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Squilliam on 23 September 2010
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makingmusic476 said:
Squilliam said:
thismeintiel said:
Squilliam said:
thismeintiel said:

The funny thing about this is that the next X-Box will definitely have a Blu-ray drive in it. 


Just as the Wii would definately be able to play back DVD movies out of the box in the following generation because the ultra successful PS2 did it.

What makingmusic said.  Nintendo usually always does its own thing.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  But MS, on the otherhand, is trying to compete with Sony, mostly.  They both are trying to have the most feature filled all-in-one HD "media hub".  Next gen will be no different.  And if MS sticks with DVD, they will be seen by most to not be staying with the times.  And if they try to go with download only, not only will they lose all the people who prefer physical media, but also those who have a limited or no internet connection. 

Sony may have fell behind this gen, but they have a lot of things in line for almost guaranteed success next gen.  MS, on the other hand, have a lot of tough choices to make for next gen.

~15GB-30GB, 30MB/S transfer is probably what they will use. They will use the cheapest format in order to achieve this, especially with the increased cost of physical controllers etc. Blu Ray playback for the Arcade model is not certain at all. I would not be surprised at all if the next console of theirs used HD-DVD on the cheap.

Given they'd have to completely retool factories for the production of HD DVDs, and would initially be without the benefits of economy of scale, it wouldn't be all that "cheap", at least not at first.

Using an uncommon disc format isn't a very good idea, which is why even when going "proprietary", companies are generally just using standard tech with slight modifications, usually on the software side.   Like the altered DVDs Nintendo uses for the Wii.  They can be manufactured at a typical DVD plant with little issue.

And there's still the issue of having an all-in-one media device that can't play Blu-ray movies, which would be an anomoly in 2012-2014.  Might as well kill two birds with one stone by including a Blu-ray drive and using it for games.  Unless Microsoft are really that petty that they'll go with HD DVD just to spite the Blu-ray consortium.  They're a corporation, not a teenage girl!


HD-DVDs are just modified DVD fabs. They won't be that hard to emulate. In the end they would prevent all optical disc piracy by using an uncommon disc format. Also it is still in production as a drive, but it isn't released outside of China so they have low cost and good economies of scale.

They'll go one of two directions.

1. They will release with Blu Ray but have the Blu Ray unlock for $39.

2. They will release with HD-DVD or equivalent.

I don't see them tolerating an extra $15 of fixed costs in order to play back movies. May as well make it a profit centre and use it to lower the upfront cost of the console. Do what Sony failed to do, make Blu Ray a profit centre and not a cost sink.



Tease.