Why did Xbox 360 take the risk on HD-DVD?
The Blu-ray is leading the next-generation format war in North America thanks to the good sales of the Sony PlayStation 3 console. Around 94 percent of all Blu-ray players in the US are PS3s, prompting Microsoft to take action.
The apparent response from Bill Gates‘ troops comes in the form of the Xbox 360 Elite package. The new Xbox 360 not only has a bigger hard drive, but has also packed in its own HD-DVD drive. In light of all this, ZDNet analyst John Carroll asks why.
Carroll questions Microsoft’s move to make like the PS3 and adopt an all-or-nothing ploy. The PS3 did this for a lot of reasons. First, it wants the PS3 to be the most advanced entertainment machine on the planet, and Blu-ray was the way to do it because of the huge storage that can accommodate big game files and movies. Second, it has a vested interest in Blu-ray because it developed the technology. Ergo, the console and the disc are bound because they live and die with each other.
“A failure of the Blu-Ray format would negatively affect PS3 sales (though I would argue that the PS3’s failure as a game console is more dangerous),” says Carroll. He then went on to say that Microsoft is not in the same situation as Sony and did not have to take the same gambit. Microsoft helped develop HD but isn’t producing HD DVDs. The Xbox 360 is leading the console war because it debuted early and has the biggest game library among the three competing machines.
By choice, buyers seem to prefer HD DVD because of the value. Half of all players sold using the format are stand-alone devices, meaning that even if the Xbox 360 wasn’t helping out, there would still be a market for it. European studios are embracing HD DVD even though the PS3 has already launched in PAL territories.
“The PS3 has put new wind to the Blu-Ray formats’ sails, but it hardly seems to have blown away the advantages of the HD-DVD format,” concludes Carroll.
Via ZDnet
The Blu-ray is leading the next-generation format war in North America thanks to the good sales of the Sony PlayStation 3 console. Around 94 percent of all Blu-ray players in the US are PS3s, prompting Microsoft to take action.
The apparent response from Bill Gates‘ troops comes in the form of the Xbox 360 Elite package. The new Xbox 360 not only has a bigger hard drive, but has also packed in its own HD-DVD drive. In light of all this, ZDNet analyst John Carroll asks why.
Carroll questions Microsoft’s move to make like the PS3 and adopt an all-or-nothing ploy. The PS3 did this for a lot of reasons. First, it wants the PS3 to be the most advanced entertainment machine on the planet, and Blu-ray was the way to do it because of the huge storage that can accommodate big game files and movies. Second, it has a vested interest in Blu-ray because it developed the technology. Ergo, the console and the disc are bound because they live and die with each other.
“A failure of the Blu-Ray format would negatively affect PS3 sales (though I would argue that the PS3’s failure as a game console is more dangerous),” says Carroll. He then went on to say that Microsoft is not in the same situation as Sony and did not have to take the same gambit. Microsoft helped develop HD but isn’t producing HD DVDs. The Xbox 360 is leading the console war because it debuted early and has the biggest game library among the three competing machines.
By choice, buyers seem to prefer HD DVD because of the value. Half of all players sold using the format are stand-alone devices, meaning that even if the Xbox 360 wasn’t helping out, there would still be a market for it. European studios are embracing HD DVD even though the PS3 has already launched in PAL territories.
“The PS3 has put new wind to the Blu-Ray formats’ sails, but it hardly seems to have blown away the advantages of the HD-DVD format,” concludes Carroll.
Via ZDnet
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