The 360 will never live up to the PS3 unless it can beef up its capacity. The obvious way for it to do that is to embrace a next-gen format optical media, be it Blu-Ray, HD-DVD or what ever else comes to pass. Another method would be to make for use of online content, but not
all of us have 150Mbit Intenet connections to benefit. So really the only option for them is to go Blu-Ray. Probably an add-on initially and then internal on newer machines.

MS will undoubtedly have their rear-quaters pinned against the wall now. As PS3 games get bigger and better, the 360 will decline further and further, unless MS bite the bullet and go with the flow. Also I think the DRM that comes with Blu-Ray will be quite welcomed due to it's inbuilt anti-piracy features. I'm sure however that not everyone will agree with that though, because there are always anti-competetive uses for DRM too....

Originally posted by simpsim1:

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The 360 will never live up to the PS3 unless it can beef up its capacity. The obvious way for it to do that is to embrace a next-gen format optical media, be it Blu-Ray, HD-DVD or what ever else comes to pass. Another method would be to make for use of online content, but not
all of us have 150Mbit Intenet connections to benefit. So really the only option for them is to go Blu-Ray. Probably an add-on initially and then internal on newer machines.

MS will undoubtedly have their rear-quaters pinned against the wall now. As PS3 games get bigger and better, the 360 will decline further and further, unless MS bite the bullet and go with the flow. Also I think the DRM that comes with Blu-Ray will be quite welcomed due to it's inbuilt anti-piracy features. I'm sure however that not everyone will agree with that though, because there are always anti-competetive uses for DRM too....

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not really if the 360 moved all premiums to the 120GB HDD and dropped the ban on devs making games that work with larger HDD the the 360 would do fine however the 360 is such a mishmash they would be better of going with BR.

hell get me a 360 with a 4X BR drive and a 120GB HDD for 400$ and I will join the ranks of the MS consoletards ^^

just a little more info mates

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Game sites are abuzz with rumours that one-time HD DVD stalwart Microsoft is now considering a Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360. Speculation is swinging both ways, with some pundits claiming it to be improbable and others stating that talks are already underway.

Let’s look at the issue from a few different perspectives.

First off, current rumours aside, how likely is an Xbox 360 Blu-ray drive? I remember being in the audience for Bill Gates’ keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2006 when he casually mentioned that Microsoft could create an external Blu-ray drive just as easily as the HD DVD drive that it planned to ship later that year. That tells me two things: 1) Microsoft has, at the very least, given the idea some thought over the last few years, and 2) in terms of technology, an Xbox 360 Blu-ray drive is quite feasible.

Next, what form might this hypothetical gizmo take? Is an external drive the only option, or could we see a Super-Duper Elite Xbox 360 with internal Blu-ray capabilities instead? It’s anyone’s guess at this point. An external drive might seem the obvious choice, since it could easily be attached to the 20 million Xbox 360s already in people’s homes, but such a device would only happen if Microsoft can make one on the cheap (and keep in mind they would have to license the technology from Sony—oh, to be a fly on the wall in those meetings).

And that brings us to the final question: Does it make sense? From the perspective of Xbox 360 owners, an external drive would simply be a way to watch high-definition movies, offering no advantage to the games they play. Identical functionality could be obtained just as easily by purchasing any number of standalone players—including a PlayStation 3. The Super-Duper Elite Xbox 360 with integrated Blu-ray drive we imagined above might be appealing to first time buyers of Microsoft’s console, but it would almost certainly be prohibitively expensive.

The bottom line is this: Regardless of the form it might take, if a Blu-ray drive does find its way to Microsoft’s current console, it will be—at best—a niche product.

Personally, I’m more interested to learn about the optical drive technology going into the next generation Xbox, which has been forecast to arrive as early as 2010. Is there any option other than Blu-ray? Will Microsoft be forced into a key partnership with one of its greatest competitors?

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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/s...wgtgameblog0301

-tripplite

As far as I know there is not reason why they can not run games off the external drive.

there is also no reason why a BR unit for the 360 can not have a cord that plugs into a new HDMI cable that can output HDCP correctly....


they can make it they just do not want to!

Who's does this really shock...No one ! like i said before all this crap started Microsoft was using HD-DVD.Microsoft has never commit to anything from any company & Always make a escape route out(HD-DVD) when things get bad.How do you think they got so rich? bending people over all the time.

Originally posted by NexGen76:

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Who's does this really shock...No one ! like i said before all this crap started Microsoft was using HD-DVD.Microsoft has never commit to anything from any company & Always make a escape route out(HD-DVD) when things get bad.How do you think they got so rich? bending people over all the time.

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and sony doesn't?

I mean the 360 would have been great it was not easy baked...
with or without the HDVD internal drive :P

you will not see an internal blu-ray drive for the 360 used for gaming, nor will you see an external BD drive for the 360 that will be used to play blu-ray 360 games. movies is another story. plain and simple, and the logic is fairly straight forward.

it would be one hell of a nightmare for developers if the unlikely scenario came to light. devs would have to revamp their market prices for one thing, they would have create two versions of the same game (one on BLU n one on DVD), this would only create problems for consumers. How many people have bought the wrong version of a PC game for example? i myself know of more than just a few folks that bought the DVD version of a PC game when their computer didn't have the supporting drive. imagine xmas time and all the uneducated parents buying their kids games.

the Blu version would or i guess SHOULD have more maps, missions, layout, weapons, modes, wtf ever you want to fill in here. Why? namely the HUGE amount of space available. i mean devs either keep the same amount of content available on both formats which would then mean there WOULD HAVE TO BE A PRICE CUT for the DVD version of the game or they include more stuff in BD version and charge more for it. there is ABSOLUTELY NO JUSTIFCATION FOR A DEVELOPER charging the same amount for a DVD version as they do for the BLU version on the SAME SYSTEM. ps3 and 360 game pricing comparisons are a little different. yes i am not happy that there are 360/PC games released on DVD and for w/e reason cost sometimes $10 MORE on the 360 than PC. enough of the rampage i could go on but the whole concept is silly. it won't be utilized for gaming.

Blu-ray is one of a HUGE advantages the ps3 has over the 360 in terms of longevity. MGS4 will help illustrate this point

at the very most expect an external Blu-ray add-on and i wouldn't expect one for sometime...

not to mention an internal BD drive in the 360 would only jack the price up, which would then make it even more inferior to the ps3. i and most rational individuals expect ps3 prices to only decrease so this would certainly hinder the 360.

YES I DO OWN BOTH A 360 and PS3 so take everything for what its worth...an opinion

hade
..uummm....... you don't do it day 1 you spend about 15 months telling the sheep day in day and out the game line is begin moved BR, then at the end of 15 months let devs build as see fit not with the Gdamn console mins in mind this is what has decimated the 360 by limiting the game to foolish minimums.

spend time getting the word out then let devs chose to move to it,some will some wont but its better than staying with the default crappy minimums!

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hade
..uummm....... you don't do it day 1 you spend about 15 months telling the sheep day in day and out the game line is begin moved BR, then at the end of 15 months let devs build as see fit not with the Gdamn console mins in mind this is what has decimated the 360 by limiting the game to foolish minimums.

spend time getting the word out then let devs chose to move to it,some will some wont but its better than staying with the default crappy minimums!

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if that held and some devs decided to soley release on BLU it would ultimately FORCE 360 OWNERS to UPGRADE if they wanted certain titles. last time i looked into some forums the idea of FORCING A FORMAT on individuals isn't something looked highly upon.

if anything the idea of forcing formats on people, could be the very reason why they went with a 360 in the first place. this whole thing would only chap their ass and pee more than just a few gamers off.

also don't ignore price increases. there is no way microsoft could effectively include a BD drive in their console without having to charge a few extra pennies.

ps3 prices are decreasing and a 360(+ internal BD) would be increasing. which do you think consumers would go for? im sorry but i really don't see any way microsoft could release a SKU that is comparable to what sony is offering (wireless bluetooth controller, wireless connectivity, free online to name a few). (when i bought my premium 360 it did not INCLUDE RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES, that is another cost incurred by consumers. often 20+ dollars.)

try not to bring up game library argument because at that point, it won't hold as much bearing. why? HOME, LittleBigPlanet, MGS4, Killzone2 and lets say GranTurismo will more than likely have been released in a years time.

don't hold your breath on this one...

EDIT:::i think some are beginning to see that digital downloads won't see mass adoption for quite some time. Blu-ray is now and the future for however long that may last but expect it to hold its own for more than just a few years...

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hade
..uummm....... you don't do it day 1 you spend about 15 months telling the sheep day in day and out the game line is begin moved BR, then at the end of 15 months let devs build as see fit not with the Gdamn console mins in mind this is what has decimated the 360 by limiting the game to foolish minimums.

spend time getting the word out then let devs chose to move to it,some will some wont but its better than staying with the default crappy minimums!

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if that held and some devs decided to soley release on BLU it would ultimately FORCE 360 OWNERS to UPGRADE if they wanted certain titles. last time i looked into some forums the idea of FORCING A FORMAT on individuals isn't something looked highly upon.

if anything the idea of forcing formats on people, could be the very reason why they went with a 360 in the first place. this whole thing would only chap their ass and pee more than just a few gamers off.

also don't ignore price increases. there is no way microsoft could effectively include a BD drive in their console without having to charge a few extra pennies.

ps3 prices are decreasing and a 360(+ internal BD) would be increasing. which do you think consumers would go for? im sorry but i really don't see any way microsoft could release a SKU that is comparable to what sony is offering (wireless bluetooth controller, wireless connectivity, free online to name a few). (when i bought my premium 360 it did not INCLUDE RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES, that is another cost incurred by consumers. often 20+ dollars.)

try not to bring up game library argument because at that point, it won't hold as much bearing. why? HOME, LittleBigPlanet, MGS4, Killzone2 and lets say GranTurismo will more than likely have been released in a years time.

don't hold your breath on this one...

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.......................... better to upgrade for 200 in a couple years to a model 2 of the 360 than buy a 500$ Xbox 2.......

oy vay do any of you recall the Sega CD it was a great system that only needed more games, they can smoothly transition from DVD to BR it would be great for the 360 and in 2 years time they could halve the 360 BR player price.

a BR enabled 360 would be about 500,that would be the new elite, the whole line could be moved to it in a year or 2 after at about 390 a premium 200 for the arcade,fraknly if it dose'nt have a HDD don't bother selling it.

MS could easily move to BR,polish up the hardware some and do it at a cost thats no worse than the PS3, IF MS can focus and keep the qaulity stable and prices low theres no reason not to do it.

2 years time mircosoft better have another system well under development as the 360 will have been out for almost 5 years. xbox only lasted 4 years and if history repeats as it usually does, i'd expect another system announced or due-out relatively close to the timeframe your referring to. i don't see it to their benefit given the scenario.

i really don't think the addon in two years would be $200 but then it would be used for movies and games so maybe it would be that high. however with that said, i don't think its too farfetched to say that the PS3 wouldn't be around that very same price in a couple years time. why not just buy a ps3? CLEARLY an ans about superior 360 graphics won't hold much weight.

in the early going of the ps3, graphics when compared to the 360 were often inferior. this however is not as apparent today even with the 360s early start. yes we do see some discrepancies but they often fall back on the devs themselves. so i think its fair to expect games to start looking better on the PS3 in the near future. just look at launch ps2 games to what we see now. so going back to my question about "why not just buy a ps3," i think things are much better given this layout for the ps3 than 360. especially the lower the price tag of the ps3 in the future which is something A LOT of individuals are WAITING for.

edit. also zippy imagine microsoft releasing yet another 360 version, one with blu-ray and go back to all the problems that plagued and still plague the 360 currently w/o blu-ray. i got my 360 in late august and by october it was a POS and i had to send it in. OVER a YEAR later and they still couldn't get all the bugs out. i don't put much faith in microsoft and new hardware, especially relatively NEW HARDWARE like Blu-ray

hade

And the main reason for the 360s graphical inferiority cant be because they have to save as much space as possible on the disc....

besides the 360s glaring issues, if MS can move the 360 to BR and have the 360 units themselfs cost no more than 20$ LESS than the PS3 units and have the HDD's affordable and have the add BR device be no more than 170 by 010 there is no reason the 360 can not survive until 013 or 014.

With BR and all units with a HDD bigger than the 20GB the 360 is the PS3s equal, why do I say this its like comparing the GC to the Xbox or the PS2 to the GC,when it comes down to it the difference would be so merger its not worth mentioning.

I would rather have MS move the line to BR than have them poo out another poorly designed mess in 3 years, the next MS console better damn well be built with consolers in mind not MS's coke snorting exes!!

Quite frankly who gives a toss,i'm sure i'm not the only who does'nt own a PS3 or 360 & instead are waiting till they both drop to a more reasonable price like $250.nz dollars (should happen before the year 2020 i hope)..lol..,maaaan i got ps2 & xbox games i ain't never played & only now got all four consoles chipped,so that should see me right for a bit longer,just a shame microsux does'nt continue making xbox 1 games or at least re-issue old ones,yeah anyway back on topic it's just a waiting game to see if the ol pox gets a blu ray of death drive since the next gen consoles are being worked on as we type,i can't really see the point of a blu drive unless ya can run games from it & hook it up to a pc or such like

scorpNZ

If thats about 150 US dollars I will agree :P

i don't want to drag this on too long but another thing to remember is microsoft is not a hardware based or electronic giant like sony. mass production and sony's involvement in the electronics industry are only two key factors to how sony is able to produce and charge what they do. they are reportedly already making a profit on the ps3, yes they do outsource as well but ms has to do and rely on A LOT more outsourcing. this can and usually is costly when compared to inhouse production. why? because MS doesn't have the facilities, employees, and resources readily available to meet production demands and surely startup costs are through the roof and probably not recoverable for some time so they are forced to rely on others. when you have to rely on others, they can and do charge a little more than they probably should...

hade
you dragging ni chan :P

MS makes more in OS's anyway... *rolls eyes*

MS can do a better job at price and build for that mater they have the contact's they just wont use them plus they have a product they are making money off of and do not "have" to do anything more than keep the hype up.

Its a typical corporation tactic no surprise there.


I see nothing but good from MS moving to BR that with some polish in other areas the 360 could be a great console.

4X BR drive for film and games both internal and external
Keep new BR units under 500(elite)/200(addon) for the first year,move to 400(premium)/150(addon) there after.

Drop live fees
50$ 100GB HDDs

MS has the buying power to offset consumer cost they can do it....but they will not they will most likely come out with a Xbox2 in 3 years that has broken BWC and a even worse anti user theme than the 360....

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I would bet my bottom dollar that sony is pushing this. Blu Ray Doesn't really benefit M$ because they're not going to release games on it when most systems are don't have blu Ray. Sony wants to get as many blu Ray players out there as possible because they think this is the future of their company, PS3 and 360 are just pawns.

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I strongly disagree! if M$ dose NOT release a BR drive i will MOST likely be buying a PS3 in addition to my 360 just for the BR player! I feel it would be smart for M$ to release an add on just to detour the few/many that may go buy a PS3 just for my same reason! hummm, $400 for a version 1 BR player or $400 for a BR/PS3 player/system that is upgrading to version 2 BR player! i think i go for the PS3 choice! unless i cna buy a BR addon for say under $200! & not have to find another jack for my t.v. buy an hdmi selector, or buy another power strip & add clutter to my entertainment system! (all tho there will be another power supply with the BR add on also...)or oh wait have to plug yet anothe ritem into my home network!

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I'm in the same boat with this guy. There are zero PS3 games that interest me but its the cheapest and best Blu-Ray player out so i've been seriously thinking about buying one. If MS can get the add-on to be exactly like the HD-DVD addon ($199 and compatible with XP/Vista), i'll be buying this. It'll be the cheapest BluRay player and the cheapest Blu-Ray PC drive.

This is the only thing that will detour me from using torrents as my HD source.

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I would bet my bottom dollar that sony is pushing this. Blu Ray Doesn't really benefit M$ because they're not going to release games on it when most systems are don't have blu Ray. Sony wants to get as many blu Ray players out there as possible because they think this is the future of their company, PS3 and 360 are just pawns.

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I strongly disagree! if M$ dose NOT release a BR drive i will MOST likely be buying a PS3 in addition to my 360 just for the BR player! I feel it would be smart for M$ to release an add on just to detour the few/many that may go buy a PS3 just for my same reason! hummm, $400 for a version 1 BR player or $400 for a BR/PS3 player/system that is upgrading to version 2 BR player! i think i go for the PS3 choice! unless i cna buy a BR addon for say under $200! & not have to find another jack for my t.v. buy an hdmi selector, or buy another power strip & add clutter to my entertainment system! (all tho there will be another power supply with the BR add on also...)or oh wait have to plug yet anothe ritem into my home network!

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I'm in the same boat with this guy. There are zero PS3 games that interest me but its the cheapest and best Blu-Ray player out so i've been seriously thinking about buying one. If MS can get the add-on to be exactly like the HD-DVD addon ($199 and compatible with XP/Vista), i'll be buying this. It'll be the cheapest BluRay player and the cheapest Blu-Ray PC drive.

This is the only thing that will detour me from using torrents as my HD source.

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I have seen 150$ PC BR players

there will not be any posibility of playing games from an external "official" drive... never.. They are too paranoid of giving anybody the kind of access to the data stream and security.

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Originally posted by ville30:

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Meh I wouldn't buy the external drive since my xbox doesn't have HDMI. VGA is alright for gaming and watching DVDs. I'll wait for profile 2.0 bluray players to be released.

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All 360s can have hdmi now, mad catz makes an adapter to that plugs in the back of the 360 and gives you hdmi.

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All 360s can have hdmi now, mad catz makes an adapter to that plugs in the back of the 360 and gives you hdmi.

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the only port on the back of ANY 360 (beside usb and power) is a female HDMI, whether or not your cables are 1080i grade is another story...

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Originally posted by ZippyDSM:

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scorpNZ

If thats about 150 US dollars I will agree :P

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That price sounds good to me i'll contact you & wire some money to ya as soon as the price gets there, it'll save me a few more dollars if i buy American hehehe ,it's the advantage of having mates living overseas,since you can't direct import from the US :p

about console add-ons:

in 4 years or so, microsoft will probably be moving once again into another new console. (xbox720?)
the question is whether or not they would build an entirely new box or try and add hardware to the old.
one look at console gaming history would suggest the whole new box would be the way to go, with sega cd, etc.

then you think about sony's "10-year-plan," and whether or not ps3 can pull it off.
if you say it will, you take a second look (back at sega) into console history, and remember the dreamcast.
one year before ps2, it was the best thing ever. then it was, economically, blown out of the water.
sega never made another console.
the xbox720 might be there two years before ps4, but that might end up being its only two good years.



what i'm hoping is that there's gonna be a big box that you plug the whole wii into.
it will have an enormous hard drive, as well as several other hardware upgrades.

nintendo fantasy system ftw

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umm... they dont have to support Blue-Ray at all, use DVD-9 and have 4 Disc sets, its Possible.

On another note why when people look at BR, they go ahh thats Hi-Def media. Its in this marketing flaw that people are sadly miss taken.

4 7.95 Gig discs can easily Match that of a single layer BR disc.

its not the disc thats hi-def its the Content on the format witch is Hi-Def.

Originally posted by DXR88:

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umm... they dont have to support Blue-Ray at all, use DVD-9 and have 4 Disc sets, its Possible.

On another note why when people look at BR, they go ahh thats Hi-Def media. Its in this marketing flaw that people are sadly miss taken.

4 7.95 Gig discs can easily Match that of a single layer BR disc.

its not the disc thats hi-def its the Content on the format witch is Hi-Def.

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they can't do that because of the way they have done the HDDs the HDD cashing and live MP support it can not be done without MS's content and they wont have anything to do with multi disc MP gamings.

Honestly Zippy, Its my game if i want it to be on half a billon floppy's i have that right.

And the whole MP issue is nonsense on there part. Simply because when i load into a new map on an online compatitioin, it could say please insert 3rd disc.

MS hurts my feeling its like the expect me to be so fat i cant get up otta my lazy boy and put in the 3rd disc.

the Multi disc format did come with Lost Odessy, i honestly want too here people say its because its an rpg. thats why its Multi-Disc format