah Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 Is it impossible for the external HD-DVD to be used for gaming or it that just marketing-speak? Perhaps all that it will take is a firmware upgrade. If sales of the external HD-DVD drive are strong enough, might it become a potential marketplace for HD-DVD games? I personally think it is only a matter of time before they release a "Xbox 360 HD" that comes with an internal HD-DVD drive (and probably a larger internal HD too). I'm not saying that it will happen in the next few months, but some Xbox 360 games are already using 4 DVDs that need to be swapped in and out. Some games? You mean ONE game. The reason for it being so big is RPG lovers want HD video cutscenes, so that is why the size is so big. 1. MS probably won't do this because then everytime they roll out a firmware update, they will have to release/test two seperate versions for 2 different consoles. Then they will have to figure out how to identify what console has what drive, and send accordingly, which is stupid imo. 2. They have stated over and over again HD-DVD is only for movies, not for gaming, and it will stay like this. The dvd drive is 12x, and I believe currently, the HD-DVD Drive is only 2x, as that is all that is needed for play these movies. If they put a slow HD-DVD drive, the load times will start getting longer. 3. I hope/believe that soon, the Core version will come with a 20gb hard drive, and the premium will either come with a 60/100gb. Never seen a news article about this, but it would make sense sometime next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdsams Veteran Posted December 7, 2006 Veteran Share Posted December 7, 2006 Doesnt the Hd-dvd use blue laser and dvd use red? So if they put the hd-dvd drive in the 360 they would have to make games on the hd-dvd format which i do not see them doing....lets wait for the hdmi solution first Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunarFalcon Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 It kills me how passionate people get about this stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheppard Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 Doesnt the Hd-dvd use blue laser and dvd use red? So if they put the hd-dvd drive in the 360 they would have to make games on the hd-dvd format which i do not see them doing....lets wait for the hdmi solution first They can build combo drives, hd-dvd drives for pc read both dvd and hd-dvd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkGashX Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 To be honest I do not see this happening. Not only will it "annoy" people who have already purchased a 360, but it really isn't needed. If they include it and make it the standard and it costs more, people who don't want HD-DVD will be "turned off", with having HD-DVD separate, we have a choice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WelshBluebird Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 To be honest I do not see this happening. Not only will it "annoy" people who have already purchased a 360, but it really isn't needed. If they include it and make it the standard and it costs more, people who don't want HD-DVD will be "turned off", with having HD-DVD separate, we have a choice! I see it happening, I do see them making a 360 with an internal HD-DVD drive, but only as an additional SKU. Like keep the core to compete with the wii's price, keep the premium, but then add a 3rd SKU with the internal HD-DVD drive (costing around the same as the premium package and the external drive would cost). This way, the only thing current owners could complain about is having to have an additional box lying around, as the cost of the 360 & HD-DVD drive (internal or external) would the similar. For those who havn't got a 360 yet, who want the drive internal, it makes them happy. And still offers the 2 SKU's MS are offering now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toastyone Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 I really hope they will not because they would then be like Sony, trying to stuff a format that is not yet proven down buyer's throats :no: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkGashX Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 I see it happening, I do see them making a 360 with an internal HD-DVD drive, but only as an additional SKU. Like keep the core to compete with the wii's price, keep the premium, but then add a 3rd SKU with the internal HD-DVD drive (costing around the same as the premium package and the external drive would cost). This way, the only thing current owners could complain about is having to have an additional box lying around, as the cost of the 360 & HD-DVD drive (internal or external) would the similar. For those who havn't got a 360 yet, who want the drive internal, it makes them happy. And still offers the 2 SKU's MS are offering now. Good point, but I see Microsoft wanting as much money as they can get and they have only just started to get profit. MS did say first priority is to get the price down and that wont happen until Q2 2007 they said so it could be towards the end of this generation we see one with HD-DVD if at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dotdot Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 Dunno I can see it creating confusion due to the diff 360 packages, Core / Premium + External HD-DVD, then Core / Premium + Internal HD-DVD Tho maybe if they did an Ultimate 360 package i.e Premium 360 + Larger HDD + Internal HD-DVD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToneKnee Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 This is how I see it happening; if it does... The current Current 'Core' version will be dumped and replaced with the current 'Premium' version. A New Premium version will be released and would feature a built in HD-DVD drive. But, I do not see HD-DVD being used for games, they would alienate their current Xbox360 owners. Unless they gave them all external HD-DVD drives for free, or reduced in price greatly.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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