ATJaguarX2
Banned
Kinda like this?
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Peter Moore says 360 could see Blu-Ray addon
- Thread starter Matlock
- Start date
Oh, its not a disaster but I think that now that the X360 has launched, it would be better for its general perception to stay the course rather than try to make course corrections to this degree which only seem to cast light on the fact that the original course wasn't particularly well thought out. As much as possible, its better to present a console as an elegant, enclosed solution. If MS does go ahead and release an external drive for the 360 they will be endorsing the value of this feature (next gen optical media), while their competitor will be sporting a better integrated and more generally useful (movies AND games) implementation of it.DCharlie said:
If we're going to be talking about option external drives for the 360 so soon after launch, I personally have to wonder why they didn't just make the optical drive swappable in the first place. Instead we got a swappable faceplate which, by the nature of its design, make the memory card and USB slots a pain to access because they're so deeply recessed. Its an area of the system's design that doesn't speak well to their efforts to future proof functionality as much as possible.
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
kaching said:
That was a refreshingly cogent and rational response. I feel that the same could be said in the opposite direction, especially considering that the question of what titles will be available on what format is still up in the air. I'd kind of rather that my gaming console didn't make that decision for me.
That being said, I think that a lot of MS' approach to accesories is in many ways wrongheaded (HDD), but in this instance I appreciate that they're keeping entertainment choices, especially ones that are currently mired in such a divisive format war, up to me and not specifically backing one horse. (Which Sony is obligated to do. I think this is an advantage of MS. They can have nice partnerships and all, but their bottom line isn't directly tied to any HD Disc format.)
Also, and I think this is something that will become much clearer by around 2007 when Broadband standards increase, the first HD format to make the biggest impact on the average consumer will be downloadable. I do think Sony is prepared for this eventuality with the PS3 (if and when they include an HDD with it) but the 360 is already doing it as of a month ago. The fact that I could watch a movie trailer in HD on my TV without worrying about Windows Media Center or a Wireless Hub or any of that craziness was a true step into the future. The easiest way for the consumer to get HD content today is through Cable. They go to Cablevision. Pick up the box. Plug it in. Done. They don't need to worry about standards or boxes or converters. They don't need to invest anything more than another eight bucks a month. They just need to know that their TV supports 1080i. No library replacement or any of the things that could potentially puzzle or frustrate your average consumer.
The most important thing MS had to do right they've already done. The Wireless Receiver on the 360 supports 802.11g. That's how I see HD content primarily working in the long run. Downloadable or streaming content, Cable-style. Whether or not the PS3 will be able to do this is still up in the air. (Sony having an enormous amount invested in many music and film corporations will undoubtedly work to make it happen in some form, though.) The 360 has already fired the opening shots.
monkeymagic
Banned
BenjaminBirdie said:
The PS3 has built in WiFi 802.11g.
Couple this with Sony's Connect service and TV shows, movies, music and games will all be downloadable.
As we will soon see with PSP.
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
monkeymagic said:
So everybody wins! Why are people sniping at each other, then?
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
xsarien said:
Well, I wouldn't be so bold with that statement, mon frere. Not until we get a price for the PS3. Could be even steven for all we know. ($400 + $100 = $500)
At their heart, the HD disc formats are still just storage formats. Being tied to a particularly HD Video format that may lose in a few years shouldn't matter much to a closed system like a console whose software is proprietary anyway. Just because X360 games are burned on standard DVD ROMs doesn't mean I'm going to be playing them on any old DVD player. The best reason why to offer support for a next-gen optical storage medium for a game console is thrown out the window with MS's current external drive proposal that will only support an HD Video format that may or may not succeed. If they had integrated a next gen optical storage format into the core console design, they would have actually taken away the concern over BD/HDDVD viability in a few years, since you wouldn't have to worry about the drive being used just for HD video. And no doubt the drive still would have been compatible with the currently successful DVD video format.BenjaminBirdie said:
Integrated, used for the platforms proprietary software as well as movies, you're simply guaranteed a better ROI. External, used only for playback of an unproven video format, there's a much better chance of the particular hardware investment not yielding as high an ROI.
monkeymagic
Banned
BenjaminBirdie said:
Well the relative merits of MS' and Sony's downloadable content service aren't being discussed in this thread.
psycho_snake
I went to WAGs boutique and all I got was a sniff
I have to agree with DCharlie here. MS have made an extension which is available to those who want it and those who dont care aboiut it can just ignore it. How exactly is it a bad thing?
monkeymagic
Banned
xsarien said:
And another $150-$250 (depending on how much of the cost MS eats up) for the HD-DVD add-on.
BenjaminBirdie said:
Wanna chuck in the price of X360's HD-DVD drive while we're at it?
Currently it's impossible to completely match PS3's hardware functionality with add-ons for X360, but if you could, I imagine it'd likely cost you quite a bit more than a PS3 probably will. Unless MS does a massive about-turn on their peripheral pricing.
psycho_snake
I went to WAGs boutique and all I got was a sniff
But the cost of PS3 could be equivilant to the cost of Xbox360 + the add on.xsarien said:
monkeymagic
Banned
psycho_snake said:
X360 core + WiFi + HD-DVD = $549-$649
X360 premium + WiFi + HD-DVD = $649-$749
Unless PS3 comes in at more than $549 it's going to be better value and a simpler option for consumers.
Going by Sony's previous pricing models (PSOne, PS2, PSP) it will come in at $299-$399 - a saving of $150 at its highest price point.
Guy LeDouche
Banned
An X360 equivilant to the PS3 would include both the wifi add-on and the HD-DVD add-on, as many have stated.psycho_snake said:
psycho_snake
I went to WAGs boutique and all I got was a sniff
Well thanks for clearing that out for me.monkeymagic said:
DCharlie said:
Huh?
In the case of of PS3, you have to take the cost of the BluRay drive and laser assembly only ... and subtract off what a DVD driver and laser assembly would cost. Everything else is handled by HW that already exists on the machine. Note that they also receive the drive 'at cost'.
For MS, you have to pay for everything except the decoding chip (which one would assume is handled by 360). The means the drive, the laser assembly, the power supply + transformer, the HDMI outputs + transmitter, the USB connection (and/or some sort of other way to connect to the 360), the case, etc, etc, etc. Then factor in that Toshiba needs to make at least some money on this. Actually, even if they were to give it to MS 'at cost' for business reasons (penetration, mind-share, etc), Toshiba doesn't fab all aspects of the unit and would therefore be passing on all of those costs.
Two TOTALLY different situations.