Microsoft to ensure Xbox 360 and HD-DVD will cost less than PS3

[Steven W]

According to GamesIndustry.biz retailers have told them that the 360 and the HD-DVD add-on will be cheaper than the PS3.

Check out the Headline for more info.

[Shazbot]

I don't think the early release of HD-DVD is going to make much of an impact on Blu-Ray as suggested.

HD-DVD releases at the moment are few and far between. In fact it reminds me of the superbit back catalogue and how sparse that was. A dozen titles which are to be honest, not the brightest shining stars in the movie world.

A lot of people are going to be sitting on the fence waiting for both formats to officially wage war on each other. It doesn't help with studios trying to cash in already with dual format HD/SD (standard def) DVD's at stupid prices. Consumers are trembling at the cost already. If they really want to get people to adopt their format, why not offer a trade in option for the standard definition versions. haha I can dream!

Anyway, I'll probably be going for Blu-Ray because of the huge backing which will force the format into a bigger market. Blu-Ray will be stealthed into the home via Apple computers, Dell computers, Sony computers, and of course the PS3. That doesn't even account for commercial stand-alone players.

Who knows, maybe that underdog Holographic DVD system will appear from nowhere and blind side the pair of them.

=)

[Parm]

The 360 and the HD-DVD addon simply must total to less than the 60Gb PS3.
It wouldn't be worth releasing if it weren't.

I'm not planning on getting the HD-DVD addon, nor a PS3 at launch. But I think I might pickup a standalone HD-DVD player at some point.

[Steven W]

The 360 and the HD-DVD addon simply must total to less than the 60Gb PS3.
It wouldn't be worth releasing if it weren't.

I'm not planning on getting the HD-DVD addon, nor a PS3 at launch. But I think I might pickup a standalone HD-DVD player at some point.

Yeah, I'm not sure whether to get the add-on. I might do if it's cheap enough but I might just hold on for the PS3 blu-ray.

[Parm]

Truth be told, I'm not a big fan of Sony's formats.

Many years back I went and fell for the whole 'Mini Disc' thing, ended up buying a portable player for £250. Mind you, it was really cool back in the day.
Along comes MP3, iPods and what not, Mini Disc down the pan.

Was contemplating getting a PSP, but when I heard about the UMD format I thought woooah, hold your horses fella, you're not falling for that one again!

I bought a SE W800i mobile phone, and what do you know, none of my headphones will fit it, only the official Sony ones.
I go to my sisters house, my battery dies so I want to recharge my phone. She has a SE K700i, but can I use her charger? Of course not! Gah!
I'm looking to switch back to Nokia in the near future.

Now we have Blu Ray and I'm a little bit suspicious already. From what I've read, there's not much between the two formats, but HD-DVD will be cheaper to manufacture.
HD-DVD is a bit more consumer friendly too. Most people would know what a High Definition DVD is, you just put two and two together. But what the devil is a Blu Ray?

I'm gonna sit out the initital stages I think, and pick up a standalone player once a clear winner can be seen.

[Yohji]

I used to have a mini disc player.. It was fantastic until I needed more space, so moved to a hdd player.

[steve threlfall]

Hmm not to sure about the 360 add on drive. I think im going to wait until its clear who has won the format war and then buy a standalone player.

I really dont care if HD DVD or blu ray wins but whatever the outcome il wait until i can get a quality branded player for about £100. Yes the picture is much better but dvd isnt awful and i dont want pay the price for being an early adaopter (as i have mnay times before).

[Mike Fishcake]

HD-DVD is a bit more consumer friendly too. Most people would know what a High Definition DVD is, you just put two and two together. But what the devil is a Blu Ray?

Exactly. People know what HD TVs are, there are TV channels with the HD suffix, therefore people will probably go for that name, not something that sounds like it's from a bad Sci-fi movie

[Shazbot]

Yeah I got suckered into getting a mini-disc player all those years ago. Now it just sits in retirement in a drawer somewhere.

I know what you guys mean about the logical progression of the HD name as opposed to Blu-Ray. But I think you'll find though the standard HD symbol will be displayed on the Blu0Ray machines and media somewhere to make it a bit more clear....as mud!

[dangel]

Things aren't looking good for Sony - they still don't have any real hardware to speak of and MS are gaining a very valuable lead. By the time they actually ship a PS3, all MS need do is drop their price a little, release a hot title and watch Sony despose themselves from being the market leader.
It's not necessarily a bad thing either - I've always thought of Sony as a far worse company (many, many pies, many many fingers) and they are far too dominant in the console market right now. It remains to be seen just how many people will blindly follow the playstation brand when faced with such differential pricing.
I agree, too, that the HDDVD 'brand name' is a far more marketable proposition - and it too may have the benefit of better lead times and pricing in the medium term.
Competition is good, bring it on.

[sawyen]

mini-disc was good.. and it is still pretty good. Think about it, during those times.. its small, its light, its recordable on the player.. it has optical in/out.. its everything the industry needed and its made to shape how ppl work with audio devices in the future..

Perhaps thats the problem with electronics evolution, no one really expected people to adopt a quality-wise inferior MP3 so rapidly.. and that flash memory to become so darn cheap to make. For that time, the MD format was as good as it gets.

Sony is perhaps one of the very few companies that dares to walk ahead of the chicken and egg situation. They made a proprietary format, made enough precautions for it NOT to be infringed by cunning taiwanese manufacturers, release it and gave everyone an option.

I feel its the same thing for Blu-Ray, instead of thinking it in terms of profit, think of it as a technological leap. HD-DVD is good and all, but I feel its a very 'chicken-out' way of doing things. I guess most ppl value profit more than the significance of the technology, and cater what the industry NEEDS rather than shaping what the industry will BECOME.

Tbh, I would really like B-Ray to win. Its a leap ahead in terms of technology, rather than a diagonal branch from an existing technology. Technology needs to leap ahead, evolution occurs, but it cannot be the driving force..

[dom_xbox]

It remains to be seen just how many people will blindly follow the playstation brand when faced with such differential pricing.

I think no matter what the price many people will follow the Sony brand...

I remember when the PSP was coming out i heard so many not-so-technical people saying PSP has PS2 gfx... its as if SONY has made many 15-25 year olds zombies that walk around muttering "Playstation Playstation"..

TBH im quite happy with DVDs... + or - doesnt really bother me.. having an LG DVD-RAM means i could always buy a RAM disc if i wanted... (but i wont)..

I suppose in around 12 months when blue-ray may finally be out?? it will have a decent price for both the drives and the discs... and it may/may not have beaten HD-DVD..

possibly my only gripe (and its small) with DVD atm is the fact they seem easy to scratch and i wouldnt say i am rough with them either... it just seems like a few scratches and its affecting data..

blue-ray will apparently fix this wont it? and possibly HD-DVD too?

[dangel]

I think no matter what the price many people will follow the Sony brand...

Very true (I fear) but no brand in infalable - remember Nintendo were once top of the pile by a long way..

[Stoo]

blue-ray will apparently fix this wont it? and possibly HD-DVD too?

Blu-Ray Discs should have the Scratch-Proof Polymer Coating developed by TDK to avoid that, although I suppose there's nothing stopping them coating HD-DVD's and normal DVD's with it either..