Lite-On developing BD-ROM drives for Xbox 360, sources say

This looks like it could be the real deal!!!!
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20080331PD214.html

And microsoft would have to sell at a loss.

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20080401PD216.html

Whatcha think?

Whether this particular story is true or not Microsoft will have to bite the bullet at some point. They will have a hard time competing while using a regular dvd drive once Blu Ray catches on heavily.

Microsoft says no

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/30073/Microsoft-scotches-new-Blu-Ray-on-360-rumour

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This looks like it could be the real deal!!!!

April 1st.

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And microsoft would have to sell at a loss.

You mean you expect the same people who make $80 off every HD-DVD sold to take a loss to benefit its competitor?

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Whether this particular story is true or not Microsoft will have to bite the bullet at some point.

Nope. Blu-Ray doesn't exist in Microsoft world and Microsoft doesn't need Blu-Ray in Xbox 3, as there are plenty of hungry Taiwanese and Chinese venders willing to sell Microsoft red-laser based 20 GB drives for $20, less than the Blu-Ray royalty paid to Sony.

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They will have a hard time competing while using a regular dvd drive once Blu Ray catches on heavily.

Nintendo seem to be doing fine without a DVD playback, much less a Blu-Ray playback.

On the other hand, the rumor of Blu-Ray-less DVD-only PSthree sounds realistic, since Sony now has no reason to take a blood bath on PS3 anymore.

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Nintendo seem to be doing fine without a DVD playback, much less a Blu-Ray playback.

On the other hand, the rumor of Blu-Ray-less DVD-only PSthree sounds realistic, since Sony now has no reason to take a blood bath on PS3 anymore.

agree. but they need to lower the price more. and i know they can. got plenty of friends that would just, bt are very poor

I could see... a Blu-Ray Enabled Xbox... but not in this generation.

Micro$oft has repeatedly denied these rumors, and if a rouge manufacturer tried to produce their own Blu Ray add on for the 360, I don't think that Micro$oft would provide any Driver support for it.

You would have a Blu capable add-on drive that would only play standard CD's and DVD's.


IF the BDA dropped the whole idea of BD-J, and exclusively adopted Micro$oft HDi instead, well then Micro$oft might just step up to the bargaining table.

But until Pigs Fly.....

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I could see... a Blu-Ray Enabled Xbox... but not in this generation.

Microsoft is never putting a Blu-Ray drive in an Xbox.

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Micro$oft has repeatedly denied these rumors

Another official denial issued today.

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and if a rouge manufacturer tried to produce their own Blu Ray add on for the 360

Nobody can. It costs hundreds of millions of dollars to write a Blu-Ray playback software.

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IF the BDA dropped the whole idea of BD-J, and exclusively adopted Micro$oft HDi instead, well then Micro$oft might just step up to the bargaining table.

But until Pigs Fly.....

Well, we know that's not happening either way, and Microsoft is still hell bent on destroying Blu-Ray with Xbox Live download and DVD2.

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Whether this particular story is true or not Microsoft will have to bite the bullet at some point. They will have a hard time competing while using a regular dvd drive once Blu Ray catches on heavily.

I'm going to have to disagree with this one. The fact that the ps2, the wii, and the xbox 360 still outsell the ps3 in total games sold overall proves that there is plenty of life left in the old dvd9.

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On the other hand, the rumor of Blu-Ray-less DVD-only PSthree sounds realistic, since Sony now has no reason to take a blood bath on PS3 anymore.

Aren't all PS3 games on Blu-ray discs? That would make it one hell of an expensive PS2!

sbmess, yeah really. And the fact that PS3 games come on Blu-ray would complicate their playback on a regular DVD player

That Deadmeat guy was the same person on hidefdigest who said that XBox was introducing a new version with a HD DVD player built-in, but couldn't show it at CES because of Warner's announcement. But it would still come out according to his "inside" sources. Just keep your B.S. meter handy!

Microsoft is not going to support Blu-Ray with the 360. It makes no sense to me, they're willing to add BR to their computers, but not their consoles, but whatever. It's clear that M$ doesn't need BR to survive in the gaming industry. Case in point, how many people that bought PS3s are actually buying PS3 games? Not many. And not only that, but look at the games that are available on both the 360 and the PS3. There is very little, if any, difference between the two versions of the game. So maybe, just maybe, BR isn't as great as we're being told it is. If it's so superior, then how are developers able to produce the exact same product on the same number of discs?

But getting back on topic... If M$ was going to release a BR drive for the 360, then they would have announced it within a couple weeks (if not days) of Toshiba's announcement of the death of HD DVD. Adding that to the fact that they have stated several times that a BR drive is not coming, it makes no sense that anyone is still talking about this. It's not going to happen. And it really doesn't matter. If you're a gamer, you're probably going to want a 360 or a Wii, if you want BR (and maybe a very casual gamer) then you'll want a PS3. That's what the sales figures have shown anyway.

It will be interesting to see how video games continue to evolve as far as space requirements. So far I don't think there is a difference between the graphics on games available on both XBOX 360 and PS3. But, I've read many articles noting that there are games coming out that will take huge advantage of the added storage space (such as MGS4). When they're actually released, these titles will tell us if it's all just bells and whistles using the space or if they actually raise the bar for graphics and gameplay.

Yeah Fumbled its crazy Microsoft has blu ray on "their" computers.
Its even more crazy that Microsoft lets Sony make "their" computers and they won't let them make an xbox.

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Aren't all PS3 games on Blu-ray discs? That would make it one hell of an expensive PS2!

PS3 games can be put in DVDs instead.

99% of PS3 games can be put on a DVD. GT5 Prologue is 1.9 GB large and DMC4 is 5 GB large.

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That Deadmeat guy was the same person on hidefdigest who said that XBox was introducing a new version with a HD DVD player built-in

This was confirmed by Amir Majidimehr(ex-Vice President of Microsoft HD-DVD division) at avsforum. Xbox 360 HD-DVD Edition is an open-secret at avsforum. What's confirmed by Amir Majidimehr.

1. Yes. Xbox 360 HD-DVD Edition was real. This was confirmed by both Amir and a Blu-Ray insider.

2. Furthermore, Bill Gate's planned demonstration of Xbox 360 HD-DVD Edition during his CES 2008 Keynote speech was pulled at the last minute due to Warner bombshell.

3. Furthermore, Amir confirms Microsoft doesn't do business with Lite-On. That pretty much alone kills Xbox Blu-Ray rumor.

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according to his "inside" sources

When the source is Microsoft's head of HD-DVD division, they are as accurate as they can be.

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Microsoft is not going to support Blu-Ray with the 360. It makes no sense to me, they're willing to add BR to their computers, but not their consoles

Microsoft's Blu-Ray support is limited to adding drivers to Windows. No playback support.

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But getting back on topic... If M$ was going to release a BR drive for the 360

Already denied.

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It will be interesting to see how video games continue to evolve as far as space requirements. So far I don't think there is a difference between the graphics on games available on both XBOX 360 and PS3.

There is a massive difference between two, if you played multiplatform games on both machines.

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But, I've read many articles noting that there are games coming out that will take huge advantage of the added storage space (such as MGS4).

Japanese developers tend to fill up the disc with prerendered cutscenes, whereas western developers use real-time cutscene and their disc space requirment isn't large.

If Microsoft is to release a console with a built-in Blu-ray drive it'll be until its next generation console and that'll be only if BD is stablished as the only next generation format. If by the time the next generation consoles come out (in about 4 years) DVD is still as strong as 75% household base (which it'll be a long stretch), I'm sure M$ will still release a DVD-format console or even maybe develope its own proprietary DVD media like Nintendo did for the Wii. M$ has nothing to loose by not having a BD drive add-on at this point in time.

Game consoles primary function is still to play games, not to watch movies. If anyone wants to challenge that, just ask Nintendo if they have problems by not having DVD playback. Nintendo is producing almost 2 million consoles a month and selling them all worldwide every month. As a matter of fact, people still line up in some stores at 6 am (2 to 3 hours before opening) to get their hands on a ticket to buy a Wii. Not bad for a 1 1/2 year-old console which doesn't play SD-DVD's, much less BD.

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Yeah Fumbled its crazy Microsoft has blu ray on "their" computers.
Its even more crazy that Microsoft lets Sony make "their" computers and they won't let them make an xbox.

What are you guys talking bout? M$ is the bussiness of making software, not PC's. Did I miss something?

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If Microsoft is to release a console with a built-in Blu-ray drive

They don't plan to.

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it'll be until its next generation console and that'll be only if BD is stablished as the only next generation format.

Microsoft might consider it as data-storage format only(no movie playback possible due to Java requirement) if Sony sells them the drive for $20, all royalty included. Given that current ROM drive royalty alone is $30, this is not possible.

If not, there are half dozen Taiwanese and Chinese drive venders willing to sell 20 GB drives for $20 each.

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I'm sure M$ will still release a DVD-format console or even maybe develope its own proprietary DVD media like Nintendo did for the Wii.

A propritary $20 drive format is the most likely outcome.

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PS3 games can be put in DVDs instead. 99% of PS3 games can be put on a DVD. GT5 Prologue is 1.9 GB large and DMC4 is 5 GB large.

Why would Sony release a PS3 that can't play any of the PS3 games that have been released so far? That makes no sense. Right now I would agree that most existing games don't take advantage of Blu-ray capacity, but long-term this might be a real advantage to the PS3.

Wii-Lite
Thats my point, for some reason people like Fumbled think Microsoft has complete control over the hardware market even though they don't. The fact that he thinks its hypocritical that there are pc's with blu-ray is laughable.

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Why would Sony release a PS3 that can't play any of the PS3 games that have been released so far?

The same reason SCEI released newer PS2s that couldn't play older PS2 discs.

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That makes no sense.

Saves $100 per box.

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Right now I would agree that most existing games don't take advantage of Blu-ray capacity, but long-term this might be a real advantage to the PS3.

Here is the market situation right now.

Xbox 360 is the lead platform for most, if not all, 3rd party developers. Accordingly all 3rd party titles are designed with DVD capacity in mind. There are no more PS3 exclusive 3rd party titles left, MGS4 and FF13 are last PS3-specific titles.

This is why PS3 will do just fine without its Blu-Ray drive, because 99% of games are developed with DVD capacity in mind.

Sony releasing a PS3 without a BR drive would be a complete waste of money and resources. It's clear that virtually no one cares about it as a gaming console. The main reason that most people are buying them is because they are current the cheapest BR players on the market. The only way these things will sell is if people get confused and think it's just a price drop, and assume that it will play Blu-Rays. So Sony might sell a few PS3, but they'll most likely have tons of returns and some really pissed off customers.

sony doesn't need to do anything with the ps3's price, much less take out the BR player.
BR not only allows movie playback, but it also allows gameplay at 1080p, which yes is not every game or even a majority of games but it is still capable.
Only 3 360 games play at 1080p native resolution, these are relatively very tiny games (content wise). currently there are over 30 games in 1080p native resolution for ps3 and a lot more coming out this year. ex: metal gear, so forth...
BR drive is necessary for the system. ps3 has only been out for a year and a half. look at the difference in quality of game from one year to the next, especially on newly released consoles..... you guys think that things are going to stay this way? It is now 5 months since 360 has outsold the ps3 in the world week to week. People are going to start learning that they should develop for ps3 and then port to the 360.

deadmeat where does it say that new ps2's can't play previous ps2 games? Sounds like you backed yourself into a corner this time buddy. I've heard of rare cases of this, but what you said is rediculous.

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The main reason that most people are buying them is because they are current the cheapest BR players on the market.

If you are industrious, you can pick up the Samsung or LG HD DVD/Blu-ray players for $399 on an inventory liquidation sale...thus allowing you to enjoy all three worlds...HD DVD, Blu-ray and SD DVD...especially if you are not a gamer )

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Xbox 360 is the lead platform for most, if not all, 3rd party developers. Accordingly all 3rd party titles are designed with DVD capacity in mind. There are no more PS3 exclusive 3rd party titles left, MGS4 and FF13 are last PS3-specific titles.

This is why PS3 will do just fine without its Blu-Ray drive, because 99% of games are developed with DVD capacity in mind.

Third party devs hardly do anything exclusively nowadays boy-o.

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all third party titles are designed with dvd capacity"

wow with mgs, haze, final fantasy xiii, valkyria chronicles, afrika, god of war 3,gradius, folks soul, gundam world, monster hunter 3,resistance 2, tekken 6 and 5, wardevil(1080p beautiful!!!!),silent hill 5(rumor but konami firmly believes that ps3 is far beyond any other console in terms of capability), white knight story, wipeoutand a new rockstar title that "can only be made on BR" you would think the word "all" would be replaced with something less prattish.

How desperate is the blu-ray camp to get a blu-ray add-on for the XBOX 360??? I mean come on!

deadmeat, are you still there? You haven't confirmed that there are actually ps2s that don't play ps2 games yet. Either way, PS3s without Blu-ray drives doesn't make any sense to me. Saving $100 a player at the expense of not playing any existing PS3 games and not playing many of the newer games doesn't seem to match Sony's long-term marketing or production plans.

I'm not saying definitively that you're right or wrong at this point, but as you state a lot of things as facts you need to either provide support for your "fact" or acknowledge that you were wrong. Otherwise your credibility just dropped a notch.

credibility = -1
credibility after acting like a know it all = -10

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sbmess wrote:
Why would Sony release a PS3 that can't play any of the PS3 games that have been released so far? That makes no sense....

Because Sony knew the popularity of the PS2 would carry over to the PS3 and it would mean a "sure sale" among hard-core fans and most PS2 owners. Thus in reality, the PS3 was nothing but a Troyan Horse for the Blu-ray format. What a better way to introduce a new video format than by forcing a well strablished PS fanbase into adopting the new format by buying two products in one: a PS and a BD player.

Let's face it, why would people bother to "choose" an HD format when their new "game console" already has a BD player built-in. Sony sold roughly close to 1 million PS3 consoles in little over 2 months which to Sony meant 1 million BD players. My brother in-law said it himself one day when we were talking about HD formats (summer last year): "... I don't see what the big deal is about the new HD formats but now that I have a PS3 with the BD player built-in, I don't the point either of looking into HD-DVD... I'm just going to buy BD movies..."

Like I said before, the PS3 was blu-ray's Troyan Horse. Most people bought a console and they got more than they bargained for. For better or for worse.

wii-lite said:

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Because Sony knew the popularity of the PS2 would carry over to the PS3 and it would mean a "sure sale" among hard-core fans and most PS2 owners. Thus in reality, the PS3 was nothing but a Troyan Horse for the Blu-ray format. What a better way to introduce a new video format than by forcing a well strablished PS fanbase into adopting the new format by buying two products in one: a PS and a BD player.

It's Trojan Horse. You know, like the condoms. )

I wouldn't count on that "sure sale" just yet. The PS3 is just starting to catch up to the 360. I know it outsold the 360 in January and February (not sure about the rest of the months so far) but I believe it's still far behind the 360 in total sales. So I guess that kinda defeats the argument.

Besides, if Microsoft were really behind HD DVD they would have put an HD drive in the 360. Looking back on the PS3's influence on the format war.... had M$ done this, I believe it would have ended the format war before it really had a chance to begin. I know HD DVD isn't a Microsoft product, but I believe it's their fault (at least in part) that it failed.

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Let's face it, why would people bother to "choose" an HD format when their new "game console" already has a BD player built-in. Sony sold roughly close to 1 million PS3 consoles in little over 2 months which to Sony meant 1 million BD players. My brother in-law said it himself one day when we were talking about HD formats (summer last year): "... I don't see what the big deal is about the new HD formats but now that I have a PS3 with the BD player built-in, I don't the point either of looking into HD-DVD... I'm just going to buy BD movies..."

Like I said before, the PS3 was blu-ray's Troyan Horse. Most people bought a console and they got more than they bargained for. For better or for worse.

To be fair, if M$ had made better choices, then early 360 adopters would have been "forced" to go with their (Microsoft's) format of choice. Sony gambled big on Blu-Ray and it paid off. I don't think they should be criticizied for that.

I don't own either format yet, although that was mostly a monetary decision. I was pulling for HD DVD though. Even though I have no choice but buying into Blu-Ray (or staying in SD, which I am not interested in) I will also build up an HD DVD collection first. From everything I had read -- reviews, posts on various message boards, lists of what both formats are capable of -- I have been lead to believe that HD DVD is the superior format, even though Blu-Ray is "larger."

[Post edited by Fumbled_Revolution on Apr 8, 2008]

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sbmess wrote:
Why would Sony release a PS3 that can't play any of the PS3 games that have been released so far? That makes no sense....
wii-lite wrote: Because Sony knew the popularity of the PS2 would carry over to the PS3 and it would mean a "sure sale" among hard-core fans and most PS2 owners. Thus in reality, the PS3 was nothing but a Troyan Horse for the Blu-ray format. What a better way to introduce a new video format than by forcing a well strablished PS fanbase into adopting the new format by buying two products in one: a PS and a BD player.

This doesn't explain why Sony would now start producing PS3s without Blu-ray drives, as deadmeat has stated could happen. Are you agreeing with deadmeat?

Looks like M$ still thinks the Wii and not the PS3 is it's main competitor - they do say imitation is the best form of flattery

http://www.electricpig.tv/news/top-stories/144861/microsoft-prepping-xbox-motion-remote.thtml

if any of you think that they will release a ps3 without br you are seriously retarded.
If any of you think recent ps2 didn't play most of the older ps2 games, you are in the same boat.
If you think you are smarter than Sony, then by all means, take your 5 phd's and get a job where you can make enough money to afford anything you want without having to bitch about it on this forum.