Rumor: Gates to reveal HD DVD Xbox 360 at CES
by Dustin Burg 
{ Jan 2nd 2008 at 2:00PM }
This Sunday Bill Gates will walk across the CES 2008 stage one last time for his final keynote speech. And just like years before, Mr. Gates will be touching on hot technology topics, Windows news, Zune facts and possibly some Xbox 360 HD DVD details as well. Or so thinks the Seattle Times. They're speculating that Billy will go out with a bang at this year's CES revealing a partnership with Toshiba to release an "Ultimate" Xbox 360 that packs HD DVD and DVR functionality. Not only that, but they also think Microsoft will announce other 360 partnerships as well.A new HD DVD enabled Xbox 360 would be pretty cool and would help defend against the Blu-ray takeover while at the same time proving that Michael Bay was correct all along. But our other half says we already have enough variety when it comes to Xbox 360 models and an Ultimate version would be kind of overkill. No matter what Billy talks about during the keynote all we really want is any Xbox 360 news that is more exciting than last year's IPTV functionality (of which hasn't come to fruition anyway). Can we at least get that much?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Doc @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:09PM
IPTV...,why would you want this anyways? I mean really pay per episode? Why when I have a DVR and it's in HD, and with HD on my DVR I'm not a penalized like I am on marketplace with the price difference and rental time limits WTF is with that, why can't I rent a movie for 3 or 5 days?
Neon Jebus @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:19PM
You do know that IPTV are for services like AT&T U-Verse right? It's basically turning your 360 into a cable box with DVR abilities.
Not pay per episode.
Fafhrdd @ Jan 2nd 2008 8:47PM
IPTV is not a pay per epoisde service. IPTV is a media service (like cable or sat TV) that companies will use to push their channels through. It is coming. Period. Some Government buildings already have it and it streamlines CNN and Foxnews to your desktop (I know because I help set it up for ISEC at Fort Detrick.
Platinum_Skeet @ Jan 2nd 2008 10:17PM
They should just throw a $15 capture card in that bitch and call it a night. Fios probably won't hit my area until 2012 anyways so I'll be left in the dust unless they let me stream it off my 20 mbps down connection from comcast...
Rk @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:09PM
Absolutely unimaginable.
SimplePanda @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:10PM
To be clear, there is no evidence at all that any 360 with HD-DVD exists or ever will. Microsoft has constantly stated that HD-DVD is an unproven technology and that they don't want to sell customer 'the next beta'. They favor HD-DVD over Blu-ray but openly admit that it is:
a) Not the standard.
b) Not likely to be the standard in the face of Blu-ray's sales lead.
Seattle Times simply said "they could make a splash" by announcing such a product, but there is nothing to suggest this is anything other than just random talk.
Hell, Microsoft "could" announce that the 360 now runs PS3 games and has a new Wii compatible motion sensitive controller, but that's not very likely either...
ryan @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:15PM
ah, cool. thanks for the info Panda. :)
Boff @ Jan 3rd 2008 4:57AM
'The next Betamax'
Sorry.
Andy @ Jan 2nd 2008 9:12PM
I would actually love to see this, as long as Microsoft began some sort of trade-up program. I would happily upgrade my XBOX360, for under $100, to a version that has HDMI and HD-DVD.
ryan @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:14PM
this would help MS in the future i think, if games relied on an HD format like blu-ray. bigger games with extra content (longer development times tho).
but it'd also screw over people who just recently bought a 360.
also i wonder is HD-DVD faster or slower than a blu-ray? this is also something to consider if games would rely on an HD format.
but if it's soley for movies i guess it wouldn't hurt to have it. more expensive that's for sure.
Digitalspirit @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:48PM
They should have built in HD-DVD in the first place, even if HD-DVD fails it would still have given devs more room for game data a la blu-ray. As for the rest of the add ons, I bought the 360 to play games online and nothing else, so I'm not bothered about them.
ryan @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:58PM
true, if the 360 had a built in Hard drive to begin with this would have also given developers more freedom ala *cough* the PS3. :)
pkilla @ Jan 2nd 2008 4:49PM
The 360 currently doesn't need the extra space a bigger disc capacity gives. Since obviously you own PS3s have you ever seen a game on there that had more content that its 360 counterpart?
I mean look at how much is in the orange box.
ryan @ Jan 2nd 2008 5:18PM
Dude, Pkilla,
I dont own a PS3. I just see flaws in the 360s design or better ways to improve it. If HD-DVD sucks for a gaming format, so be it. these game systems are still new born and developers are finding new tricks every day.
but if there was a title in the near future with fantastic graphical effects that required a larger format and could benefit from it, why not?
Brian G @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:19PM
I own an Xbox 360, and I'd buy a second one if it came with an HD DVD drive. Especially if it was quieter than the G2 version that I have right now.
Tony @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:19PM
There are a lot of other things I wish they'd concern themselves over announcing at this point. Things like what the heck first party developers are doing for 2008, which is still at this point practically unknown or full of vague release dates.
I couldn't care less about an HD-DVD playing Xbox.
Arno @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:19PM
What ever happened to that DirecTV integration into Xbox 360? Remember that? That was like 2 years ago or so...
qbix @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:23PM
If it has a 750 gig hard drive, I might consider it.
Intentless @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:25PM
Not happening...
I see IPTV/DVR functunality being more likely than a HDDVD/360...
OTAM @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:25PM
So we're going to split the systems again?
Ones with hard drive,ones without,ones with HD-DVD,ones without,ones with HDMI,ones without.
How many system configurations will Microsoft come out with? Fucking A already. Make up your mind at the START of your console's life instead of flipping around every 6 months with a new configuration. Why don't we just buy a computer and be done with it? It's gotten to be a bad joke at this point.
I'm starting to see where Nintendo was going with their idea of ONE package.
Please let this just be a rumor.
NineT9 @ Jan 2nd 2008 6:44PM
Yea it seems the Playstation 3 had it the right way by doing the exact opposite
Playstation3 came with Wifi, HDD, BluRay, HDMI, Backwards Compatibility...
Then after some time they would offer other models that didn't have everything...
Whereas the 360 started with about the minimum, and works its way up (Elite, 120GB HDD, Wifi, etc)
and now this which would be about equal to the PS3
it does create confusion and screw over the already purchased customers :/ but hey, whatever makes the console better is all I care about...luckely the PS3 came with everything, now they just need to work on games which is obviously coming true :D whereas the 360 has the games and their working on the other stuff...sigh
Etchasketchist @ Jan 2nd 2008 3:03PM
What's the big deal? I'm seeing the sound and fury, but what's the actual argument?
ZeroCorpse @ Jan 2nd 2008 3:21PM
There's no 360 SKU on the market that doesn't have HDMI. They all have identical hardware-- The difference is in the accessories they pack-in, and the color of the console/disc tray.
So this would just be one more SKU, bringing the total to five (with one being limited edition Halo 3).
Arcade - No hard drive (256MB card)
Pro - Smaller hard drive
Elite - Bigger hard drive
Halo 3 - Play-n-charge kit, smaller hard drive
HD-DVD/Media - ???
That being said, I doubt they'd do this. MS has said over and over that building HD-DVD into the console is not an option. They'd rather push the on-demand HD media features than the disc-based ones.
I doubt there will be any big news regarding the 360. Most likely they'll announce that sales were great during the holidays, that the new SKUs have been a resounding success, and that we can look forward to a good quarter because GTA IV is coming.
They might also mention the IPTV, but I doubt it's going to be a big feature because AT&T hasn't gotten their service in place in most of the country, yet, and people aren't exactly flocking to the bigger hard drive thanks to MS' severe overpricing.
If MS lowers the price of the bigger hard drive, they'll see a lot of buyers. Nobody's crazy enough to accept a 300% markup like this, unless they're desperate and buy a lot of Marketplace stuff.
Expect a lot of yada yada about the Zune, though.
JakubK666 @ Jan 2nd 2008 6:40PM
"There's no 360 SKU on the market that doesn't have HDMI. They all have identical hardware-- The difference is in the accessories they pack-in, and the color of the console/disc tray."
Not out in shops but majority of people who's 360 hasn't RRODed yet still use the v1.0 Xbox 360 without HDMI.
It's not like it really matters cos HDMI doesn't make much difference unless you buy a £4000 TV that supports 1080p which itself doesn't look much better than 1080i either.
Ultimate 360...well I thought I got REALLY screwed over when the elite came out.
Adam B @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:28PM
I would definitely buy this if it had a 120gb HDD and wasn't anymore than $449.
Etchasketchist @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:28PM
Makes sense to me. I think the point isn't to beat Blu-Ray, but rather to make 360 the ubiquitous platform for games software. Part of making that happen is creating a product that would appeal to consumers who aren't even in the market for a video game machine. Something that you'd find in the Tivo/DVD section near all the fancy plasma TV's instead of over in the corner near the Video Game ghetto. If you have a magic box that can do DVR stuff, play Hi-Def DVD's, and hook up to the internet and download movies from Marketplace, that's a compelling product. The fact that you can play Halo 3 on it too would push it over the edge. The goal is to create the Ultimate Box, the one device that you buy when you finally get around to upgrading to an HDTV that can do everything. The 360 right now is about 2/3's of the way there. It make sense now to kick it up a notch, put all the pieces together and try to even the playing field between software entertainment and movie/tv show entertainment. If they can keep it below $500 I think they'd have a winner.
I'm curious, what exactly is the "overkill" concern? I just don't see it.
Eddie @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:34PM
I would buy it. I already have the add-on, but I love the format and I would absolutely buy it. IPTV was pretty damn exciting, but unfortunately, it was alot more imaginary. Let's resolve in '08 to temper any expectations for MS and their ridiculous obsession with vaporware. I'm plenty happy with my 360, I would love for it to be integrated with wifi and HD, but it's not likely to happen and at this point is just wishful thinking. If you get too depressed, you can always just go look at the PS3's current list of games.
Doom3killer @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:42PM
why do people hate on hd-dvd? i have an hd-dvd player and i absolutely love it...
Cass-D @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:45PM
Just don't see the need to add the HD-DVD drive to the console. Sure it makes it confusing for consumers but more options is not a bad thing. Some people want these choices and not forced to buy all the bells and whistles. I agree with Panda that there is no new High Def standard for movies yet. (yes the game is still afoot) I would like to see the DVR functionality to the 360 and why not add the Internet Explorer to it as well. This would open up all sorts of problems I'm sure but why not Wii has it and its a cool feature.
Etchasketchist @ Jan 2nd 2008 3:14PM
Consumers are fucked no matter what. Have you ever actually walked through a Circuit City? PC's practically require an engineering degree and people by tons of them. Adding to consumer confusion is inevitable at this point and most consumer have come to terms with that. If anything, I'd say creating an all-in-one box would a be a step towards reducing consumer confusion.
Intentless @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:45PM
Maybe he will announce Duke Nukem for 360 exclusive....
NATO_Duke @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:45PM
The thing about this is that it would really be a bummer to know I could have had an HD model - but thats life right? Things change and get better and we early adopters just need to accept it. Still would burn though.
Etchasketchist @ Jan 2nd 2008 3:18PM
You knew what you were getting when you plunked down your loot. Avoiding the dirty looks from early adopters is never going to stop a consumer electronics company from improving their product every year. That's just the tech bizness.
Kryptinite @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:52PM
I have both the hd-dvd and my blu-ray player that happens to also play games.
The both look amazing. It really doesn't matter who wins except to those who invested in just one player.
DjDATZ @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:53PM
Interesting...but "meh"
idl3mind @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:54PM
There are 5 editions of Vista (Ultimate, Home Premium, Home Basic, Business, Enterprise); what would keep M$ from making one more edition of Xbox 360 to further confuse the uninformed (non-prosumer) public?
wickedpheonix @ Jan 2nd 2008 3:02PM
If they eliminate the Arcade model, lower the Premium price to $250, and then lower the Elite price to $350 while making it white and adding a HD-DVD drive then that makes sense. At the same time, promise IPTV functionality and maybe using the 360 as an extension of the DVR capabilities of Windows Media Center (meaning, you would need a computer with Vista/XP MCE and a TV tuner for it to work) in the Spring Dashboard update.
Anything else results in too many models, too much of a price delta, too many features (jack of all trades, master of none, and its approaching that even now anyways) etc.
ZeroCorpse @ Jan 2nd 2008 3:31PM
Pro for $250 ??? HAHAHAHA! Not gonna happen this year, my friend.
The Arcade is a great seller. There are a lot of people who don't plan to use XBox Live, and simply don't need a hard drive. Do you realize that there's still a large number of Americans who don't even have broadband-- or ACCESS to broadband-- at this point? Why would they need to pay the extra for the Pro? Now that the Arcade comes with a memory card and a wireless controller, there's no reason to spend the extra money.
They won't make an XBox 360 with HD-DVD built in, anyway. It won't happen. They've been dead-set against it from the beginning, and I suspect it's because they're planning ahead. If Blu-Ray wins, they can easily introduce an add-on Blu-Ray player, while if HD-DVD's built-in, they're stuck.
mAdAk @ Jan 2nd 2008 6:00PM
Unless I am misreading what you are saying about Media Center functionality this has existed since day 1 in the 360. It was actually available as an option on the original xbox.
Michael Paul @ Jan 2nd 2008 3:07PM
I'd save up for one, but only because I want one well-built one instead of the landfill candidate they sent back after my first one RROD'd.
I've already got 4 HD-DVDs for the $99 HD-A2, and my 5 free ones are due someday, so it wouldn't be bad to have two players around to use them. Of course, if the HD-DVD in the new 360 sucks as bad as DVD on this one (evil 'anti-piracy' policy of no good playback on component) then I'd still have one HD-DVD player and one well-built game machine...
Sp00ks @ Jan 2nd 2008 3:28PM
I have the HD external player and love it as well. I don't really understand the whole argument anyways, I don't have a problem with either format, I just think that right now, HD DVD has a better selection of movies...bourne, the kingdom, top gun and many more. I just don't like the selection that blu-ray has...even though there are some in blu-ray I wish I had...
refinedsugar @ Jan 2nd 2008 3:43PM
Wow, here's a rumor that just won't die.
I'm also one of those people who believes MS needs to simplifier their SKU's so a HD-DVD/DVR 360 won't help. Then again if you take stock in the rumor mill, maybe it's going to become the redesigned "elite" model. You'd think if this was reality, we would have heard or seen something solid by now however. Nothing in the realm of 360 hardware stays a secret before launch.
Whatever the case, meh. To start releasing 360 games on HD-DVD would be a catastrophe no amount of PR spin could fix and if you're planning on buying into the format war, you're much better off just buying a standalone HD-DVD player.
h0mi @ Jan 2nd 2008 3:44PM
"A new HD DVD enabled Xbox 360 would be pretty cool and would help defend against the Blu-ray takeover while at the same time proving that Michael Bay was correct all along"
How does it prove that MS wanted both formats to fail to allow them to "rush in" with Downloads as an alternative to both "failed" formats?
Thomas Crymes @ Jan 2nd 2008 4:00PM
Everyone should keep in mind that even if they do include an HD-DVD player in the 360, there still won't be any games released on the new format.
With over 10 million DVD based 360s out there, I don't think they'd be making HD-DVD games that only a small fraction of the user base could run.
Now if they started including HD-DVD standard on all machines, then maybe they can start offering HD-DVD games when the number of HD-DVD units far outnumbered the DVD units.
That won't happen and I can't see them alienating the original users.
Perhaps they could issue HD-DVD editions of the games with some extras, but devs couldn't afford to develop a game with HD-DVD's space in mind, so what would be the point?
Grant @ Jan 3rd 2008 12:58AM
the only difference that would be viable would be if any games get too big for DVD9 and need more than 1 DVD. If thats the case, than the HD-DVD crew could get it on 1 disc, while the rest of us get it on 2 or more.
For example, Halo 3 plus bonus materials could have been all on one disc.
But then again, creating and producing two versions of the same game would probably end up more expensive than just pressing the extra disc.
tomcrymes @ Jan 2nd 2008 4:11PM
And by "afford" I mean it isn't cost effective for them to develop two different games, one that took advantage of the DVDs and one that takes advantage of HD-DVD.
It's probably not just about more levels, but also about higher rez textures.
Doesn't really matter, since it is very unlikely to happen.
Grant @ Jan 3rd 2008 12:59AM
i just realized you pretty much agreed here with what i just said, just ignore my comment above.
CharleyTony @ Jan 2nd 2008 4:39PM
The toshiba made hd-dvd/xbox360/Iptv is possible,,, they do need a bit of a rebranding in japan
But I think that what will be announced this CES is probably something a little less crazy
How about an Add-On for the Xbox360 controller to make it more like a PS3 Sixaxis,, or even a completly new controller that mimmics the Wii remote and nun-chuck ? The Xbox 360 could then handle ports of good wii games (except 1st party ones).. and that woulnd screw the people who already have an Xbox 360
And Mr Gates ? How about some support for the freaking Xbox Live Vision camera.. Im starting to wonder why I even got one in the first place.... :(
Killswitch On @ Jan 2nd 2008 5:39PM
Not for me. I am not paying the kind of money theyll be asking just for an internal HD-DVD player. I dont have an external either. It seems BluRay has the future locked up so why would they even bother with this? The chance that this gets HD-DVD back in the race is low. I dont understand why they would take more losses on this.
I wish theyd done this from the beginning. Gone the route Sony did. They would have HD-DVD in the race and perhaps the lead. I also think having HD-DVDs being the game discs would be awesome as well.
But that isnt going to happen now. There is no way they can all of a sudden add a format to the 360. With over 10 million units sold that do not have HD-DVD drives, it would be a disaster.
So I think the rumor is false. It doesnt make much sense. I hope he has some big news, but I am hoping it is more positive big impact news. Not this.
No more HD-DVD anything. Not the way the format war is going. Too many studios and porn side with BluRay. It is a lost cause I'm afraid.
Chase @ Jan 2nd 2008 5:47PM
What does it say about our society when the porn industry has become an ultimate trump card? Yikes.
But yes, HD DVD is a lost cause I'm afraid. I think Gates is too smart to put more money into something that would just squander his efforts.
[insertUSBushIraqiWarcommenthere]
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