360 Software format

so i am guessing sense toshiba and sony are working to unify the blu-ray and hd dvd formats M$ console the 360 will feature the dvd as its software format because i do not think M$ will have time to support it if the 360 is coming out by the end of this year.

The word on the street (internet) is that M$ will indeed stick with DVD to keep costs down. The downside (for M$) is that Blu-Ray can transfer data to RAM much quicker, thus making loading times shorter.

Yeah, I'd second DVD for the moment.

Neither HD-DVD or Bluray are sufficiently mature for M$ to use in a console due out this year.

well if you wish to know Bluray has a faster transfer and capacity then both hd-dvd and dvd.
BluRay can hold about 50 gb
HD-DVD - about 14 gb
DVD - 4.7 gb
so BluRay is the best but doesn't have complete and full support for some reason. Both bluray and hd-dvd are going to be dead i believe because sony and toshiba are gonna unify they to get full support.

LOL, even if they should merge, which there was no evidence of at CeBit, they wouldn't invent a whole new technology. Chances are Bluray would become the standard, since Sony has both the consumer and Holywood clout to get it recognised in a new consortium.

LOL? it helps to keep up ont he news amigo ;P

slashdot post with links
__________

ADAM M when you say something like that i just shake my head and turn and walk away, but when i get back i give you the usa today or any freakin news print out and show you how dumb you are. Please dont run your mouth without research or common sense.

Why and how would they merge exactly? Blu-Ray is already out and about in Japan. Many agree it's better. It will survive. HD-DVD is just a mere upgrade, like CD+G or DVD-A.

Now Xbox 360 or whatever will be DVD, because as many have said £50 a game is a very high pricepoint, and will turn many a consumer away. Sony are looking at £60 PER GAME. By using DVD, they can get Xbox360 games onto market cheaper, thus hurting their competitors. Plus, having already got a load of DVDs, what will you do with them? Does Blu-Ray even work with DVDs?

It just makes sense.

here is one source you can read about the formats.

Format War: Sony & Toshiba join forces

Fine, walk away. But look back to history - when have two opposing storage formats merged previously? I can't think of an example.

It also seems highly wasteful to go about designing a new standard when they have two already developed. I think my opinion was prefectly justified and supported by common sense.

The referenced IGN/Shashdot articles still say "expected". No announcement. No confirmation that whatever they decide, if they decide, will be a totally new standard.

I suggest that you wait for official confirmation from both companies before having a go at me, as their current official stances are that they're still at war.

I've come across quite a few comments on the next-gen games retailing at £50-60, and the logic in these musings are double-pronged.

Firstly there's the jump in performance. The leap to next-gen isn't fully known quite yet, but the figures suggest it will be massive. The PS2 can muster 6 gigaflops, whereas the estimations amongst those geeky enough to really understand multi-core processing reckon the PS3 will be capable of 256-512 Gigaflops (there are those that even believe it will break the teraflop boundary). The development man-hours needed to make use of this power will rise again, and this jump in cost could well add another tenner to the RRP.

The second factor (for PS3 at least) is, as you say, the increase in manufacturing costs required to mass-produce Blu-Ray media, which is not surprising - you always get with new media in its infancy. An RRP price-hike would not be unexpected here.

Should the price swell £10-20 it will be interesting to see how the consumer will react. Gamers have been used to spending £30-45 for years now (at least from a console perspective), and hasn't changed generation-to-generation. But for all the power at the dev co's disposals, will they (technically and financially) be able to take games to a level high enough to wow gamers significantly enough for them to be willing to shell out that extra £10-20?? I can't really see it.

actually yes blu-ray players play dvd's. since its just a finer laser it is capable of reading the less fine DVD discs.
_____________

Bluray couldn't originally play normal DVD, but Panasonic have produced a drive that can. That was one of HD-DVD's former plus points.

I don't think software prices will rise, simply because people will become more selective of the games they buy and the publishers will sell less.

Whoever at Sony came up with that "feature" prolly introduced Mr Sword to Mr Intestine. Doilem.

Tyrion just dug the following out while were chatting (yeah, real verbal communication!). Can't vouch for its validity, but if correct it does show there's a precedent of two competing formats merging to create one; DVD.

http://www.scit.wlv.ac.uk/~c9811533/HISTORY.HTM

EDIT: Tyrion just passed me this over non-verbal Jabber instant messaging.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD

Wow. I didn't know that. However I maintain that at the moment there is no "official" merger between the two current formats.

It should also be noted that HD-DVD can be manufactured using exisiting DVD plants where as Bluray requires new equipment. Therefore it is more likely that M$ would go for HD-DVD over Bluray should it come to a crunch.