Xbox 360 HD-DVD Drive on Display

Interesting idea... I mean, Microsoft did announce they were going to release a 'Pro' pack this Christmas (thus adding weight to your 'third option' there I guess). They could give people a real reason to get the Pro bundle and include an HD-DVD drive as standard.

Or better yet, just make brand new 'revision' 360s altogether, that way new consoles will all have the new drive. I guess if you do it this way it's a bit like kicking the early 360 adopters in the balls, but it's a better way of combatting the format war then, say, Dreamcast consoles coming with a standalone DVD player.

There is no way they'll be selling this add on in two years time, without question it will be part of the standard build by then. Unless HD-DVD is dead by then.

Having it in all would be quite a good idea. If they gave all the early adopters like 12months live gold and say 3000 points to spend in the arcade (not really any cost to them) it would appease most! As long as they didnt decide a few years later with 80% of consoles hd-dvd equipt to allow games in that format...

damn, that thing makes the xbox 360 look ugly as hell. i guess the halo faceplate was an attempt to try and balence that back out.

True. The PlayStation 2 will do that too. As will the Saturn, etc. Anything into which this disc isn't secured.

As for how it looks...

Depends on how it's sold in. [Sega fanboi]Add-ons can be cool. You can take huge pride in assembling a selection of hardware bits and pieces and there might be some architectural pleasure in assembling them.[/sega fanboi]

It's also worth noting that these shots are rough and ugly. However flawed the add-on might be, I believe the general tone of the reaction would have been somewhat lighter had the first images been expensively-produced press shots rather than digicam snaps that look like an electronic murder scene.

Still s**t though. Integrated Xbox 360 with HD-DVD inside the next 12 months. $20 PayPal bet on it.

Why? Why would anyone want an HD-DVD before Christmas? It's only a way of forcing DRM onto us.

There's precious little software, and what there is is overpriced. See how they worked a price hike in there even though they are doing HD purely to cut down on piracy - the same piracy they've always used to excuse for high prices...

Few people have an HD display, and those that do have a prjector or a Plasma, neither of which are ideal for hiding that monstrosity below...

No they wouldn't. It's f**king big and it's f**king ugly and it opens on the wrong edge - no amount of overpriced marketing w****ry could hide that.

You're just a shameless Microsoft apologist.

I think there's a big question as to if any normal person needs HD-DVD or Bluray.

Why do we need these formats for films? For most, at the moment, DVD is a perfectly acceptable format, and films on it are cheap and easily available. People have built large DVD collections.

I personally see no reason for anyone except for hardened movie buffs to want to purchase a dedicated HD-DVD or Bluray drive in the next 3 years minimum.

I would say this is the brilliance of Sony's move, if people have a Blu-ray drive anyway, they might as well start converting from DVD to Blu-ray right away.

Yup, I have a nice cinema room, projector and screen and such and have zero interest in upgrading to a HD player just now. I really think they stuck in a half generation step - much like the 360 itself in terms of graphical improvement.

It even makes the table cloth look cutting-edge.

No, I'm not a Microsoft apologist. Of course the general tone would have been different. It's not about overpriced w****ry, it's about respecting the timeline of emergence of any piece of consumer electronics. The initial reception should ideally (from the point of view of the manufacturer) come from marketing images. That way, they present it in its best light.

If you think it doesn't make a difference, why does every electronics manufacturer do it?

For the record, I think the HD-DVD add-on is a joke and expect an integrated console offering from Microsoft inside 12 months.

You're the only person who has worked on SPOnG for over two years who believes that. And a there is a host of news stories and forum postings that do little to support your claim.

In fact, I don't think even you truly believe it, you just feeled compelled to claim it to maintain your veneer of objectivity.


That itself is one of the wankiest things I have ever heard. "respecting the timeline of emergence", you talk like you have a marketing executive's hand up your arse.

The HD-DVD bolt on is a poorly conceived and poorly designed device.

Only a credulous fool could be convinced otherwise by good lighting, a dynamic camera angle and photoshopping.


To convince the slack-jawed and gullible.

This thing sucks, ugly, huge...the only excuse for this kludgetasm is the lack of an ideal solution, but this is a fairly feeble one. Better pictures and lighting would only highlight its craptacularness. Its a good thing 360 sales in Japan are already so low because this can't help. If MS allows publishers to release game content exclusive to HD-DVD, it would be an unforgiveable sin in my eyes. Personally (both as a consumer and if I were the one plotting MS long term plans for world conquest) I'd favor a revision coupled with an upgrade program(me, wacky brits), if possible. Better yet, $50 price drop and forget the HD-DVD altogether. This only invites unfavorable comparisons with Sony's unit. Admittedly, and this may be the only saving grace, it is at the moment and absent any HD-only game content completely optional, and most likely the best HD-DVD for existing 360 owners, but these are poor excuses after the fact for a bad...thing. I just can't get over the fact that MS coun't buy, bodge, or steal a better solution than this...c'est le guerre, I suppose.

Indeed.

A few points though:

1)Why are all the 360 owners saying, "Well I have this big machine and this add-on is cheap and affordable. I'll probably one.", when for starters, 360 has no HDMI output (which could potentially mean a downgraded resolution; all Blu-Ray and HD-DVD standalones are required to have HDMI and only display resolutions up to 1920x1080 through it. Or at least analog vs. digital signal differential).

2)No one knows who will win. Buying a HD add-on just because you have a 360 is ludricious. Think of how many 32xs would of sold by that logic(!!!) Not to mention how it's a must to have an HD enabled TV, and a good one to boot. Not no Sylvania or Philips (yes, Philips sucks folks, face it). But I assume we all know what is required to notice any difference.

I have seen Blu-Ray DVDs in action. On a good tv, in good lighting, it's a phenomenal difference. Just take a look at a $9.99 budget DVD vs. a Blu-Ray demo loop up close and you'll see what I mean.

I, myself will own all three systems but I ain't getting any Blu-Ray movies till I know which side wins. My money is on Blu-ray! Fer sure.

No 360 owners I know of talk that way, the 360 owners I know only bring up how big the power brick is, not the console, and are also generally intelligent enough to include a verb in most sentences.

perhaps the "further unknown unit that seems to bridge the console and the player" has teh HDMI?

Sucks anyway...hang the HD-DVD, I just want teh DVI as I have several displays capable of HD resolutions with that input, no HDMI and no plans for any, since DVI and any HD-DVD format as envisioned are mutually exclusive (for now, go 1337 h@xx0rz).


32x is a lousy analogy. Actually 360 owners buying this thing isn't the dumbest idea in the world, voting in the HD-DVD wars with the pocketbook, so to speak.


Aren't HD-DVDs just as better? Any special reason why it has to be a budget DVD, seems kinda unfair...shouldn't you be comparing the best DVD, not some cheapo...seems kinda disingenuous...