Microsoft Explains HD-DVD Support News
Jon Wilcox
09/05/2006
Following the announcement of an HD-DVD add-on for Xbox 360, Microsoft explains why its chosen format will come out on top...
Forget VHS and Betamax, the format war between HD-DVD and Sony's Blu-Ray next-gen DVD platforms seems set to become just as vicious, with both sides drawing the battle lines ahead of an electronic version of trench warfare.
Confirmed during the 2006 Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in January, the HD-DVD drive for Xbox 360 was long rumoured, and today Microsoft has announced why it believes the Blu-Ray rival will end up victorious.
Focusing on the economic benefits of the format, including the fact that it's backwards compatible with current-gen DVDs and that standard and High-Definition versions of the same movie will be available on the same disc, Albert Penello, Director of Global Marketing at Xbox said, Before January's CES trade show and before price announcements starting to come out, a lot of press and analysts were ready to declare HD DVD as DOA...But we had really good insights into how these two matched up and we kept learning about technical problems with Blu-ray. Now that both sides are laying their cards on the table, the word is getting out that HD DVD is the best value. Consumers are voting by buying HD DVD players and movies. And since then, the industry momentum we've seen has been behind HD DVD."
That said, the inclusion of a Blu-Ray drive in PlayStation3 is seen by Sony as significant in their battle strategy to win the new 'war'; the addition of a DVD player certainly helped to push sales of the PlayStation2 and increase the pick up rate of the optical format, but the question remains as to whether consumers are ready for yet another media platform so soon.
So how much will the HD-DVD drive for Xbox 360 cost? Penello wouldn't be drawn on an answer saying, "Stay tuned. We decided to save that good news for another day, but we're clearly out to make this an affordable option for Xbox 360 owners."
Perhaps all will be revealed during tomorrow's Microsoft conference; we'll have the latest tomorrow...