I say let sleeping dogs sleep. rumors are rumors. and bill releasing the xbox licensing only when god opens up the gates of hell and demons poor into the graves of the dead,will he even think about it he wont do it, but he'll think about it. and turning the xbox into a dvr will require a complete restructure of current hardware The HDMI port is only output not input. there is one wire that is input and its only function is to determane what your tv can handle 720p 1080p/i

im honestly fine with my xbox and do not plan on jumping on the 720/1080p movie bandwagon.

but if they do. how much do u think they'd jack up the price on the 360 with an internal HDDVD drive?

cause to me its prolly worth another 50/70 bux in my opinion of course. after all Msoft has to remain competitive if they do indeed proceed with this action. staying below PS3's price point is a must to stay ahead. but i'd also like to add that it should have built in WiFi.

the bloody Wii has it. and that thing is cheaper. just sayin Msoft. look at the only competition really beating u.

For me this is a great move if true if for gaming, without the gaming aspect of it its a pointless maneuver to slop out SKUs to mindlessly push console sales and worse yet MS might just let others build the 360 although this might be a good thing if a coherent manufacture could build one that didn't bake itself.

Personally I love this move I want them to finish the polish on the 360 and fix it issues move the platform to HDVD and have expanded gaming and they could do this easily if they just upgrade the line with no added cost and drop the HDVD add on by 30-90$ make the add on the cost of 2 games or less and you will not have any trouble moving to HDVD gaming.

Truthfully though I know they will do this with no forethought just for alil movie raking and slopping it out so someone else can build it,

I'm not sure it's a great move for gaming Zippy (if i misunderstand you, please forgive me :) ).

If the games are on HDM, the existing X360's can't play them :( Even if the hd-dvd add-ons are cheap, the general Xbox gaming community will be confused (maybe not for long, but definitely some initial confusion). There will be rants, outcries, and definitely Sony fanboys/girls "hahaha"s.

It's a great move for HD-DVDs nonetheless, and if i haven't already gotten the X360 with the add-on, that's the package i was looking for.

Originally posted by Gnawnivek:

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I'm not sure it's a great move for gaming Zippy (if i misunderstand you, please forgive me :) ).

If the games are on HDM, the existing X360's can't play them :( Even if the hd-dvd add-ons are cheap, the general Xbox gaming community will be confused (maybe not for long, but definitely some initial confusion). There will be rants, outcries, and definitely Sony fanboys/girls "hahaha"s.

It's a great move for HD-DVDs nonetheless, and if i haven't already gotten the X360 with the add-on, that's the package i was looking for.

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First off tis better than moving to a new console one can start it for gaming and set the add on price to no more than the price of 2 games at the same time just add the HDVD internal drives to the 360 line up and not change its price or one could within reason raise the price to near launch prices.

Now if they want to price gouge or go for moive only or only have the new whole units as the only way to play the HDVD games it will fail, get it to the consumer cheap and you will sale games like crazy!.

I am very sad that MS keeps making so many different configuration for the 360. That also applies to the PS3. I keep wanting to get one but I am afraid that they are going to add another sku and the one I would have bought would then be cheaper. Before they make any "Ultimate" version or in general another sku, they need to fix the RROD issue first. Get that fix and I am sure a lot of people wouldn't case about the multiple sku.

Originally posted by ikari:

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I am very sad that MS keeps making so many different configuration for the 360. That also applies to the PS3. I keep wanting to get one but I am afraid that they are going to add another sku and the one I would have bought would then be cheaper. Before they make any "Ultimate" version or in general another sku, they need to fix the RROD issue first. Get that fix and I am sure a lot of people wouldn't case about the multiple sku.

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I don't mind MS's "upgrade" setup it always sucks to buy it the first year or 2 so this is merely a expansion on it, however I am fed up with the hardware issues and the locked HDD these are my main 2 complaints about the 360.

The PS3 was just poorly put together and sold to the public the rehashed revisions to save their bottom line at the cost of features and consumer care is far worse than MS's upgrade plan however even with the exstned warrty the 360 hardware issues are just pathitic.

Zippy, i won't say the PS3 is a "poorly put together" console. It's really a nice solid machine. Let's put the library of games aside, we all know it's not a fair comparison. The number of options in the PS3's setting menu are much much more in depth than that of the X360's Dashboard. For one thing, on the PS3, you have the option of selecting audio/video through HDMI or component (for audio, you can also select Optical or Coaxial). On the X360, you can't do this, well, the HDMI port is covered if you're using the component cable. Not only that, if you're "forced" to use the component cable, you can only obtain digital audio through Optical socket (on the back of the component cable, not the console). There's no coaxial input on the X360. The other biggie is the lack of build-in WiFi in the X360.

Gnawnivek
in features and unit SKUs sucks and thats what I meant, it was quite slopped together while MS used duct tape to patch the 360s issues, sony glazed over the PS3s faults from the start and the 40GB unit is pure BS.

The PS3 dose have better hardware and more polish on it andits media features and if you can tag a PS3 60GB unit for 300-450 its a better overall vaule than anything the 360 is offering, but lets face it hardware is the only thing the pS3 has on the 360 the rest of it is just as messed up.

It don't matter because it looks like this Format War going to come to a end Warner is going BD exclsive May of 08.I really think MS going to back out this announcement now that Warner has came out & going to be BD exclsive.I would like to see 360 with a built in BD drive.





(January 4, 2008 – Burbank, CA) – In response to consumer demand, Warner Bros. Entertainment will release its high-definition DVD titles exclusively in the Blu-ray disc format beginning later this year, it was announced today by Barry Meyer, Chairman & CEO, Warner Bros. and Kevin Tsujihara, President, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group.

“Warner Bros.’ move to exclusively release in the Blu-ray disc format is a strategic decision focused on the long term and the most direct way to give consumers what they want,” said Meyer. “The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger. We believe that exclusively distributing in Blu-ray will further the potential for mass market success and ultimately benefit retailers, producers, and most importantly, consumers.”

Warner Home Video will continue to release its titles in standard DVD format and Blu-ray. After a short window following their standard DVD and Blu-ray releases, all new titles will continue to be released in HD DVD until the end of May 2008.

“Warner Bros. has produced in both high-definition formats in an effort to provide consumer choice, foster mainstream adoption and drive down hardware prices,” said Jeff Bewkes, President and Chief Executive Officer, Time Warner Inc., the parent company of Warner Bros. Entertainment. “Today’s decision by Warner Bros. to distribute in a single format comes at the right time and is the best decision both for consumers and Time Warner.”

“A two-format landscape has led to consumer confusion and indifference toward high definition, which has kept the technology from reaching mass adoption and becoming the important revenue stream that it can be for the industry,” said Tsujihara. “Consumers have clearly chosen Blu-ray, and we believe that recognizing this preference is the right step in making this great home entertainment experience accessible to the widest possible audience. Warner Bros. has worked very closely with the Toshiba Corporation in promoting high definition media and we have enormous respect for their efforts. We look forward to working with them on other projects in the future.”

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/bo...in-that-format/

Originally posted by NexGen76:

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It don't matter because it looks like this Format War going to come to a end Warner is going BD exclsive May of 08.I really think MS going to back out this announcement now that Warner has came out & going to be BD exclsive.I would like to see 360 with a built in BD drive.





(January 4, 2008 – Burbank, CA) – In response to consumer demand, Warner Bros. Entertainment will release its high-definition DVD titles exclusively in the Blu-ray disc format beginning later this year, it was announced today by Barry Meyer, Chairman & CEO, Warner Bros. and Kevin Tsujihara, President, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group.

“Warner Bros.’ move to exclusively release in the Blu-ray disc format is a strategic decision focused on the long term and the most direct way to give consumers what they want,” said Meyer. “The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger. We believe that exclusively distributing in Blu-ray will further the potential for mass market success and ultimately benefit retailers, producers, and most importantly, consumers.”

Warner Home Video will continue to release its titles in standard DVD format and Blu-ray. After a short window following their standard DVD and Blu-ray releases, all new titles will continue to be released in HD DVD until the end of May 2008.

“Warner Bros. has produced in both high-definition formats in an effort to provide consumer choice, foster mainstream adoption and drive down hardware prices,” said Jeff Bewkes, President and Chief Executive Officer, Time Warner Inc., the parent company of Warner Bros. Entertainment. “Today’s decision by Warner Bros. to distribute in a single format comes at the right time and is the best decision both for consumers and Time Warner.”

“A two-format landscape has led to consumer confusion and indifference toward high definition, which has kept the technology from reaching mass adoption and becoming the important revenue stream that it can be for the industry,” said Tsujihara. “Consumers have clearly chosen Blu-ray, and we believe that recognizing this preference is the right step in making this great home entertainment experience accessible to the widest possible audience. Warner Bros. has worked very closely with the Toshiba Corporation in promoting high definition media and we have enormous respect for their efforts. We look forward to working with them on other projects in the future.”

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/bo...format/

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Untill it happens its all rumor and vitriol, besides it dosent matter to HDVD if the format wins or not the 360 needs it for gaming more..

Originally posted by ZippyDSM:

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Untill it happens its all rumor and vitriol, besides it dosent matter to HDVD if the format wins or not the 360 needs it for gaming more..

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It's not a rumor Zippy. Warner has released an official announcement - they're going BluRay exclusive:

http://www.timewarner.com/corp/newsroom/...1700383,00.html

Where is my little buddy who saID HD-DVD fanS will be the one smiling after CES.

Originally posted by juankerr:

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Originally posted by ZippyDSM:

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Untill it happens its all rumor and vitriol, besides it dosent matter to HDVD if the format wins or not the 360 needs it for gaming more..

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It's not a rumor Zippy. Warner has released an official announcement - they're going BluRay exclusive:

http://www.timewarner.com/corp/newsroom/...00.html

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Theres always a and if or butt, but in any case should make for a fun 08 :P

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The 360 is better for games and will be for a while.The PS3 is a good compromise if you like games and HD-movies,and hopefuly the games will get better.
I have both now,because I like me some quality games and HD movies.
As for the Wii...well,that's for the masses,not fu##in' hardcore geezers like me :P /end sarcasm

Originally posted by ChromeMud:

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The 360 is better for games and will be for a while.The PS3 is a good compromise if you like games and HD-movies,and hopefuly the games will get better.
I have both now,because I like me some quality games and HD movies.
As for the Wii...well,that's for the masses,not fu##in' hardcore geezers like me :P /end sarcasm

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Meh I'll take the Metroid FPS over halo and its clones any day..least till they gut it and water it down like halo and co. is :P

ZippyDSM
Each to their own I say.
I'm not saying what's better because there's no such thing.
Am I enjoying the formats I chose....yes and I don't need anything more than that thanks.

Nexgen, we understand you are a huge Blu-ray fan but can you please REFRAIN from taunting other members. This article has nothing to do with Blu-ray anyway. Final warning.

Originally posted by ChromeMud:

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ZippyDSM
Each to their own I say.
I'm not saying what's better because there's no such thing.
Am I enjoying the formats I chose....yes and I don't need anything more than that thanks.

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Its better than enjoying 1 game on a new system :P

For me the WII has grown to be more shallow than I had hoped of coarse we have not had the 2nd or 3rd generation of WII titles just yet but frankly...theres not a lot of dev support for it....

Originally posted by DVDBack23:

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Nexgen, we understand you are a huge Blu-ray fan but can you please REFRAIN from taunting other members. This article has nothing to do with Blu-ray anyway. Final warning.

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HD DVD has a lot to do with BR while he might have been mmmm lustful in his overstating stuff it dose not hurt to inject some fact/informative infermation into things.

but really the whiners on both sides need to cool off and go wit teh fow.

After purchasing a 1080P telly,the Wii seems kind of a backward step in terms of technology.As for gaming,I'm sure it's stonkingly good but I'm getting my kicks from the HD consoles so all is good for me,but then I am an FPS / racer fan :)
All I can say its that there's a lot of choice for gaming out there and it's difficult to make a bad decision which is all good for the consumer IMO.

Originally posted by ChromeMud:

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After purchasing a 1080P telly,the Wii seems kind of a backward step in terms of technology.As for gaming,I'm sure it's stonkingly good but I'm getting my kicks from the HD consoles so all is good for me,but then I am an FPS / racer fan :)
All I can say its that there's a lot of choice for gaming out there and it's difficult to make a bad decision which is all good for the consumer IMO.

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I am more instrested in the games and the advancement of gaming play I am a FPS, RPG, action(3rd person,FP,whatever) game fan so any of the systems have the potential to be great but god I see washed up watered dow stuff everywhere I go, Bioshock was a joke, Halo 3 unfinished IMO,MP3 watered down, Jericho makes bioshock look like the Half life orange box its so bad in design.... if anything I can not stand flawed game play design and minmail level design these 2 things make me want to rape the devs with naplam and squids....

Even Crysis a game made for the PC is a bit under done out of the box...sure even the mighty orange box is nice but half of it has been out for years plus I feel HL2 is nerfed and unfinished...hated the end levels so much....

I can catogize the 360 and PS3 pretty well the 360 is a PC with prioritized software and limited ablites, its not bad but the hardware is to costly for the quality thats put in it.

The PS3 has issues outside the hardware realm, software is a bit under preforming its a bit over priced for losing features and with the current line of games for it.

The WII is sadly limited since its been refined to near pure water and I don't see enough games on it I want to own.

the PC also as issues with the movement to go console friendly and rape qaultiy from projects.... oh well least I only spent 600 on upgrades :P

@ ZippyDSM (
Sounds like you need a good break from the gaming world.
I have left it a couple of times but it is hard to ignore some of the talent that is evident in some games.
People take all the graphics,animation,storyline,etc for granted and it seems that people are left wanting.What is going to WOW all the people out there?
Yes,Electronic Arts and a number of other publishers water down every frikkin' franchise out there but who isn't these days?
Movies,music,games and mostly every piece of entertainment out there has borrowed from this ,that and the other.
What is important is when you go online and play a game with some decent friends,you have a laugh and realise that the hours disappeared when you were having fun.
Some deriviative FPS did all that,and all I can say is thanks to the game developers out there for making it happen.
Vote with your wallets,if you don't like it,don't buy it.
Maybe developers will change things in the future...just don't hold your breath!

ChromeMud
Meh its more like I see all the design issues and get frustrated at the laxness in it I also get so annoyed for paying 40+ on a 15-30$ game.

Mindyou I always thought HL2 was nerfy and I just enjoyed 1 more better elvel design and what not, look at a lot of FPS you will see a huge movement to mimlize level design to make it fit in better for todays gun and run themes(I guess I am the only one to enjoy levels you can explore and whatnot).

I like polish and contentiously in my gaming I do not see it a lot.

I also like to compare games to others and add up what they bring to the whole of gaming Bioshock dose nothing for FPS in anything SS2 was a better game because it had structure,larger levels and more polished gameplay design Bioshock is meek and watered down even the details are shallow once you start paying attention not to mention for 40$ I bought a fcking broken game......they finally released a patch for it bioshock fails on so many levels its quite annoying, the only other game that I was so uterly disgusted with was DOOM3, at least I was prepared for Quake 4 being a shallow knock off of Q2...


rantage over 9000 :P
I will admit I have issues enjoying games, and comic movies and game movies... but in general I am only "alil" more harsher on them than what most people think :P

One could say its like the direction game/comic movies take just because its a poor adaptation with skewed regurgitated dose not mean its "bad".
Of coarse for me 8 out of 10 times its not only bad its god awful.

PS:as much of a hard time as I give BS its still a 6 winding its way down to a 5...I need to reisntal it with the patch and finish it (this time on a 8800 not a 7800)finish it, at least tis better than D3 witch I still give a 4....

I have a feeling that this rumor is going to die.

It's official,360 is going to get a 4 layer,100gig per disk,8 speed
Blu-Ray drive with profile 3.All 360's to be retrofitted for FREE.
I own a flying PIG by the way.

Originally posted by ChromeMud:

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It's official,360 is going to get a 4 layer,100gig per disk,8 speed
Blu-Ray drive with profile 3.All 360's to be retrofitted for FREE.
I own a flying PIG by the way.

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hahahaha he's right i spoke to bill gates just a second ago and he told me the same thing!

If nothing else good comes from it, Mabe the Next generation X-Box will have a BD drive in it. Then all multi-platform games can be longer and not dumbed down to the DVD9. I am not bashing, I would like to see this. It is my opinion that MS backed HD DVD only to try to hurt the PS3 with BD. I dont think anyone would argue that HD DVD offers anything over BD when it comes to Games (or the other way around). Now that the BLU-Ray, HD DVD thing is over, Mabe MS will use the BD drive in the Next X-Box. MS has already stated that they would if Blu wound up winning. For MS to put a HD DVD drive in the 360 now would be stupid.

Zippydsm i see yourpost and i wonder what Gamerwood is doing to fix this,

I have it on good notice all these glasses of water wich you speak of are because of the limited Space of the dvd. Hd-dvd is a developers dream come true 90% of a game on Xbox360 is nothing but pretty pictures. 90% of the dvd is filled with pretty. but this leaves miniamul room for game enter action. such as the ability too use havok tatics that big bad monster you cant kill shoot the lantern above the thing comes crashing down or if that is not enoghf
blow the pillers around it allwong the roof to come crashing down.

the DVD is simply not large enough to do both it ether pretty graphics or interaction. its sad but the sheeple of the new Gamerwood rip offs like constapating graphics. its like waching britny spears live. thru the tv is close enough for me.

Bill Gates just finished his keynote speech at CES 2008.

No mention of an internal HD DVD drive in the 360. Actually there was no mention of HD DVD at all.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/06/bill-...al-ces-keynote/

Originally posted by DXR88:

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Zippydsm i see yourpost and i wonder what Gamerwood is doing to fix this,

I have it on good notice all these glasses of water wich you speak of are because of the limited Space of the dvd. Hd-dvd is a developers dream come true 90% of a game on Xbox360 is nothing but pretty pictures. 90% of the dvd is filled with pretty. but this leaves miniamul room for game enter action. such as the ability too use havok tatics that big bad monster you cant kill shoot the lantern above the thing comes crashing down or if that is not enoghf
blow the pillers around it allwong the roof to come crashing down.

the DVD is simply not large enough to do both it ether pretty graphics or interaction. its sad but the sheeple of the new Gamerwood rip offs like constapating graphics. its like waching britny spears live. thru the tv is close enough for me.

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Well space is a concern first off you have model and texture sizes that with AI and physics programing you can fill a disc just on that and thats without the pitifull VAings and attempts at music..altho the way most games are 6 2-3min sets of "ambiance" / "event music" seems to be enough.

While its true they are not fully utilizing what they have right now for "function over form" if they could just see that graphics can be let be for 2-3 years and focus on making games not movies...I think the indutry would grow even faster... but then again like with the movie indutry most people will adapt to enjoy crap rather than stand up and complain about the poo on display.

I don't care about the format war as it pertains to final winners or losers I dont really care about that aspect or whos better" when it comes to the consoles thats always viava la poo makers, what I care about is making the 360(PS3/WII/PC) a better device unlocking the HDD pipes, polishing the hardware and moving with a low to costumer cost plan to upgrade the disc format for the whole line are goals that will be good for the 360 in the long run,if they can do these than the Live subscription is a minor annoyance, but at the rate they are going the 360 will be dead in 2-3 years because of the overall movement of the indutry as a whole for "pretty", even the wii is stuck in the kiddy pool after jumping off the innovation high board, the console and game makers though ignorance and greed are damaging them selfs because they do not have to give a damn.

I do not see a lot of well made games anymore, mostly half asred projects sloped together to try and rake in sales befor they are finished making the damn project its so annoying and madding to see so much work be in vain because its unfinished and under deved.....

PS:I might care about stinking the room up with mew poo maker too :P

Originally posted by error5:

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Bill Gates just finished his keynote speech at CES 2008.

No mention of an internal HD DVD drive in the 360. Actually there was no mention of HD DVD at all.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/06/bill-...eynote/

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Bill Gates confirms that MS doesn't really care about HD DVD:

http://blogs.reuters.com/mediafile/2008/...ates-unplugged/

Quote:

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Warner Brothers said last week it was backing Blu-ray exclusively. Will Microsoft remain committed to the HD DVD format even if it appears that the media companies are backing Blu-ray?

BG Certainly we supported both Blu-ray and HD DVD as Windows peripherals. The last announcement was Paramount opting for HD DVD and now this one is going the other way. I still think a format battle is going on there. Our contribution is the HDi Interactive format piece has been really well received. We hope to see that used broadly. I think the real competitor in the long run is digital (video) download. Just like in music, it is going to be the biggest of the three.

You kind of sound agnostic about the formats.

BG No, not really. We have definitely worked with HD DVD in a very strong fashion. Our codecs and HDi are available on the other format and we are a leader in digital download so we have some involvement in all three approaches. In the long run, people don’t want physical media. You don’t say to yourself, what’s the format battle after CD. If someone tried to introduce a new music format, you’d laugh and say ‘well isn’t that my phone, my iPod and my Zune?’ And you’d be right.

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The conversation could have gone like this:

Warner: We're switching to BluRay.
Toshiba: Hey Microsoft, can you help us out here.
Bill Gates: Sorry, Toshiba, but you're on your own. We're going with digital downloads.


Everyone's looking out for themselves.

eatsushi

MS doesn't really have to care that much if they push it off to toshiba they will put in it the units themselves :P

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