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[Redbeard]

So what does this mean then, an add-on HD-DVD drive later on?

 

[kaching]

By themselves, these statements mean very little. MS is just trying be coy for as long as possible about the specifics of the next gen Xbox. They're just trying to leave as many avenues open in the minds of potential buyers.

Does raise a question though - two generations of optical disc-based consoles, why haven't we seen one with a swappable drive bay for the optical disc medium?

 

[FitzOfRage]

Does raise a question though - two generations of optical disc-based consoles, why haven't we seen one with a swappable drive bay for the optical disc medium?

That doesn't seem practical. I really don't think people would want to deal with that.

 

[kaching]

They wouldn't necessarily have to deal with anything - console ships with drive already inserted, ready to go. No different than current consoles. Where it's convenient is if the drive goes bad, you can more easily replace just the drive rather than sending the whole console off for repair. And it also allows for the possibility of offering drives with improved technology later on (supports newer formats, faster drive speeds, etc.)

 

[3rdman]

Why is it assumed that multiple versions of the 360 couldn't have different drives? As long as all the games come on DVD-9 disks and the drives can read it, why not include an HD-DVD drive into an "elite" version?

 

[CaptainABAB]

Why is it assumed that multiple versions of the 360 couldn't have different drives? As long as all the games come on DVD-9 disks and the drives can read it, why not include an HD-DVD drive into an "elite" version?

Exactly - which is why they can wait till next year to release a high-end version with blu-ray/hd-dvd or whatever the standard becomes.

Adding swappable-drives will add too much cost to the base unit to support this (extra molding, circuitry, etc.), never mind that it would increase the size of the console. And let's not even go into the customer service issues that might came about.

Whether it makes business sense to release a PSX version of the 360 remains to be seen.

 

[Panajev2001a]

They wouldn't necessarily have to deal with anything - console ships with drive already inserted, ready to go. No different than current consoles. Where it's convenient is if the drive goes bad, you can more easily replace just the drive rather than sending the whole console off for repair. And it also allows for the possibility of offering drives with improved technology later on (supports newer formats, faster drive speeds, etc.)

Great, so we give customers the ability to replace the optical drive with another one with different specs: developers fond of a closed-down specs system must love such an idea .

 

[kaching]

Somehow, I don't think devs would have that hard of a time dealing with a platform that has only a few manufacturer sanctioned hardware variations.

 

[xsarien]

By themselves, these statements mean very little. MS is just trying be coy for as long as possible about the specifics of the next gen Xbox. They're just trying to leave as many avenues open in the minds of potential buyers.

They have, what, less than a week until everything's out in the open? It seems rather futile.