Jeff Bell talks HD DVD, 360 pricing and more

by Dustin Burg { Jan 28th 2008 at 1:30PM }

Microsoft's own Jeff Bell (better known by the X3F moniker Mr. "Harry Potter dies") sat down for a quick chit-chat session with the 1UP crew during the final days of CES to discuss all things Xbox 360. And after grilling him about his forum outburst a while back, 1UP was able to get tiny hints to where the 360 is headed. Specifically, Bell is questioned about Microsoft's support of HD DVD and if it were to fail, would Microsoft release a Blu-ray peripheral for the 360. Bell danced around the question a bit, but didn't rule out the possibly of such a peripheral being developed saying that "you never say never". Bell also touched on the topic of Xbox 360 hardware pricing, further re-iterating Microsoft's commitment to cost reduction and passing the hardware savings onto their customers saying that "we're prepared to be competitive on value for our consumers". And we can't complain about that.

Click your way to 1UP to read the complete Jeff Bell interview to see what Bell thinks about the Nintendo Wii, where Mass Effect is headed, what his most anticipated games of '08 are (hint: no Gears of War 2 mention) and read why Jeeps and Xbox 360s are similar. You know, if it isn't already obvious enough.

Tags: bell, jeff-bell, microsoft, xbox-360

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Deck @ Jan 28th 2008 2:07PM

That article really did not include anything useful. I went ahead and read quite a bit of the actual article on 1UP and well...

I found nothing of consequence, no substance. Kind of skirted around all the questions/issues. Bleh.

pandlcg @ Jan 28th 2008 2:40PM

Thanks for saving me the effort

Deck @ Jan 28th 2008 2:43PM

Hah, no problem ;)

itsburnsie @ Jan 28th 2008 2:12PM

Every time I see this guy, the only thing I can think is "Harry Potter dies!"

Oh Jeff, we should go drinking sometime.

Knight Marquise @ Jan 28th 2008 2:14PM

I honestly hate to fall into the category of "judging a book by its cover", however after witnessing his people skills in action at E3 and on digg last year, then throw in this picture; he just looks like a complete Tool Bag.

Leobebes @ Jan 28th 2008 2:24PM

I think what everyone seems to be overlooking is the substantial price cut coming soon for the 360. I honestly expect to see a price break closing in to the $199 sweet spot for one of the 360 SKU's. Call me crazy but if you follow price cut trends of past console generations it doesn't seem out of the question. Once a next gen console hits that mark expect a dominant stride to come along side it.

xenocidic @ Jan 28th 2008 2:46PM

Might upgrade to an HDMI-enabled console if that happens.

zlliM @ Jan 28th 2008 7:51PM

yeah another price cut would get more sales numbers, i am sure, but i don't know well that will do with their profit margins. all in all, i want a price cut :)

SharpBlade @ Jan 28th 2008 4:49PM

In the PR battleground, the 360 has been losing the fight since Moore left. I think anyone who pays close attention to the console battle can see the momentum starting to shift heavily in the direction of the PS3. MS's lack of information on future plans(or just throwing it's userbase a bone!) is really frustrating and makes me not so excited about the 360's future/direction. It feels like thing's are winding down for the system.. Come on MS prove me wrong!

Jeramy @ Jan 28th 2008 7:06PM

idk why nobody will give up the whole blu-ray peripheral question. it's fairly obvious that, unless ms is stupid (at least in a capitalistic sense), they're going to release a blu-ray peripheral if hd-dvd fails. and of course they're reluctant to say "yeah we'll back a competing format if our format fails" b/c that kind of a statement doesn't bode well in the eyes of format strength and all that jazz. of course it's slipped out a few times, but they've always been quick to retract it. if it weren't for pr control, this would have been resolved ages ago (or at least people wouldn't be confused about it)

Mike @ Jan 29th 2008 12:03PM

I think they should come out and say no. I mean be real it would take time for blue ray to claim real victory. Universal and Parmount aren't going bd exclusive anytime soon... so even if blue were on the verge of legit claiming it at end of 2008...xbox 3 specs will leak in 2009. Why buy a bd add on when the xbox 3 will be out in less then 2 yrs...and i really think if ms gets a good deal on hd dvd drives for the xbox 3...they will use that for games.