Xbox 360 is finally set to receive a Blu-ray player accessory, if words from Microsoft's slip-up supremo Steve Ballmer are to be believed.
When asked if the 360 would ever receive its own Blu-ray playback functionality, the MS boss responded: "Well I don't know if we need to put Blu-ray in there - you'll be able to get Blu-ray drives as accessories."
So, a slip-up, or a load of old tosh? Apparently Ballmer spoke with certitude when he mention the 360 Blu-Ray accessory, but of course we know from the 'Natal is a new console' comments - later denied by MS PR - that he does love to go off on one.
When contacted, MS PR responded with: "Our immediate solution for Blu-ray-quality video on an Xbox 360 is coming this fall with Zune Video and 1080p instant-on HD streaming. As far as our future plans are concerned, we're not ready to comment."
If it's not going to benefit games, surely you'd just buy a BR player. Or unless you want your BR player to only have a potential 3 year life span too.
If it's not going to benefit games, surely you'd just buy a BR player. Or unless you want your BR player to only have a potential 3 year life span too.
Exactly. It's such a pointless add-on and imagine if they try to bundle it with the 360 and it costs more than the PS3, who would buy it?
Yeah. I think it is pointless, too. In two years time, Microsoft will announce the next Xbox anyway which will probably have it built in as standard. I'm not bothered about watching Blueray anyway. I am happy just to watch DVd's on an upscaling player.
This quote was taken completely out of context. If you watch the interview it's plainly obvious that he was referring to stand-alone blu ray players. The word "accessories" was just a poor choice of wording:
just go and buy a blu ray player from makro - mine cost Ł49.99 then that way its still cheaper - xbox 360 Ł99.99 + blu ray player Ł49.99 = over Ł100 cheaper than ps3 = Ł100 to spend on games and accessories for more fun than looking at an underused black (or white!)videogame "box"
This quote was taken completely out of context. If you watch the interview it's plainly obvious that he was referring to stand-alone blu ray players. The word "accessories" was just a poor choice of wording:
http://gizmodo.com/5387238
Exactly as I read it - I really can't see a BR drive for the 360, certainly not at this point....perhaps the next MS console though?
It shouldn't cost too much. MS always price their accessories competitively dont they.
lol! I think it is a load of rubbish to be honest. I don't see anyone buying a crippled Blu ray add-on for even Ł100 when you can buy a stand alone player that is better than a PS3 for the same money. I still use my HD DVD drive but physically it's ugly as sin and when it was released it was actually cometitively priced which would only happen with a Bly ray addon if it was released at the Ł50 mark which will never happen.
This quote was taken completely out of context. If you watch the interview it's plainly obvious that he was referring to stand-alone blu ray players. The word "accessories" was just a poor choice of wording:
http://gizmodo.com/5387238
Just watched it and you're right. You'd have thought one of these gaming journalists would have got that.
This quote was taken completely out of context. If you watch the interview it's plainly obvious that he was referring to stand-alone blu ray players. The word "accessories" was just a poor choice of wording:
http://gizmodo.com/5387238
Exactly as I read it - I really can't see a BR drive for the 360, certainly not at this point....perhaps the next MS console though?
It's got to be, hasn't it?
Although with the decreasing price and increasing capacity of flash drives these days I'm inclined to think that maybe flash distribution is the way forward for the next generation
This quote was taken completely out of context. If you watch the interview it's plainly obvious that he was referring to stand-alone blu ray players. The word "accessories" was just a poor choice of wording:
http://gizmodo.com/5387238
Just watched it and you're right. You'd have thought one of these gaming journalists would have got that.
They did over at Digital Foundry - but then went on to write a whole article on the value of an add-on drive anyway
This quote was taken completely out of context. If you watch the interview it's plainly obvious that he was referring to stand-alone blu ray players. The word "accessories" was just a poor choice of wording:
http://gizmodo.com/5387238
Exactly as I read it - I really can't see a BR drive for the 360, certainly not at this point....perhaps the next MS console though?
It's got to be, hasn't it?
Although with the decreasing price and increasing capacity of flash drives these days I'm inclined to think that maybe flash distribution is the way forward for the next generation
For the games, at least.
Yeah, possibly.
We're definitely heading for DL only distribution in the future though - that way they can combat piracy and cripple the pre-owned market in one foul swoop.
This quote was taken completely out of context. If you watch the interview it's plainly obvious that he was referring to stand-alone blu ray players. The word "accessories" was just a poor choice of wording:
http://gizmodo.com/5387238
Exactly as I read it - I really can't see a BR drive for the 360, certainly not at this point....perhaps the next MS console though?
It's got to be, hasn't it?
Although with the decreasing price and increasing capacity of flash drives these days I'm inclined to think that maybe flash distribution is the way forward for the next generation
For the games, at least.
Yeah, possibly.
We're definitely heading for DL only distribution in the future though - that way they can combat piracy and cripple the pre-owned market in one foul swoop.
Yeah that's true. I still like having the cases, though. And that won't really happen until ISP's stop this monthly capping stuff. Even the "unlimited" connections still have a "fair usage" policy which effectively caps your download.
just go and buy a blu ray player from makro - mine cost Ł49.99 then that way its still cheaper - xbox 360 Ł99.99 + blu ray player Ł49.99 = over Ł100 cheaper than ps3 = Ł100 to spend on games and accessories
Ok well for 100 quid you get an arcade, then add the 50 or so you put down for a HDD and you've only got a couple of games anyway so you're in the same boat as buying a PS3 bundle.
If MS were to do this they would be directly funding Sony since Blu-Ray is their technology, so everyone they sold would contribute in some way to Sony profits...can't see that happening.
just go and buy a blu ray player from makro - mine cost Ł49.99 then that way its still cheaper - xbox 360 Ł99.99 + blu ray player Ł49.99 = over Ł100 cheaper than ps3 = Ł100 to spend on games and accessories
Ok well for 100 quid you get an arcade, then add the 50 or so you put down for a HDD and you've only got a couple of games anyway so you're in the same boat as buying a PS3 bundle.
If MS were to do this they would be directly funding Sony since Blu-Ray is their technology, so everyone they sold would contribute in some way to Sony profits...can't see that happening.
This quote was taken completely out of context. If you watch the interview it's plainly obvious that he was referring to stand-alone blu ray players. The word "accessories" was just a poor choice of wording:
http://gizmodo.com/5387238
Exactly as I read it - I really can't see a BR drive for the 360, certainly not at this point....perhaps the next MS console though?
It's got to be, hasn't it?
Although with the decreasing price and increasing capacity of flash drives these days I'm inclined to think that maybe flash distribution is the way forward for the next generation
For the games, at least.
Could be a good shout, if they can find a way to lock it from Pirates. Bit like the old Mega drive and SNES cartridges.
I still see things being Physical though, with the size of games and Films, HDD´s need to increase capacity much further and reduce in price before its viable. Not to mention Internet speeds.
This quote was taken completely out of context. If you watch the interview it's plainly obvious that he was referring to stand-alone blu ray players. The word "accessories" was just a poor choice of wording:
http://gizmodo.com/5387238
Exactly as I read it - I really can't see a BR drive for the 360, certainly not at this point....perhaps the next MS console though?
It's got to be, hasn't it?
Although with the decreasing price and increasing capacity of flash drives these days I'm inclined to think that maybe flash distribution is the way forward for the next generation
For the games, at least.
Yeah, possibly.
We're definitely heading for DL only distribution in the future though - that way they can combat piracy and cripple the pre-owned market in one foul swoop.
But Blu-Ray is here now and is making tons of money. Download only will take years to be successful, years to be accepted by more than a few and years to suit the broadband speeds/limits on offer.
just go and buy a blu ray player from makro - mine cost Ł49.99 then that way its still cheaper - xbox 360 Ł99.99 + blu ray player Ł49.99 = over Ł100 cheaper than ps3 = Ł100 to spend on games and accessories
Ok well for 100 quid you get an arcade, then add the 50 or so you put down for a HDD and you've only got a couple of games anyway so you're in the same boat as buying a PS3 bundle.
If MS were to do this they would be directly funding Sony since Blu-Ray is their technology, so everyone they sold would contribute in some way to Sony profits...can't see that happening.
Sony are only one of several companies who developed Blu-Ray technology, they might be getting some of the profits, but not a lot.
I agree that it's bull though, it's a bad idea for so many reasons.
This quote was taken completely out of context. If you watch the interview it's plainly obvious that he was referring to stand-alone blu ray players. The word "accessories" was just a poor choice of wording:
http://gizmodo.com/5387238
Exactly as I read it - I really can't see a BR drive for the 360, certainly not at this point....perhaps the next MS console though?
It's got to be, hasn't it?
Although with the decreasing price and increasing capacity of flash drives these days I'm inclined to think that maybe flash distribution is the way forward for the next generation
For the games, at least.
Could be a good shout, if they can find a way to lock it from Pirates. Bit like the old Mega drive and SNES cartridges.
I still see things being Physical though, with the size of games and Films, HDD´s need to increase capacity much further and reduce in price before its viable. Not to mention Internet speeds.
Imagine it! The speed...the capacity...the SILENCE! Glory be.
I could see MS's next console having a Blu Ray drive. But the 360 getting an additional drive for it. I highly doubt. after the HD DVD drive failed to fly off shelves it wouldn't be a great idea to try it again wiht Blu Ray From a business standpoint. Although Blu ray is now the standard it would simply highlight the difference betweeen the 360 and PS3. Which would not be a good thing. By making an add on it would give bluray a higher profile. Which in gameland MS don't want to do.
The only way i could see it working would be if they made it incredibly cheap. say round the Ł50. and bundled them with new 360s at no or little extra cost.
I also highly doubt that we'll be seeing flash memory used for game distibution on the majot consoles in the future as it makes things incredibly easy to pirate. just look at the ds, wii and PSP it's the flash components of the systems that have allowed them to be hacked so easily.
the reason the PS3 hasn't had many hacking attempts is not becasue its hard to. ( its been done, technically) but because writable blu ray discs cost almost as much as buying legitimate copies of games does. A HDD option in theory would work but also isn't that practicle becasue the game discs themselves are 10gb a peice. as time progresses though this will change. But for now at least blu ray is the best way to fight piracy.
This quote was taken completely out of context. If you watch the interview it's plainly obvious that he was referring to stand-alone blu ray players. The word "accessories" was just a poor choice of wording:
http://gizmodo.com/5387238
Exactly as I read it - I really can't see a BR drive for the 360, certainly not at this point....perhaps the next MS console though?
It's got to be, hasn't it?
Although with the decreasing price and increasing capacity of flash drives these days I'm inclined to think that maybe flash distribution is the way forward for the next generation
For the games, at least.
Yeah, possibly.
We're definitely heading for DL only distribution in the future though - that way they can combat piracy and cripple the pre-owned market in one foul swoop.
But Blu-Ray is here now and is making tons of money. Download only will take years to be successful, years to be accepted by more than a few and years to suit the broadband speeds/limits on offer.
Yeah, I agree. I do think we're a fair way off DL-only, but it's definitely the option that the developers and publishers would choose (were the infrastructure there to support it).
I also prefer having a physical copy and I don't mind buying pre-owned titles (it means that I can get a game that I wouldn't pay full price for and I've found a fair few gems that way), but I do think it's what we're heading for.
heyy microsoft stop copying sony dont use it stick to your dvds because if you are gonna use it for gaming then dont because u are just copy cats of the world and have u not done enough u have already copied their proccessor stick to your own ideas
PS i am not a fanboy i was just saying that ms is just copying the ideas of sony btw i have both consoles xbox and ps3
if they want to push dl, they should make those 250gb hdds available to existing owners. or even a few TBs would be needed. if they expect me to start downloading rather than buying discs, i need enough space that i never need to worry about it.
I could see MS's next console having a Blu Ray drive. But the 360 getting an additional drive for it. I highly doubt. after the HD DVD drive failed to fly off shelves it wouldn't be a great idea to try it again wiht Blu Ray From a business standpoint. Although Blu ray is now the standard it would simply highlight the difference betweeen the 360 and PS3. Which would not be a good thing. By making an add on it would give bluray a higher profile. Which in gameland MS don't want to do.
The only way i could see it working would be if they made it incredibly cheap. say round the Ł50. and bundled them with new 360s at no or little extra cost.
I also highly doubt that we'll be seeing flash memory used for game distibution on the majot consoles in the future as it makes things incredibly easy to pirate. just look at the ds, wii and PSP it's the flash components of the systems that have allowed them to be hacked so easily.
the reason the PS3 hasn't had many hacking attempts is not becasue its hard to. ( its been done, technically) but because writable blu ray discs cost almost as much as buying legitimate copies of games does. A HDD option in theory would work but also isn't that practicle becasue the game discs themselves are 10gb a peice. as time progresses though this will change. But for now at least blu ray is the best way to fight piracy.
I reckon the future is in ultra-efficient compression.
if they want to push dl, they should make those 250gb hdds available to existing owners. or even a few TBs would be needed. if they expect me to start downloading rather than buying discs, i need enough space that i never need to worry about it.
Exactly and even 250GB is quickly used, the way things are going. Especially when you look at some of the patches that are put out.
Even Peter More said the other day that Physical media will be a valid format for another 10 years yet.
Digital is still way off yet.
The question is how much would a BR drive cost for the 360?
If it happens, and if the BR drive will only be licensed from MS (like so many of its other products), then it'll likely cost entirely too much compared to other open market prices if history is any indicator...Still, those are a lot of "if"s.
with games like uncharted 2 which use up 25gb of the blu ray disc, i'd say the 360 would benefit from blu ray seeing as you couldn't put uncharted on a 360 disc, naughty dog themselves said they couldnt have.
This quote was taken completely out of context. If you watch the interview it's plainly obvious that he was referring to stand-alone blu ray players. The word "accessories" was just a poor choice of wording:
http://gizmodo.com/5387238
So another fast one has been pulled, eh? Because that sort of thing doesn't happen around here. Ever.
with games like uncharted 2 which use up 25gb of the blu ray disc, i'd say the 360 would benefit from blu ray seeing as you couldn't put uncharted on a 360 disc, naughty dog themselves said they couldnt have.
The same Naughty Dog who are a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony?
All this still begs the question, what format will the next xbox use? I know HD-DVD is dead, but would that not be perfect for a company who does not want many people to be able to copy their games? Surely HD-DVD could be slightly modified to increase the storage capacity, and could then be used by MS exclusively for the xbox 3 games to be pressed on? The Dreamcast had a unique storage disc (although the name escapes me) and was not blighted by piracy in anyway near the volumes of the PS2/xbox.
This quote was taken completely out of context. If you watch the interview it's plainly obvious that he was referring to stand-alone blu ray players. The word "accessories" was just a poor choice of wording:
http://gizmodo.com/5387238
Exactly as I read it - I really can't see a BR drive for the 360, certainly not at this point....perhaps the next MS console though?
It's got to be, hasn't it?
Although with the decreasing price and increasing capacity of flash drives these days I'm inclined to think that maybe flash distribution is the way forward for the next generation
For the games, at least.
Yeah, possibly.
We're definitely heading for DL only distribution in the future though - that way they can combat piracy and cripple the pre-owned market in one foul swoop.
Guess that might be the time I decide to take up fencing instead of gaming then. Or at the very least drastically decrease the amount of time and money I spend on new games, while sticking to a select few and older games already in my posession. I don't mind if the game comes on a USB stick, etc. but I am loathe to have to resort to a download service only as means of acquiring a game.
Personally I'm not convinced the retail means will completely disappear anytime soon as there are still people whom do not have adequate internet access which means they are potentially lost sales, then there are the issues of the teenage market which will not always be granted access to mom and dad's credit cards in order to purchase online, and finally there's good ol' human nature whereby many people still like having something physically tangible in their hands regardless of the logic involved.
just go and buy a blu ray player from makro - mine cost Ł49.99 then that way its still cheaper - xbox 360 Ł99.99 + blu ray player Ł49.99 = over Ł100 cheaper than ps3 = Ł100 to spend on games and accessories
Ok well for 100 quid you get an arcade, then add the 50 or so you put down for a HDD and you've only got a couple of games anyway so you're in the same boat as buying a PS3 bundle.
If MS were to do this they would be directly funding Sony since Blu-Ray is their technology, so everyone they sold would contribute in some way to Sony profits...can't see that happening.
Maybe, but bear in mind that BR technology is the result of a massive collaboration between a number of high-profile tech firms of which Sony is but one.
It shouldn't cost too much. MS always price their accessories competitively dont they.
yep thats why you can get the 120gb hdd for a very cheap price of 120 quid and the wireless adaptor for 60 bucks, i mean look how much these cost on pc, way too expensive to buy, who has about 50 quid to add these to their pc's, no one, thats who.
MS always charge the right amount, so 400 quid for the blue-ray player would be a bargin... ive got my pre order in already.
on a more serious note, did anyone expect this not to happen, if i get a blue-ray player it will be that new one from samsung, the one you can stream content to and hangs on the wall, now that is a cool looking piece of equipment.
wont be buying this at all unless its mandatory for playing a game that i really want, havent used my bluray drive on my ps3 to watch one single film so theres no way id fork out for one for films....
This quote was taken completely out of context. If you watch the interview it's plainly obvious that he was referring to stand-alone blu ray players. The word "accessories" was just a poor choice of wording:
http://gizmodo.com/5387238
Exactly as I read it - I really can't see a BR drive for the 360, certainly not at this point....perhaps the next MS console though?
It's got to be, hasn't it?
Although with the decreasing price and increasing capacity of flash drives these days I'm inclined to think that maybe flash distribution is the way forward for the next generation
For the games, at least.
Yeah, possibly.
We're definitely heading for DL only distribution in the future though - that way they can combat piracy and cripple the pre-owned market in one foul swoop.
But Blu-Ray is here now and is making tons of money. Download only will take years to be successful, years to be accepted by more than a few and years to suit the broadband speeds/limits on offer.
You're kidding right? While it may vary from market to market, in the world's largest market (i.e. the US), BR sales have remained stale and averaged around 8-9% I think it was of the market share (I'm at work, so I'll see if I can dig up the article later on when I'm home). DVDs are still the vastly predominant media for films and games. It might change in time, yet it is by no means guaranteed that BR will be the next storage format to carry the torch. I'm particularly interested in the increasing storage capacities of solid state drives while their prices are expected to decrease next year.
with games like uncharted 2 which use up 25gb of the blu ray disc, i'd say the 360 would benefit from blu ray seeing as you couldn't put uncharted on a 360 disc, naughty dog themselves said they couldnt have.
What they're talking about is an add on for movies, it wouldn't benefit storage for games in any way at all.
Blu ray quality movie is about 25gb or more. I don't want to download movies everyday as I'm on 20gb limit per month.
Blu ray'll become mainstream next year.
the main feature is only 10gb-15gb on average on a 1080p movie, the extras etc make up the rest of the space, im on unlimited download so it makes no odds to me and my ISP has never sent me any warning letters and ive been with them for nearly 10yrs
but youre right i think, bluray will become mainstream along with girls aloud, robbie williams etc etc ie- made for the clueless masses... who think the only waay to watch a hd film is to go to some shop or order it online...
heyy microsoft stop copying sony dont use it stick to your dvds because if you are gonna use it for gaming then dont because u are just copy cats of the world and have u not done enough u have already copied their proccessor stick to your own ideas
PS i am not a fanboy i was just saying that ms is just copying the ideas of sony btw i have both consoles xbox and ps3
if your not a fanboy, then im queen of of this fair country
All this still begs the question, what format will the next xbox use? I know HD-DVD is dead, but would that not be perfect for a company who does not want many people to be able to copy their games? Surely HD-DVD could be slightly modified to increase the storage capacity, and could then be used by MS exclusively for the xbox 3 games to be pressed on? The Dreamcast had a unique storage disc (although the name escapes me) and was not blighted by piracy in anyway near the volumes of the PS2/xbox.
It was called the GD- Rom. they were burnt in a weird way too which meant that you could duplicate them in conventional copiers either.
However. the DC was the most easiest console to hack in the world. all it required was a boot disc.
And although the fiscs held a gig of data most of it was junk so most DC games could easily be copied to CD eventually hackers figured out how to make them self boot as well. illegal copies that work with zero hasstle or modification. Sounds like a pirates dream to me.
All this still begs the question, what format will the next xbox use? I know HD-DVD is dead, but would that not be perfect for a company who does not want many people to be able to copy their games? Surely HD-DVD could be slightly modified to increase the storage capacity, and could then be used by MS exclusively for the xbox 3 games to be pressed on? The Dreamcast had a unique storage disc (although the name escapes me) and was not blighted by piracy in anyway near the volumes of the PS2/xbox.
Whooa,,, the Dreamcast was plagued by piracy. And it was so bloody easy as well. All you needed was a boot disc and a Biro refill, nearly the same as the PS1. As far as i can remember you didn't even need to get it chipped. You could get about 12 games for the price of a full one down the Barra's market. Everyone i knew had it done and i even knew people who bought one just to do this.
This suggests they are considering it for the next gen if you ask me.
Microsoft PR later told the site: “Our immediate solution for Blu-ray-quality video on an Xbox 360 is coming this fall with Zune Video and 1080p instant-on HD streaming. As far as our future plans are concerned, we're not ready to comment.”
Although I did have a bit of a chuckle at this one though
http://360.kombo.com/article.php?artid=17527
When mentioning accessories attatch rate! Some would argue that the 360 has a higher attatch rate as it not included in the box itself, HDD, network adaptor and so on.
what an incredibly misleading subect title- MS have certainly NOT confirmed Blue ray coming to 360, come on CVG get your facts straight!
It actually says "MS confirms Xbox 360 Blu-ray add-on?" (with a question mark). It's just unfortunate that it's white on white so you don't see that bit.
I think that the next xbox will have blu-ray or a MS brand of disc being used. Sega had GD-roms on the Dreamcast so there is no reason MS can' t do something like that with the next xbox. I very much doubt that they will bring a Blu-ray drive to the 360 as it will just make PS3 look better as PS3 has Blu-Ray built in already.
As far a DL only goes, I think one day all media will be downloaded but I think that day is further away than we think. It works for Music becuase music is small and the file sizes wont ever get bigger plus we have great storage devices for music already. Films as far as tech goes could be done quite easy now for DVD stuff. But we don't have good enough storage dervices to store huge libarys of un-compressed movies and TV shows. If someone comes of with a 5 terabyte movie storage system them great. Games on the other hand pose the biggest problem. Home consoles get more powerful with each generation and each time the games require much more space to hold a game. Mega Drive had carts that were around 8MB, Playstation wer 650MB discs. Playstation 2 had 4.2gig DVDs and now Playstation 3 has 50gig Blu-rays. So what this means is that by the time we all have 50meg unlimited cable broadband we'll be on Playstation 4 and we'll probably be using 500gig discs which you can learn about here: http://www.pioneer.eu/eur/content/press/news/500GB_Bluray.html With most users still on 2meg ADSL broadband, how long will it take to get everyone to get to 50meg? Then by the time PS4 rolls around 50meg is not going to be enough anymore!
Wow, panice from ps3 sales? or just plain idiocy? Considering the drive will probably cost something like $100/Ł70 (not bad at maths, england always gets f**ked in the ass on these things), that's more money you'll be spending to get the same experience as a ps3.
And people used to say Sony rip off other companies (they do too, but this is pretty dumb)
What about using a blu ray drive, which is capable of playing movies, but then encoding the discs for the games completely differently? Much in the same way that both blu-ray and HD-DVD used the same frequency laser to read their discs.
I can't see it happening for a few reasons. 1: What only_777 said about it making the 360 seem 'inferior' since the PS3's is in-built. 2: The format was actually co-developed and is partially owned by Sony, so why give it to your competitor? 3: Steve Ballmer = LOL. 4: It would make MS lose face because it would be like admitting that they were wrong about HD-DVD.
If Sony did allow MS the rights to make a Blu-ray drive, then MS would have to pay Sony (as well as the other co-owners of the format) a royalty. Sony making money from the 360? I don't think so.
I think that the next xbox will have blu-ray or a MS brand of disc being used. Sega had GD-roms on the Dreamcast so there is no reason MS can' t do something like that with the next xbox. I very much doubt that they will bring a Blu-ray drive to the 360 as it will just make PS3 look better as PS3 has Blu-Ray built in already.
As far a DL only goes, I think one day all media will be downloaded but I think that day is further away than we think. It works for Music becuase music is small and the file sizes wont ever get bigger plus we have great storage devices for music already. Films as far as tech goes could be done quite easy now for DVD stuff. But we don't have good enough storage dervices to store huge libarys of un-compressed movies and TV shows. If someone comes of with a 5 terabyte movie storage system them great. Games on the other hand pose the biggest problem. Home consoles get more powerful with each generation and each time the games require much more space to hold a game. Mega Drive had carts that were around 8MB, Playstation wer 650MB discs. Playstation 2 had 4.2gig DVDs and now Playstation 3 has 50gig Blu-rays. So what this means is that by the time we all have 50meg unlimited cable broadband we'll be on Playstation 4 and we'll probably be using 500gig discs which you can learn about here: http://www.pioneer.eu/eur/content/press/news/500GB_Bluray.html With most users still on 2meg ADSL broadband, how long will it take to get everyone to get to 50meg? Then by the time PS4 rolls around 50meg is not going to be enough anymore!
Good point there with the ever increasing disc space required.
Quite amazing looking at how fast the sizes required increases every few years.
I remember when a big game on PC weighed in around 500Mb of disk space.
New PC games now need 16Gb space and madness like that
I can't see it happening for a few reasons. 1: What only_777 said about it making the 360 seem 'inferior' since the PS3's is in-built. 2: The format was actually co-developed and is partially owned by Sony, so why give it to your competitor? 3: Steve Ballmer = LOL. 4: It would make MS lose face because it would be like admitting that they were wrong about HD-DVD.
If Sony did allow MS the rights to make a Blu-ray drive, then MS would have to pay Sony (as well as the other co-owners of the format) a royalty. Sony making money from the 360? I don't think so.
I think that is pretty naive. Although I agree about the built into PS3 example. Especially this gen, when BR is a big USP for the PS3 to alot of people.
But I would find it very, very hard to believe that MS couldn't make a BR drive due to Sony not allowing them. I think the other BR partners might have something to say about the lost revenue - and do you even need permission or do you just pay the licence.
As people have said, Sony package their PC's with Windows so I think that is making too much out of petty business tactics, when all they will care about is the bottom line. And BR drives work with Windows on PCs.
And I think it's pretty obvious that MS were wrong about HD-DVD. If MS don't believe they backed the wrong horse, then they really are deluded. Hardly any of the suits admit they are wrong - they're as bad a politicians.
Kaz, Tretton etc = lol too. And Reggie, Cammie etc!
Space is definitely an issue for 360 games now though.
Bear in mind that Sony had some involvement in the original DVD format as well, all this (potential) talk of Microsoft 'bowing to Sony's greatness' is pure fanboy BS.
Microsoft and Nintendo have used a co-developed Sony format(DVD) for years, and nobody even battered an eyelid .. Now all of a sudden its a big deal.
So really does it matter what powers the next xbox from an optical disc point of view?? ... As long as it does the job, seriously who cares ....
Well the dickhead chav Sony fanboys do, everybody else will just go on about their business as usual.
Oh and the whole 'theres no more room on DVD for games' argument has been done to death. It never stopped other games in the past , and it wont for some time to come.
So seriously get over it people ... It's not even a confirmed story yet anyway!!!
Didn't read through the comments. But, if/when the new Xbox comes out, surely they should implement Blu-Ray in that? Because HD-DVD is dead and it would make sense because Blu-Ray is quite established now. The Blu-Ray add-on would probably, in total, cost more than the PS3, which would be stupid. If this is true, I think it's a bad move because it'll be more expensive.
I would be completely surprised, if this was true, there's no logic in the move, for more than a few reasons, some mentioned above by others, but remember Natal's out next year, that's surely gonna hit the Ł100+ mark, they like the add-ons but two large scale add ons in what is likely to be less than a year apart if true, is a daft move on the platform holders part, and not one they are likely to make.
There's no real reason to bring a blu ray drive to the current box,not for games space anyway, remember Microsoft never wanted to make hd dvd or blu ray work, they dished out the cheque's to confuse a fragile new market, give the weaker one more strength and muddy the waters,( anyone remember the Jerry Brukheimer interview ??) Microsoft's long term goal has to be digital downloads, which may take a while, but it will get legs after a bit of time.
A BLU RAY drive on the next box is a likely factor, but that's for the space etc, that will surely be required for next (next) gen games.
Im pretty sure this is a rouse..and being taken overly dramatically by cvg ( well done, keeping up usual standards)
To the idiots who claim Microsoft will be directly funding sony with blu ray...... that's like saying " video piracy funds organised crime and international terrorism"......it is infinitely more complicated than that. get a grip and think about what you are writing...
And to the dude at the start who said get a 49,99 blu ray from makro...........yeah ok mate.... bet thats a great quality peice of kit
As stated it would probably be just as expensive as a stand alone player.
Stand alone players are so cheap now I have two Sony ones... One for Region A and one for Region B.
But yeah BR in nextbox makes sense ... In the great scheme of things it really doesn't matter .. (Only to the fanboy nob jockeys)
Have you tried searching for various "hack" codes online that enables a region free setting on one of the BR players? I did just that with my Samsung up-scaling DVD player and it worked beautifully the first time I entered the 6 digit code. I can now watch DVDs from any region in the world and all I had to do was find a "leaked" code online that activates already existing dormant coding in the DVD player. It may be harder/different for a BR player but it's not the best kept secret in the world that a number of manufacturers clearly started out creating their players as being capable of playing in any region. It does make sense as it would be easier for them to make an all-regions based player, and then specify which region it is to be sent to later on in the manufacturing process.
I doubt BR will kill off DVDs. I'm guessing we will live with both until probably some kind of "flash" based media. I would be happy with just DL myself but plenty of people don't have high speed internet so I think physical media will stay for quite some time. It would be nice to lose the spinning discat some point. Moving parts are not really needed anymore. I'll miss moving parts as they are SOOO much cooler than all this lame ass digital stuff. I think if I were to go BR I would get a stand alone BR player. 360 is a great machine as far as games and LIVE but it's lifespan is too short to bother buying a BR attachment now. Maybe a few years ago but not if the "720" is coming out in 2012 or so. That and the BR library is filled with crap films only 14 year old boys like.
MS have more or less admited that they wanted both Blu Ray and HDD to fail, which is why they backed HDD. They knew it would fail and hoped they could drag blue ray down with it. They would then be in the possition to control the HD download market, which is the way it all seems to be going, so its kind of working. I guess the fact the Blue ray is still kicking is a spanner in the works for now though.
The dude who said that the PS3 is a poor blue ray player, doesn't know his stuff. If you read any tec magazines it still gets great reviews as a BR player even now, a few years after release. Its one of a few players that can connect to the internet and download firm ware updates which makes all the difference.
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