Microsoft announced that it will offer an external HD-DVD drive to Xbox 360 owners. After much speculation and publicly battling Sony backed Blu-Ray DVD format, the news was received with a mixed response.
On the one hand, many analysts voiced concerns that a next generation console should support next generation media formats — something the Xbox 360 did not at launch. But adding an external device puts it in competition for those who may opt to use a standalone DVD drive, let alone from a competing format of Blu-Ray (which appears to have stronger hollywood support).
Statement by Bill Gates that “this will be the last format war” suggested to some that perhaps Microsoft would push for delivery based video content via their Xbox Live service. Gates told the Daily Princetonian:
For us it’s not the physical format. Understand that this is the last physical format there will ever be. Everything’s going to be streamed directly or on a hard disk. So, in this way, it’s even unclear how much this one counts.
And finally, over at the sportsgamer blog, they echo what many recent purchasers of the Xbox 360 must feel right now:
Just out of curiousity, how many of you that dropped $1,000 on an Xbox 360 bundle are going to drop another $1,000 on an HD DVD external drive for your Xbox360? I think I’ll pass, and it’s pretty stupid, even if it has Final Fantasy 23HD on it.
We’ll have to wait and see how this turns out :)
Technorati Tags: xbox360, hd-dvd, xbox live, blu-ray
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January 8th, 2006
Great article in the WSJ the other day titled “A New Reason to Buy a High-Definition TV” ( article may require paid registration )
The writer, Nick Wingfield, makes a strong argument that xbox 360 and the future PS3 will help push sales of HDTVs.
As we’ve seen during this week’s CES, HDTV is front and center, and Nick mentions the Bill Gates keynote:
In a sign of how intertwined the next generation of game consoles is becoming with HDTVs, Microsoft executives — including Chairman Bill Gates in tonight’s keynote — at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas plan to disclose data showing that the company’s Xbox 360 system is helping HDTV set sales.
Retailers are confirming this trend of HD + Xbox360:
Retailers say the growing library of games in high-definition will help improve the selection of content available to HDTV owners, even as television programmers gradually improve their HD offerings. “People are starved for high-def content,” says Mike Vitelli, senior vice president of merchandising of Best Buy Co. of Richfield, Minn. “There’s no question [high-definition games are] filling a void.”
Overall great news for owners of HDTV and Xbox 360s. You can read the full story here
Technorati Tags: ces, xbox360, ps3, wsj, best buy, bill gates
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January 6th, 2006
With games near $60 a pop, and a solid number of launch titles now available, I explored the option of renting games.
Doing some research, I looked at the new services that have popped up which essentially mirror what NetFlix has accomplished — the removal of ‘late fees’ with the adoption of a subscription service.
I looked at the following: Gamerang, GameFly, and GameLender.
Gamerang Pros: 4 shipping centers; California, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Minnesota. $9.95 trial month is a nice touch. Site is useful with features such as reviews & ratings, and an easy to use search
Gamerang Cons: I was all set to signup until I checked the game availabilities. Without exception every game I wanted had a wait time — meaning it would not ship out immediately. I was surprised to see this, and hope they can get their inventory up to a better level.
GameFly Pros: Easy to use site. Trial offer for $14.95 is a good thing. All the games I was looking for were in stock and ready to ship. Prices to purchase/keep the games are competively priced ( FIFA 2006 for $44.95 and PGR3 for $38.99 — keep in mind these are pre-owned)
GameFly Cons: Only west coast location, so shipping to the east coast could take an extra day or two. Not the cheapest of the services I looked at.
GameLender Pros: Strong reviews online from fellow gamers, good selection, competitive pricing
GameLender Cons: Web site appears to be a bit out of date ( copyright still has 2004 ), shipping from the west coast, and no clear pricing that I could see if you wanted to keep the game.
In the end I chose GameFly. Two games are being shipped as we speak, so I’ll post a review of the overall experience once I’m a few cycles into this subscription.
Agree or diagree ? Got a service that’s even better ? Please let me know in the comments field below.
xbox360, gamerang, gamefly, gamelender, video game rental
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January 3rd, 2006
Have seen a few mentions of this, and finally saw the ‘problem’ in person. If you are running your xbox360 on a standard non-HD screen, the overall colors and saturation levels are just too dark. BBC news is running a piece quoting the Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot as saying:
“I’m a bit disappointed that we didn’t see it when we were developing the game.” He goes on to say: “We have a problem on the 360, the screen is dark on some TVs and it totally changes the experience. When it’s dark, you don’t see where you have to go. We are looking to see if we can fix the code.”
Short of a fix, they recommend the unthinkable — to play on a PS2 or original Xbox: “When you play on an Xbox or a PlayStation 2, you start to see that it is beautiful…”
Just one more reason to pick up an HDTV :)
Technorati Tags: king kong, xbox360, ubisoft
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January 1st, 2006
If you absolutely had to have an Xbox 360 this holiday season, you probably either stood in line for hours outside your local Best Buy, or paid 4X on eBay ! With inventory levels still relatively low most major retailers aren’t promising much until the end of January. But for those who want a few games, and maybe an extra controller, there are ‘bundles’ that can be found right now.
A couple of sites are pinging all the major off-line and online retailers looking for these bundles — and I’ve monitored them and have seen these ‘bundles’ pop up as a few times a day. Definitely worth checking out:
Gamermill: http://www.gamermill.com/thelist.php
Xbox.Clambert.org: http://xbox.clambert.org/
Good luck, and feel free to leave any tips in the comment field.
Technorati Tags: xbox360, ebay, hdtv, bundles
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December 29th, 2005
Welcome to our site ! We will be revewing and covering all things HDTV & Xbox 360. As you probably know, the Xbox 360 is the first console to offer true HD output at both 720p and 1080i, as well as being optimized for 16:9 widescreen ratio.
So grab the RSS feed and check back soon, we’ll be launchind the full site in a few weeks.
And in the meantime we’ll be posting a few tips and nuggets as we settle in for the new year.
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December 29th, 2005
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