Posts Tagged ‘blu-ray’
Blu-ray finally coming to Xbox 360?
Rumors have been floating around ever since the HD DVD format died that a Blu-ray drive of sorts would be released for the Xbox 360. Microsoft has shut down such rumors in the past but now head honcho Steve Ballmer has taken center stage to comment on the possibility.
In a recent interview with Gizmodo, Ballmer was asked if we will ever see an Xbox 360 with a Blu-ray drive built-in to which he replied:
Well I don’t know if we need to put Blu-ray in there—you’ll be able to get Blu-ray drives as accessories.
Make note that Steve Ballmer has been known to fumble his words in the past but I think it’s safe to say we will definitely be seeing an external Xbox 360 Blu-ray drive at some point after Project Natal hits the market.
Australia getting PS3 Ultimate Blu-ray Movie Kit
It seems that Sony feels gamers in Australia take to the Blu-ray format more than the rest of the world as they have recently announced the PS3 Ultimate Blu-ray Movie Kit.
Just how ultimate this kit is, however, remains questionable considering it only comes bundled with a PS3 remote and either 10,000 B.C. or Batman Begins with no console in sight.
Of course, it’s $60 AUD/$51 USD price tag makes it a bargain, and that’s all that matters.
via engadget
Sony: Game and Movie on Same Disc Coming This Year
Seeing as how Blu-ray holds a vast amount of data most of which isn’t used by most publishers, Sony is now actively pursuing game makers and movie studios to combine movies with tie-in videogames on the same Blu-ray disc this year.
“We are actively pushing, and the way that we see the future is that the movie and the game are placed on the same disc,” said PlayStation 3 director of hardware marketing John Koller. “There are a lot of developers who say, we have this game based on a movie, wouldn’t it be great to marry these concepts? We will definitely see this stuff this year.”
The hybrid disc is still being worked on, and while Koller did not mention any specific titles, he did note that a handful of games/movies will be released this year.
“This is a value message with the PS3,” added Koller. “Consumers can capitalize on the larger amount of space with Blu-ray. There are grander experiences for movies or games.”
I can imagine it right now: the Transformers game packed in with the movie sequel in the same disc (among many others).
Blu-ray Xbox Never Going To Happen
After it turned out Microsoft had backed the wrong high-definition horse, people began speculating how long it would be before the Xbox 360 would get Blu-ray capabilities, be it a new SKU with a built-in drive or more likely an external drive similar to the HD-DVD add-on. Microsoft has continually denied any rumors that they plan on using Blu-ray for the Xbox 360. Robbie Bach gave an interview to Todd Bishop of FlashTech at Microsoft’s booth at the CES. Bach is the president of Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division and in the interview he explained the reasons why we won’t see a Blu-ray player for this generation of Xboxes.
Bach explained that first and foremost there is very little demand for a Blu-ray player: “when you ask people the list of things they want to see us spending time creating in Xbox, Blu-ray is way, way down on the list.” He also points out that a Blu-ray drive would be of no use for developers. Even though a Blu-ray disc would greatly expand the storage capacity that Xbox games have, allowing for higher quality visuals, more intricate textures and more content in general, it would severely limit the number of people purchasing these games.
There are twenty-eight million Xboxes that have already been purchased or shipped, none of which currently have the capacity to utilized Blu-ray technology. Even if Microsoft did release an external drive, there would be no guarantee that people would purchase it, and developers would be hesitant to create Blu-ray Xbox games.
While Microsoft might be sticking to their new ‘digital download’ guns as far as video content goes, by the time the next Xbox comes out it will likely have Blu-ray capabilities, or at least some other comparable technology, if only because DVD storage will be insufficient for the games of the future.
Microsoft Denies Blu-ray Rumors
Yesterday we reported on a rumored Blu-ray add-on for the Xbox 360. The external blu-ray drive was supposedly being made in a joint project between Toshiba and Samsung. I argued that the add on was impractical and a, more or less, pointless move for Microsoft. Today Microsoft has officially stated that they agree with me.
“As we’ve said before, Microsoft has no plans to introduce an Xbox 360 Blu-ray add-on. Games are what drive consumers to purchase game consoles, and we remain focused on providing the largest library of blockbuster games available.”
Note that they didn’t give the usual “We do not comment on rumors or speculation” line. They are being quite clear that “no” means “no”. I’m also going to go on the record and predict that we’ll get the same answer next month when another Blu-ray rumor pops up.
Tags: blu-ray
Xbox 360 To Support Blu-ray Via External Drive?
Although the Xbox 360 initially supported HD DVD through an external drive, Microsoft has made it quite clear that they have no objections to supporting the Blu-ray format if it were a “profitable” move. So, every other month or so, we get a quote or some rumors that imply that we will see some sort of Blu-ray compatible Xbox 360. This month isn’t an exception. According to a report
both Toshiba (the manufacturer for the failed HD DVD) and Samsung have been contracted to make an external Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360.
“Toshiba-Samsung Storage Technology Corp., a joint venture between Samsung Electronics and Toshiba Corp., has been contracted to manufacture external Blu-ray disc drives for Microsoft Xbox 360 game console. While the exact specifications of the product are unknown, it is rumoured that Microsoft aims at $100 – $150 price-point for the device in order to compete against Sony PlayStation 3 with Xbox 360 + external Blu-ray drive combination.”
To be honest, I really don’t think that the Xbox 360 needs a Blu-ray drive. If they are serious enough about competing with Sony, then they can add more HD videos to the video store. The PlayStation 3 isn’t convenient because it plays Blu-ray, it is convenient that it plays Blu-ray disks right out of the box with no extra cost or any additional hardware. Microsoft has nothing to lose by creating an add on like this, but I don’t think it will be successful, or at least not significant.