Rumor: Blu-ray equipped 360 ships Q3

[jholder5]

Adding to the pile of Blu-ray rumors we've had the privilege of reporting on for the past few months, we get word that a Blu-ray equipped Xbox 360 is headed our way the third quarter of this year.

According to the Chinese Economic Daily News, Pegatron Technology (an OEM subsidiary of Asustek Computer who deals with computer component manufacturing) has been selected by Microsoft to assemble Xbox 360 consoles with Blu-ray drives which will begin shipping Q3 2008. And, as Joystiq points out, the report's wording hints at the Blu-ray drive being internal rather than an external add-on. So, how long will it take for Microsoft to deny this latest Blu-ray gem? We give them until 4:00PM eastern.

Rumorang: Xbox 360 Blu-ray console shipping Q3 - Joystiq

[Blasterpez]

This could make me kind of angry, if its true. External one thing, cause everyone can still buy it if they choose. Internal=anger rising after all the reasons they gave for not equipping hd dvd internal (other then the fact they weren't sure it would win or not).

[oli]

I'll believe it when it comes out of a MS PR's mouth.

[axeman2008]

Originally Posted by oli

I'll believe it when it comes out of a MS PR's mouth.

Same here, when exactly is the third quarter?

[XabiTorres]

Never going to happen why would MS want to give money to Sony for every 360 sold. I would also be mega pissed off

[vote4fairtax]

3q would be li 7-9 months, so july to septemberish. I doubt it is true.

[Blasterpez]

Originally Posted by vote4fairtax

3q would be li 7-9 months, so july to septemberish. I doubt it is true.

yeah, that isn't too far away...and if they were gonna do it, don't you think they would start hyping them a bit to get peoples interested in it now? but then again, they didn't give a whole lot of time before they released the elite. man, you just never know with MS.

[bevo1981]

i don't get all this HD and blu-ray stuff anyway. i have a big HDtv in 480dp and my games and movies look great on it. i would be interested in this stuff if i had a big plasma in 1080dp, but otherwise, it's just an unnecessary accessory to me.

[Boost King]

You'll notice the difference if you have a full on 1080p capable set. Even a 720p set produces a beautiful image, whether it was HD DVD or Blu Ray.

But think about it. The war is over, BR beat HD, so obviously BR is the future for Hi Def video content (via a disc), so all new movies, and stuff are going to be on BR. Lets not discuss Digital Dist yet, BR is on shelves and currently running. DD is still a few years away for mainstream.

So its just like DVD war, everyone needs to embrace it. So its no surprise that MS will eventually use BR for its machines, nor even the nintendo Wii as well with its next system.

And finally, MS is not giving money directly to Sony, its giving it to the BR Corp which is backed by several companies, one of which is Sony.

To me, the Royalty is a small price to pay, vs a big stop in being able to move forward technologically wise if MS was stubborn and didn't want to pay royalties.

FInally, if its built in, then its built in sure.

But MS will only use if for movies, and will not start automatically making games in that format.

I would be pretty sure to say the 360 will have Blue Ray sure, but the same drive will play DVD9 for games.

So everyone is happy.

Except the 20 million current 360 users who wont be able to buy it as a add on.

Oh dear.

Boost

[Blasterpez]

I would be happy if they sell and external one. i use my 360 for games and all my movies, so i would like to hook a BD to it as well. (unless i get a ps3, then it's moot) I am not to concerned with games shipping on blu ray right now. all the games come on one disc pretty much (but lost odyssey has 5 discs).

[Curnijmit]

it's a bit of a quandry for MS.

How much of the BD cost can be passed on to the consumer and how does this package compare to the PS3? Subsidizing the BD just increases the loss incurred by MS which isn't really going to be offset through sales of BD discs as it is partially for Sony.

However - until MS is able to bring Xbox Marketplace to the rest of the world there's limited alternative Hi-def options for those of us outside the US. As an existing Xbox owner - HD-DVD was the only incrementally affordable option for legally watching hi-def content (outside of limited free-to-air TV options).

[Kona Palangi]

Originally Posted by XabiTorres

Never going to happen why would MS want to give money to Sony for every 360 sold. I would also be mega pissed off

If BD was incorporated within the 360 the royalties would not be paid directly to Sony, they would be paid to the Blu-Ray Disc Association which is headed up by Sony but comprises of 8 other corporations. Regardless, it is an inevitability as once the current console life cycle ends, MS will have to cop BDA royalties for the Xbox 720 or w/e the **** the decide to christen it.

[vote4fairtax]

since the rumor is what.. 2010 now for the next itteration of the xbox, i doubt we will se anymore major INTERNAL changes to the beast exept for cost effectiveness. A bd would just be an add on, and not make much sence for an internal since it wont be used for games. There would be too much packaging confusion and loss of revenue from issuing games in 2 diff formats for the same console. As long as they keep the pricing positioned under the PS3, even with a BD add on, they can still tout their cheeper-nee-ness in the "nextgen" war.

[Boost King]

I think MS really honestly has to go down this BD road now, because Sony will catch up in hardware sales. However, were looking at the hardware sales based on gamers buying consoles. However, the stats are being incorrectly increased for PS3 because most people buy it simply as a cheap BR player. This is a exposure for MS, because it makes it look like theres more consoles out there that are Sonys instead of Xbox's.

So if MS has a BD drive, why buy sony, when you can buy MS?

I think thats what MS needs to do, is eliminate sony's current advantage before it steamrolls any further.

Boost

[ReaperMojo]

if MS is smart they will put out an exteral one, if they put out a new BR xbox alot of xbox loyals will be pissed. They upset some of the xbox nation when they put out the elite, but they got over it. I dont think they will be a forgiving if they have to shell out more money to get a new console with blueray.

[Blasterpez]

Originally Posted by ReaperMojo

if MS is smart they will put out an exteral one, if they put out a new BR xbox alot of xbox loyals will be pissed. They upset some of the xbox nation when they put out the elite, but they got over it. I dont think they will be a forgiving if they have to shell out more money to get a new console with blueray.

Indeed. external FTW! or ps3.

[Boost King]

I thought the following article about what i've been hearing about Blu Ray would be interesting given we are all talking Blu Ray.

May 1, 2008 | Blu-ray sales have dropped massively since Sony killed HD DVD
By Dave Parrack

When Sony’s Blu-ray format killed off Toshiba’s HD DVD format in the the high definition DVD war in February, it was expected that Blu-ray players would see a massive sales increase, as consumers realised the format was a safe long-term bet. However, sales figures show that since the beginning of the year, sales of Blu-ray players have actually dropped quite substantially.

As soon as HD DVD was declared a dead format, Sony went full steam ahead with it’s plans to dominate the future of high definition storage, and predicted a 50% market share with DVD by the end of 2008. However, the NPD Group’s sales figures show that they are a long way off achieving that goal any time soon.

NPD haven’t released actual numbers, presumably for fear hat due to the low numbers of units sold, individual retailers would be identifiable. However, according to the New York Times, it has stated that sales of standalone Blu-ray players fell a massive 40% from January to February. They then rose a paltry 2% from February to March.

HD DVD players obviously did even worse in the same time frame, with sales dropping 13% from January to February, and 65% from February to March, but that was fully expected as only an idiot would buy a player which only plays a dead format.

So why has Blu-ray failed to sell in the expected quantities once it’s only rival, excluding the doomed HD VMD of course, HD DVD was consigned to an early grave?

The main reason is likely to be that the mainstream consumer is still not ready to move on from DVD, and is happy with the picture quality and storage capabilities of the last gen format. I predicted back in February that Blu-ray would have a hard job killing off DVD, and by the time it does, digital downloads will probably be the medium of choice anyway.

It could be that Blu-ray ends up being merely a stopgap for early adopters, and that it never really takes off in the way Sony are hoping it does.

The big test will come this Christmas when prices will drop, and we will be able to see if everyday consumers are choosing to upgrade or not. Personally, I’m happy with my collection of DVDs, and won’t be upgrading until prices drop below the $100 mark, which could be a while.


END

[axeman2008]

No surprises really i still purchase normal dvds purely because the upscaling ablities of the ps3 are so that it makes it look just as good as bd in my opinion.

360 HD-DVD addon with 2 HD films is €10 RRP here LOL

[Blasterpez]

Originally Posted by axeman2008

No surprises really i still purchase normal dvds purely because the upscaling ablities of the ps3 are so that it makes it look just as good as bd in my opinion.

Upscaled do a look pretty good, but i still think actual HD sources look better. Not by much, but you can notice if you watch a normal dvd and then a HD/BD. Unless it is an old DVD, then no amount of upscaling helps it.

I finally got my 5 free HD DVDs and they sent me Doom because they were out of all the other ones. Jerks. At least it was free.