Microsoft Says Blu-ray is Unnecessary, But May Offer Support
Microsoft hedging its bets on HD DVD, ponders switch to Blu-ray
When comparing the latest consoles, Sony constantly makes reference to its decision to include a Blu-ray Disc player with every PlayStation 3, while pointing out that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 utilizes the comparatively less spacious DVD9 format.
Sony is so confident in its Blu-ray-enabled console that the company has stated that putting Blu-ray in PS3 will be the smartest decision made for the games machine. Microsoft Europe’s Senior Regional Director, Neil Thompson doesn’t think so, saying that Blu-ray does not give Sony’s console any advantage over the Xbox 360.
“Do I want to make people pay £200 extra for a machine with discs that have storage space I don’t need? My answer’s no, I don’t need to do that today,†Thompson said to GamesIndustry.biz. “And I don’t think I’m going to need to do that for quite a while.â€
Microsoft is on the other side of the high-def fence as an exclusive supporter of HD DVD, and some consumers were expecting the recently announced Xbox 360 Elite to include the high-definition format drive as built-in hardware. The Xbox 360 Elite will ship with the original DVD9 specification, and Microsoft will continue to offer HD DVD movie functionality through the $199 add-on accessory.
“I’m not sure the market has moved to high definition [movies] yet,†Thompson said. “And if and when it does, then the way that we’ve constructed the offering we’ve made means we’ll be able to go whichever way we want.â€
Thompson’s comment alludes to the possibility that the Xbox 360 may support Blu-ray Disc media should the format become unquestionably victorious. Speaking to the BBC, Thompson said, “Whatever format wins it is highly likely we will offer a solution. The only debate is if you want to watch Blu-ray movies and pay the extra money for that feature. We prefer to offer the consumer choice.â€
An analysts quoted by the Financial Times believes that the decision not to include HD DVD with the Xbox 360 Elite is a blow to Toshiba, who is oddly given sole credit for the HD DVD format. “I think, if nothing else, this is an acknowledgement that Blu-ray is going to win [the standards war],†said Michael Pachter, video games analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities. “It would have been a costly mistake to build it into the hardware if HD-DVD loses and I think Microsoft sees this as an unacceptable gamble.â€
Thompson concludes in speaking with GamesIndustry.biz, “This is about the architecture of the hardware. With the PS3 you’ve got a big, heavy truck that requires a big, heavy engine. With Xbox you’ve got a much more nimble box that uses software in the architecture of the box in a much more nimble way … That’s the difference between us and PlayStation – we didn’t have a need to develop a really complicated engine to get Blu-ray players into the market. We wanted to deliver HD gaming. Judge us on what we’ve done.â€
Source: www.dailytech.com
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