Taiwan game industry favors Microsoft's adoption of external HD-DVD dives for Xbox 360

Microsoft will launch external HD-DVD drives for its Xbox 360 at a retail price of US$200 by Christmas of this year, and Taiwanese games developers and gaming services providers indicated this this is a smart marketing strategy as compared with Sony's adoption of built-in BD drives for its PlayStation 3 (PS3).

[kingboy]

goodlooks on them..two words easy Bootleggin

[Marriot VP]

Good price, and we'll see how much consumers actually want an HD drive. Sony fans actually should want this to sell good.

[Daewoodrow]

So is that finalised at US$200 then? Not sure how much that'll be in GBP£, sometimes they charge lower than the exchange rate, sometimes higher. But if it's also half the price of premium over here it'll be £120, which is pretty nice.

[ChaosKnight]

Well if it is $200, i guess right and im getting one. Thats a total steal for anyone with a 360

[Marriot VP]

Also most forget if you just want a HD-DVD drive you can get one for 500 bucks with the core. Also you guys the price cut is so imminent in the next 6 months. Already on ebay you can get the sku's for 40 bucks cheaper than retail. Come on a core at 250 is a steal.

[richie007bond]

Awesome price thats about 110 GBP THATS A TOTAL BARGIN cant wait hd dvd all the way

[ACE]

i will be getting one too roll on xmas :)

[viper1jon]

if the hd-dvd dirver would sell for about 200 dollars. that is a steal for sure for anyone with a 360. instead of paying 600$ for a ps3 u get the 360 and the hd-dvd separate and it will still probably cost the same or even less than a ps3 after taxes. that is a great bargain. way to go MS. and great job bill gates for choosing the rite format to go with HD-DVD ALL THE WAY BABY!!

[kewlkat007]

Not a bad price for something I may want in the future, not that I really need it now. Xbox 360 will be gaming machine first, then everything else second.

For now I think I'll have:

xbox 360 Premium
XBL sub
Extra wireless Controller
and GOW plz........

Or I can go with the Core system and Like Burger King(I can have it my way).

[joemutt]

If HD movies take off, I will get one, if not, I dont have to pay extra like sony customers.

Thanks Microsoft!!

Thats why the 360 is breaking all the previous console records for sales and stuff.

[DJ]

but not the fastest selling console. It's the first console ever to be released worldwide which is why it has that title in the first place. It hasn't even sold 5 million yet, and it's been almost 9 months.

PS3 owners are only paying an extra $100 for blu-ray movies, games, and 1080p while 360 owners have to stick with 720p and pay an extra $200 if they want HD-DVD movie functionality. How is that a steal? =/

[Optimus Prime]

i am sure that tons of sony fans will be playing on 1080p. get real

[Marriot VP]

you mean their PS2 game with upscaled 1080p.

[kewlkat007]

for $200 the External will be way better than a cheap internal one. And I think it's more along the lines of $200-$300 for the Blue-ray drive. Oh you think sony is going to cut a $1000 to $100 cheaper version in the PS3, you sh!tting me?

What part of this did you miss DJ?

"External drives have more flexibility than built-in models, the companies pointed out, while adding that despite BD having a much larger storage capacity than HD-DVD, pre-installation of BD drives may decrease the market competitiveness of PS3 units."

Talk about 1080P, I wonder how many people will have 1080P in thier homes in 2 years? or even now? The sets are just rolling out while people are still thinking twice about a 1080i tv. Plus what parent/casual gamer is going to purchuse a pricey 1080P HDTV set just for thier PS3?(take H-core fans out)

On the talks of Blu-ray; Thats "if" this Blu-ray thing becomes the winning format. A big "IF"

Buying something you don't need, that minght not become standard spells Betamax, UMD, Mini-disc. If HD-DVD becomes the next logical step in "HD" then MS did the right choice.

I'd rather be safe then sorry but then again Stand alone players will always be better IMO. so I might not even purchase the HD-DVD drive but with the Price you can't beat it as opposed to $500 stand-alone HD-DVD player or a $1000 BR player out the gates..

So who has the better consumer-minded smarter deal?

[Jay da 2KBalla]

360 is the fastest selling console. Read some gaming news and then u will actually know what you are talking about. but not the fastest selling console. Um no. Hd-dvd can be dispalyed in 1080p and even if it cant the movies on hd-dvd look better than blu-ray ones anyway. Also the difference between 1090i and 1080 is very small. Also can you name a ps3 game running at 1080p? Didnt think so. Also 360 games can run at 1080i as well as 720p.

[JIN KAZAMA]

Lets see, that will make your 400 dollar console at 600. Also, it wont be able to play games at 1080p, like the PS3 will. Also, you are going to have to pay for your online service, also, there is no WiFi, if you want that, add another 100 dollars, you still get the 20GB, we get the 60 GB, how the hell is that a steal you losers.

[Optimus Prime]

is this all you do all day, is talk about video games, and if you think your video game system is the best and that is all you talk about, you need to get a life, but it is alot of people on this site

[JIN KAZAMA]

know I am right kid. I jsut broke it down, and the idiot 360 fans are just too dumb to nrealize it.

[Optimus Prime]

who the hell cares about a game system. if that is your number one priority in life, wow, that is just pathetic. i was talking about everyone in general, but i started off with your name, srry to offend you.

[JIN KAZAMA]

the betaHD-DVD drive, face it, you are being brainwashed into thinking it will be any good. Who the hell buys add-ons. A person is going to go int the store, see one neat bundle and pick that up, instead of buying an add-on. You 360 fans are so amuzing, like a bunch of dumb monkeys, jumping around. If the 360 came bundled with the hd-dvd drive, and PS3 had the add-on, you would be dissing teh PS3, get real idiots.

[Daewoodrow]

You're calling people monkeys for supporting a different console? Next you'll be wearing white robes and burning crosses outside MS HQ.
And I suppose you think your Bluray player will be top of the range quality? Let me ask you something, what happens when you take a $1000 product and try and make it cost 10-20% as much?
You get a drop in quality.
At least the HD-DVD players cost $500, so it is easier to make cheaper.

Oh, and i'm not buying the HD-DVD add on, I don't want it until I want to own an HD-DVD. I just wanted it to be cheap so I could get it if I ever decide to buy some HD-DVDs.

So my console still costs £280, thanks.

Why don't you spend all this energy asking how the british public will react to the launch, since neither Bluray nor HD-DVD have been released here yet, so nobody knows what the hell Sony are talking about. We do afterall make up a significant portion of Sony's market share.

[Islandkiwi]

Jin Kazama almost seems to be...gloating?

Can that be right?

Perhaps Mr. Kazama should get his head checked. Mr. Kazama seems to have forgotten that game consoles are meant to play games. The 360 does this at a lower price point than the PS3.

Mr. Kazama seems enamored of the 1080P games and movies he has never seen. You know, on the tv he doesn't have...well, let's be fair...the tv no one has.

All about choice, Mr. Kazama. Your God is offering you no choice whatsoever, yet I know you'll be first in line to receive your just rewards.

Microsoft offered a less expensive gaming console with great games, Mr. Kazama. And a Live service that is here and now, and works well. And if we decide we want to watch hd movies, they've offered us a player to purchase that attaches nicely to our 360.

Enjoy your dreams of the PS3, Mr. Kazama. You have several months of dreaming left. Enjoy the gloating, and try not to notice your empty hands or soon to be empty pockets. In the meantime, we'll be gaming.

[Jay da 2KBalla]

And there is no ps3 game at 1080p you fool. Also in case you didnt know the difference beween 1080p and 1080i is can barely be seen. Besides f*ck that add-on. Its like this. I'm paying 400 for my console while you pay 600 for yours. Nuff said. My console has better internet, better games, and guess what your has worse games and your paying 200 dollars more for it.lol If I want wi-fi which I will then thats 500 to your 600. Still a better deal.I dont need blu-ray nor hd-dvd and the extra space isnt needed for games. And when blu-ray doesnt win the format war you are going to be looking stupid with a beta max blu-ray player thats movies have been discontinued.

[Jay da 2KBalla]

If you want movies get a ps3, if u want the best looking games with the best online capabilities for 200 dollars less, get the 360, if you want something unique get the wii. 200 dollars for an hd-dvd is not a steal. It should be 100 dollars but whatever. Point is choice and my choice is that I dont want it. Thats the difference between ps3 and 360. Ps3 fans cant say that. Why? Cuz they dont have a choice. The real deal is the wii60. I can get the two next generation consoles for the price of one. Now thats what you call a steal.

wii60

[JIN KAZAMA]

you said
"Let me ask you something, what happens when you take a $1000 product and try and make it cost 10-20% as much?
You get a drop in quality."

Well, its not 10-20%, i'll tell ou why. It called mass market. The stand alone player right now is a very new thing. The Playstation Brand is tried and tested, and extremely successfull, meaning that they are willing to lose money on the blu-ray but they want to get it into as many housholds as possible, because they know the PS3 will sell. Thats why its much cheaper than the stand alone, not because the quality is bad.

Island, Sony is offering no choise at all?? What is the 500 dollar version? Just for 100 dollars more, you are getting a HD player, than the 360 DVD player. Also, its upgradeable, so you can upgrade to anything you want. We got a choice, either go with the 500, or 600, both of which will have an HD Player. Great games?? 360 hasnt showed me ANYTHING for me to pick it up, I would have picked it up a looong time ago if I actually saw some games worth it, but I havent.

Jay, there will be many games in 1080p, its all about the devs kid, the hardware is capable of doing it, which the 360 is not. That a fact. There is a learning curve for devs, one year form now, you'll see games in 1080p, imagine with the HDMI how better these games will look. Come on Jay, you guys messed up buy jumping the gun and buying the 360. PS3 is takin its time to get everything right, what the 360 should ahve done. Lets get real people.

[Marriot VP]

nobody wants a HD player, only tech extremists and fanboys like you

[Optimus Prime]

jin are you still here. what the hell, do you not have a life. you are pretty much the only one that has been here for the last 3 hours, non stop. do you not do ne thing else besides sit and talk about video games. and why are you here, this is a 360 section. focus on your ps3. not the 360, if you think it is crap

[DK209]

ur an idiot with ur 1080p it doesnt even look as good as 720p during fast moving pictures do some homework b4 u go hateing on other peoples stuff oh and by the way at least i have a choice haha sonys got u by tha balls

[Gamer13]

I would buy this if it makes the game looks better and i now it will.

[Dreamworker]

i wait until i see movies to rent in blockbuster and i dont think they will have 3 different formats to rent. i dont like to buy every movie i like to see.