Following a rumour that Microsoft and Toshiba are teaming up to produce a souped-up 'Entertainment' Xbox 360, Toshiba has come out and denied any attachment to the project.
Responding to the rumour, which originated with Australian website Smarthouse, a Toshiba representative said:
Getting Toshiba involved in the creation of a new 360 stock keeping unit (SKU) would certainly be an unusual move, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't make sense.
The clue is in the original comment that started the rumour. Smarthouse reported that a “senior Toshiba executive” told it, “An Xbox with a built in HD DVD drive is critical.” Not just critical for Microsoft, which already manufactures an HD-DVD playing peripheral for the console, but also for the entire HD DVD camp.
HD-DVD is flagging behind its competitor, as evidenced by the revelation that Blu-ray releases have outsold HD-DVD titles by nearly two to one so far this year in the U.S. Blu-ray is helped by the fact that every PS3 purchaser automatically gets a Blu-ray player, and doing the same with HD-DVD and the 360 could serve the format's user base well.
As the Toshiba rep said, however, “Microsoft doesn’t want to include the HD DVD drive so as not to limit the user’s experience.” As it stands Microsoft is not forcing 360 purchasers to pay for technology that might be obsolete in a couple of years.
In any case, it looks like Microsoft is handling the 360 on its own for the time being, and we'll just have to wait for our all-singing, all-dancing living room entertainment hubs.
Source: Yahoo
Responding to the rumour, which originated with Australian website Smarthouse, a Toshiba representative said:
“It’s got nothing to do with us. But we know Microsoft doesn’t want to include the HD DVD drive so as not to limit the user’s experience.”
Getting Toshiba involved in the creation of a new 360 stock keeping unit (SKU) would certainly be an unusual move, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't make sense.
The clue is in the original comment that started the rumour. Smarthouse reported that a “senior Toshiba executive” told it, “An Xbox with a built in HD DVD drive is critical.” Not just critical for Microsoft, which already manufactures an HD-DVD playing peripheral for the console, but also for the entire HD DVD camp.
HD-DVD is flagging behind its competitor, as evidenced by the revelation that Blu-ray releases have outsold HD-DVD titles by nearly two to one so far this year in the U.S. Blu-ray is helped by the fact that every PS3 purchaser automatically gets a Blu-ray player, and doing the same with HD-DVD and the 360 could serve the format's user base well.
As the Toshiba rep said, however, “Microsoft doesn’t want to include the HD DVD drive so as not to limit the user’s experience.” As it stands Microsoft is not forcing 360 purchasers to pay for technology that might be obsolete in a couple of years.
In any case, it looks like Microsoft is handling the 360 on its own for the time being, and we'll just have to wait for our all-singing, all-dancing living room entertainment hubs.
Source: Yahoo
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