Microsoft's response to Toshiba's news

[stratman]

As posted in MediaWonk:


Microsoft: Death of HD DVD no biggie - February 18, 2008


Those expecting to word from Microsoft that it will quickly roll out a Blu-ray Disc add-on for the Xbox 360 won't find what they're looking for in the company's first official comment on the apparent demise of the HD DVD format. The company issued the following statement Monday (the Presidents Day holiday in the U.S.):

We do not believe the recent reports about HD DVD will have any material impact on the Xbox 360 platform or our position in the marketplace. As we’ve long stated, we believe it is games that sell consoles and Xbox 360 continues to have the largest next-gen games library with the most exclusives and best selling games in the industry. We will wait until we hear from Toshiba before announcing any specific plans around the Xbox 360 HD DVD player. HD DVD is one of the several ways we offer a high definition experience to consumers and we will continue to give consumers the choice to enjoy digital distribution of high definition movies and TV shows directly to their living room along with playback of the DVD movies they already own.

Having bet on the wrong horse, I don't expect Microsoft to be in any great hurry to jump on the Blu-ray bandwagon. Unless the evidence becomes pretty solid that the Blu-ray drive is really driving sales of PlayStation 3 consoles, the more likely course for Microsoft would be to push "high-def" downloads via Xbox Live. The fact that they may have designed a Blu-ray add-on drive, as some reports have suggested, proves only that Microsoft makes contingency plans. Not necessarily an indication of a strategic shift.

 

[Audioholics]

In a large way, Microsoft won... They sold a GAME box without the need to include a player that caused them to lose more money per box sold... I notice that games seem to load up just fine from DVD on the Xbox 360 - they obviously haven't yet exceeded the storage capacity of the DVD format.

 

[abboudc]

In a large way, Microsoft won... They sold a GAME box without the need to include a player that caused them to lose more money per box sold... I notice that games seem to load up just fine from DVD on the Xbox 360 - they obviously haven't yet exceeded the storage capacity of the DVD format.

I don't think you can qualify the 360 hardware as anything but an abysmal failure at this point. They took a billion dollar charge last year alone to fix them, not counting the money they lose on each unit.

While interesting, i'm not sure how the high def downloadable strategy will work out. Apple is trying to do it with Apple TV, but right now it's a niche market. And the noisiness of the 360 doesn't really play to that crowd.

There was a good article on WSJ.com today about the Blu-Ray vs. downloadable high def movies, and how Sony thinks physical media will last through this generation.

 

[Seth=L]

I foresee Apple coming up with a game console in the next 5 years or less.

 

[aberkowitz]

I foresee Apple coming up with a game console in the next 5 years or less.

Which of course will only be compatible with games sold by Apple .

Don't get me wrong I love my Mac Book...

 

[bandphan]

i saw microsofts statement on monday and friend is betting on ms to continue with hd, as downloads, so what the reality for hardware to burn these hd downloads that seem to be an option still?

 

[ParkerAudio]

Downloading, is really stepping up their game. Release dates are almost the same across the board for on demand services as for the video released. Prime example, most of the video store releases yesterday, that aren't crappy B-rated fair, showed up on demand, such as Michael Clayton.
This didn't used to be the case.

 

[frostbyte]

But aren't the downloads in SD quality and not HD? I still think even with fast servers it will take a long time to download a high def quality picture.

 

[ParkerAudio]

Nope they are HD. Besides, even if they weren't, it isn't like your local video store is going to have it in Bluray anyway.

 

[frostbyte]

Where can I get more information on this? Sounds interesting. I assumed it would be SD still. How large is a movie? Where can you get them at?

 

[ParkerAudio]

I am getting those movies on demand through Charter, if you are looking for the XBOX movies, if you go to their site you will see that they are HD.

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/marketplace/moviestv/default.htm

There they only have the top ten downloads listed, and obviously not up to the minute. I am not sure where you can find a more complete listing of the XBOX movie content, barring looking on the Xbox. At that site you can get the general idea.

The Charter On Demand is instant, but the XBOX, you need to plan a little ahead for, it actuallly downloads the movie to the hard drive. The movie varies in size normally 1.2 gb for SD, or 6.0 gb for high def content. So the amount of time it takes varies on the speed of your connection.

I have friends that have DirectTv HD which also works like the Charter On Demand service.

Here is Charter's page, and you can see what they have in HD.

http://connect.charter.com/articles/2008/february/vodmovies.asp

 

[BMXTRIX]

You mean Toshiba isn't going to make a Blu-ray drive and badge it with a Microsoft label like they have done for the past year and a half with the HD DVD drive?

What a shock.

It pains me that people would get excited about the X360 beyond what it is and avoid calling out the signicant failures it has for what it is. A billion dollars in repairs with a reported failure rate that exceeds standard electronics by over 10 fold.

I don't see a Blu-ray add-on for the X360 anytime soon, but it is likely possible, even if it isn't realistic. More realistic is that a dozen+ CE manufacturers will be coming to market with Blu-ray players and actual hardware competition will heat up pusing Blu-ray prices down, down, down, down.

How many replaced their DVD player with an X-Box 360?

Likely few to none.

How many will replace their DVD player with a decent 2.0 Blu-ray player that upconverts, is backwards compatible, and pushes HD to their displays?

A good deal more than those X360 DVD watchers.

 

[ParkerAudio]

I don't see why Microsoft would do anything to their 360s, they have the number one machine right now. Microsoft states they make money on their machine, last I heard Sony is still losing money on the PS3, and bluray.

 

[BMXTRIX]

I don't see why Microsoft would do anything to their 360s, they have the number one machine right now. Microsoft states they make money on their machine, last I heard Sony is still losing money on the PS3, and bluray.

Ummm... Pretty sure that Nintendo has the number one machine, and, worldwide, PS3 has significantly outsold X360 for the same initial time period.

I have a great deal of respect for the X360 and think there are a ton of fun games, but Nintendo and Sony both have very significant hardware platforms which offer unique bang for the buck which Microsoft doesn't really touch.

If they offerred a 'cheaper' HD solution, it shouldn't come with the baggage of 30%+ failure rates. That ends up not being cheaper. If it's a step up from the Wii, then it shouldn't be so much more of a price jump for both hardware and software.

I think Microsoft has a lot to offer any gamer, but when it comes to new sales, they aren't offerring a platform which truly offers a unique experience nor a new experience as Nintendo and Sony are doing - and this is currently being reflected in their new console sales.

I'm not exactly sure what Microsoft is going to do this year to push more sales of consoles, but by the end of last year, they had been bumed to number two by the Wii, and by the end of this year... maybe... the PS3 will be ahead - or far closer - in consoles sold than Microsoft.

I continue to hear almost no reports of failure from Wii or PS3, which is a very significant piece of fact. The PS2 was plagued with issues and was a poor DVD player. The PS3 is a solid piece of hardware with excellent build quality. The Wii is just fun, even if some games are really hokey with control.

 

[mouettus]

What's bogus about the PS3 is that it takes an eternity for programmers to coume out with a game. And even though, I'd never thought NHL08 would lage on my ps3, even at 720p. XBOX is as fluid as it gets. That's for gaming though, cuz I got a ps3 for movies myself and love it. By the way, I have a 20gb download limit with my internet company (cable). So downloading only one HD movie would bust that limit alone. Anyway, they just came out with 20-30mbps internet in Montreal

 

[ivseenbetter]

Ummm... Pretty sure that Nintendo has the number one machine, and, worldwide, PS3 has significantly outsold X360 for the same initial time period.

I have a great deal of respect for the X360 and think there are a ton of fun games, but Nintendo and Sony both have very significant hardware platforms which offer unique bang for the buck which Microsoft doesn't really touch.

If they offerred a 'cheaper' HD solution, it shouldn't come with the baggage of 30%+ failure rates. That ends up not being cheaper. If it's a step up from the Wii, then it shouldn't be so much more of a price jump for both hardware and software.

I think Microsoft has a lot to offer any gamer, but when it comes to new sales, they aren't offerring a platform which truly offers a unique experience nor a new experience as Nintendo and Sony are doing - and this is currently being reflected in their new console sales.

I'm not exactly sure what Microsoft is going to do this year to push more sales of consoles, but by the end of last year, they had been bumed to number two by the Wii, and by the end of this year... maybe... the PS3 will be ahead - or far closer - in consoles sold than Microsoft.

I continue to hear almost no reports of failure from Wii or PS3, which is a very significant piece of fact. The PS2 was plagued with issues and was a poor DVD player. The PS3 is a solid piece of hardware with excellent build quality. The Wii is just fun, even if some games are really hokey with control.

I totally agree that the Wii is kicking butt and that it is just plain fun...despite not having the supercharged hardware that the other systems have. On the other hand I don't see how you say that the PS3 is offering any sort of "new experience". Other than playing Blu-ray movies the PS3 doesn't do anything that the Xbox can't do...and playing movies is not a new experience at all. Meanwhile the Xbox has a thriving online community and gaming experience. They are also helping to move along the downloadable movie experience. It seems for the most part people buy PS3 is for the Blu-ray player which is fine. It just isn't a unique experience.

 

[ParkerAudio]

Ummm... Pretty sure that Nintendo has the number one machine, and, worldwide, PS3 has significantly outsold X360 for the same initial time period.

I have a great deal of respect for the X360 and think there are a ton of fun games, but Nintendo and Sony both have very significant hardware platforms which offer unique bang for the buck which Microsoft doesn't really touch.

If they offerred a 'cheaper' HD solution, it shouldn't come with the baggage of 30%+ failure rates. That ends up not being cheaper. If it's a step up from the Wii, then it shouldn't be so much more of a price jump for both hardware and software.

I think Microsoft has a lot to offer any gamer, but when it comes to new sales, they aren't offerring a platform which truly offers a unique experience nor a new experience as Nintendo and Sony are doing - and this is currently being reflected in their new console sales.

By the way, money taken in, Microsoft is ahead of the Wii.

I'm not exactly sure what Microsoft is going to do this year to push more sales of consoles, but by the end of last year, they had been bumed to number two by the Wii, and by the end of this year... maybe... the PS3 will be ahead - or far closer - in consoles sold than Microsoft.

I continue to hear almost no reports of failure from Wii or PS3, which is a very significant piece of fact. The PS2 was plagued with issues and was a poor DVD player. The PS3 is a solid piece of hardware with excellent build quality. The Wii is just fun, even if some games are really hokey with control.

Yeah you are right the Wii is ahead of the Xbox by 3 million sales, 20 million, to 17 million, but as far as the PS3 goes, not even close at 8 million. Although their sales figures are good for the past quarter, that is going to be a lot of PS3 to sell even if Xbox sales are stagnant. So not really a reason for the Xbox to change anything about what it is doing, especially as good as Xbox Marketplace.

Obviously, Xbox sales are going to taper off since the machine has been out longer, and those who have wanted a Xbox have bought a XBOX. The PS3 needs some exclusive games. People who have Xboxs need a reason to buy the other gaming platform.

As for the Wii, what a piece of junk with great marketing. Reminds me of why the kids can't get enough happy meals. Like the crappy toy more than care about the food. That Nintendo DS is junk as well, compared to the PSP.

 

[mouettus]

You really are an XBOX hardcore fan. Everything is crap except that eh?!

Would you love HD-DVD still, even if it's dead? We can present you to Johnd and his cat!

 

[ParkerAudio]

These systems equate to slightly above a toaster on the home appliance food chain. I have both a PS3 and a Xbox 360, and all the previous generations.
If you read my post, I didn't say everything else was crap. Obviously the PS3 is a great piece of hardware, but it will need help over the next year to expose its full potential, a step in the right direction would be giving people another option for a controller.
The Wii should have had a better online experience, and it needed to be HD, everything else will be HD by next March. They are selling a bit of a turkey.

As for the HD DVD drive, it will work well for a little longer, I have it in the kids play area, which is where it was intended to be. I would never have any game console as my main movie player. It will probably work well for years upconverting movies. If it would not have been for Warner Brothers defection to Bluray, it would have worked out better. However, with the free 5 movies I got, and the remote, I don't feel it was $170 wasted.

 

[BMXTRIX]

I totally agree that the Wii is kicking butt and that it is just plain fun...despite not having the supercharged hardware that the other systems have. On the other hand I don't see how you say that the PS3 is offering any sort of "new experience". Other than playing Blu-ray movies the PS3 doesn't do anything that the Xbox can't do...and playing movies is not a new experience at all. Meanwhile the Xbox has a thriving online community and gaming experience. They are also helping to move along the downloadable movie experience. It seems for the most part people buy PS3 is for the Blu-ray player which is fine. It just isn't a unique experience.

I would see the X360 and the PS3 on very equal footing with the X360 showing a bit more leverage online overall. Yet, the PS3 does offer HD movie playback. It also offers a far more significant item: Less than 3% failure.

Don't discount this as unimportant, because I have seriously considered adding the X360 to what I currently own, yet have zero interest until the machine is available in a truly reliable format. Both the Wii and PS3 deliver this in spades.

As I said, this year may really prove to be the coming out party for PS3, yet the Playstation franchise, which actively still includes PS2, is the top selling system monthly. Kind of hard for Sony to move forward exclusively with PS3, when PS2 is still so profitable for them I would guess.