Rumor: Microsoft to "Upstage" Apple WWDC With Xbox 360 Blu-Ray Announcement

Gizmondo writes: "Microsoft's on-again, off-again relationship with an Xbox 360 Blu-Ray drive looks set to be on again this Monday. As you all know by now, Monday marks the beginning of Apple's annual WWDC, and a little bird told us something is going to be announced by Steve Jobs there during his keynote. Microsoft doesn't care; a tipster told CrunchGear it's going to "upstage" Jobs, Apple and the entire known tech-using world by announcing an Xbox 360 with Blu-Ray drive one hour before the beginning of the conference."

[PoSTedUP]

lol, yea ok. sonys not gonna give them their pearl. lol they will be losing money big time pricing it below the current elite. give me a break people. do you guys get a kick out of this or what?

[Veryangryxbot]

Because the 360 Blu Ray drive rumor just wont die, just like MGS4 for the 360 rumor lol.

And just 4 more days and we will be able to enjoy MGS4 and even now, xbots living in denial lol.

And what happened to all the "digital downloads will take over by the end of 2008" now huh bots! Haha dont you people look stupid.

Now what stupid bots, didnt you say digital download will take over by the end of 2008?

So now you all want blu ray flip flop flip flop stupid bots.

And here is the kicker:
Didnt MS consistently denied that 360 would ever get a Blu Ray for a zillion times already? Why do these bots still think they are getting a blu ray drive after all the that?

Are bots simply just stupid people or what?

LOL I gotta tell you all, everytime I see a 360 getting Blu Ray drive thread, I smell desperation and xbot patheticness all over the place.

Holy shiat xbots are pathetic.
Unable to accept reality or what.

[BLUR111]

PS3 is the superior hardware?... its got blu ray thats about it. and its got the cell which deVelopers are not really getting to know how to fully use it yet but 360 is faster. its got more amount of ram. soo by the end of the day microsoft wins just cuz the software alone and if Killer Instinct 3 is coming than its all over. thankfully the ps3 does make it out of the hole since was release is just cause of mgs4 and killzone2. everything must loose a fight even sony. N4G WONT SAVE IT

[MK_Red]

The big question is this:
Will a Blu-ray drive on 360 (If such thing exists) be used for games or just for movies (Like HD-DVD before it)?

[MrWonderful]

i would hope its for movies only because alot of people would be pissed if they had to upgrade their 360s to play games only on bluray.

[Gorgon]

Just for movies. You obviously can't alienate everyone that doesn't buy another disc drive. Thats why these are consoles, not PCs that need upgrades to be abble to play games. Every SKU needs to be abble to play games. Making a blu-ray a necessity for games is the same thing as forcing everyone to buy an HDD to play games.

[Jinxstar]

Well it would help and make games like GTA5 and LA Noire possible on the 360 but they would be going back on their word to the 360 community... Not that they wouldn't do that but still. At that point why not just buy a PS3... Pro's and Con's all over the place MK. Either way I hope the 360 community (Myself included) would get a good deal at least. It would extend the life cycle and other things instead of having to buy a whole new system... I guess they could get around it buy saying "It's not a Xbox 360 game. its a Xbox BR game" Kinda like a Sega CD... We all know how that went over though...

[Kaneda]

they can name xbox 540.. :) with full backward compability.. and xbox fans will upgrade..

[sonarus]

Not sure if they can use it for games. MSoft has continuallys aid Bluray is unnecessary and it isn't taking off and bla bla. Nice to see they see the future is blu

[MK_Red]

It would indeed piss a lot of people if they use Blu-ray drive for games and as Jinxstar said, Pros and cons are all over the place.

Another important question is this:
Will it be a stand-alone Blu-ray drive (Like HD-DVD one) or a new model of 360 with built-in Blu-ray drive?

[sonarus]

If its just for movies, it would make more sense to make it an add on but they could do both as well. But it sounds like a blu ray 360 and not an add on

[omni_atlas]

Thats how M$ makes money. You'll have to buy a new blu-ray disc drive to play all the new games. A big FU to their userbase.

[MikeGdaGod]

there's no way a bluray 360 would upstage a 3g iPhone.

only people that would care would be 360 fanboys that refuse to buy a ps3. to anyone else, it wouldn't be a big deal. just more of MS following the leader with the 360 (HDMI, motion controlers, and now bluray).i don't mean to be an @sshole but i really think they should be concentrating on just making it durable instead of "keeping up with the Jones's".

even with bluray, there's no way i would buy another 360 anytime soon. the hardware is already suspect as it is and this is just another part that could fail. i've lost all confidence in any "new" 360 hardware.

i've been waiting on the new iPhone ever since the first one was released. i knew they'd release one with more memory, better camera and on the 3g network so i decided to wait. that's the announcement i'm waiting for. day one purchase for me. i was talking to my mother the other day and even she's excited about the new iPhone because she wanted the first one but i made her wait knowing a better one was on the way. so this will be a day one purchase for us both i think.

EDIT: i doubt MS would allow the bluray drive to be used for games. that would be very foolish.

[travelguy2k]

they would have to start sending out new blu-ray 360's instead when a 360 inevitably red rings on you. If they did that then i think they could actually pull it off without to much complaining on the 360 fanbases part.

[PimpHandHappy]

they couldnt use it for games unless they want everyone to know Sony has it built in and it has the games that use it

[ScentlessApprentice7]

You're right man. Microsoft totally badmouths something when Sony introduces something that seems as a unique advantage to them. Then they copy what Sony does.

Microsoft totally disregarded HDMI before the PS3 came out, saying its irrelevant and no one will use them. Then they but their foot in their mouth by releasing a whole new SKU (360 Elite)

They talk bad about the Sixaxis, saying motion controllers are not relevant. Now it seems they are putting their foot in their mouths again with rumors of a 360 Motion controller.

Now, yet again, Microsoft totally badmouthed blu-ray. Saying blu-ray software won't catch on and "9gb's is enough for any game". Now it seems they are going to shove their foot in their big mouth YET AGAIN by releasing a 360 blu-ray drive, even if its just for movies.

This seriously validates the assumption that Sony is a leader and Microsoft is nothing but a follower...with a big mouth.

[Statix]

Obviously, just movies.

[godofthunder10]

i'm not bias and i'm not takeing up for any console but ScentlessApprentice7 had some facts wrong.

1-he claimed that sony is the leader and microsoft is the follower because he claimed that they coppied the motion controller from sony.the fact is that the motion controller been out.it been out for a few years for computers before the ps3,360 and the wii was released.
if he's claiming that microsoft is the follower and sony is the leader for useing the motion controller on consoles,then he's right in a way,but instead of sony being the leader and micro the follower,it's nintendo the leader and microsoft and sony are both followers.

2-microsoft is the first one to be on line so people could play each other over the net.

3-sony,microsoft,nintendo and arti all coppied off telivision because that was the first home video gameing system every made.

the truth is that every company coppy off each other.i don't care who it is.sony,micr,and wii all copy something off each other so to claim that micro or any other company is a leader is wrong because neither one is able to call their selfs the leader because like i said before they all coppy off each other.

i'm not trying to take up for the 360,what i posted here is facts and anyone can check up on it if they want.

[lunchboy]

sony would never let them do this!

[travelguy2k]

It will raise the cost of the 360 making the PS3 an even better value and Sony (through the BDA) would profit from every 360 sold. Also they will profit from all the movies sold as 360 owners have been proven buyers of media. Lastly it will put even more Blu-Ray players in homes and make it seem even more permanent by the general public.

[Jinxstar]

Sony would be able to claim a cut off every game the 360 produces. They would do it in a heart beat. It would also basically ensure BR's future.

[sonarus]

Yea sony makes money off every 360 so it works either way for sony plus it gives blu ray more of an edge leading to more blu ray discs sold again more money for sony.

The key factor though would be how much they enter into the market for. Sony would need to drop price to make the PS3 still the more viable blu ray option

[Nathaniel_Drake]

Not to mention Sony's movie distribution companies will now have a wider audience to sell, as 360 owners are going to buy those movies

Also whenever they come out with Blu-ray television shows, Sony again will profit from a big array with their television studios, like one of them I am waiting for is King of Queens for Blu-ray

[Blademask]

Ever upstaged anyone? Especially Apple.

[LJWooly]

Exactly, and being rather late to add a feature like Blu-Ray, which they won't be able to fully take advantage of anyway, isn't going to change that.

[DaddyDC650]

I'd buy 1 as soon as it is available. I already have a PS3 and Wii. I would have a 360 by now if it was more reliable. I'm guessing the Blu-Ray model will also come with a 65nm CPU and GPU?

[SKUD]

BR-Drive for the X360 is highly unlikely in my opinion.

[DaddyDC650]

They need to pull out all the stops in order to compete with Sony and Nintendo. A price drop and a RELIABLE 360 with BR drive would be awesome for sales.

[Elginer]

360 for one with a brd in it.

[Cdaja]

If you would sell your 360 for a 360 with a Blu ray drive then why not just buy a PS3? It has Blu ray already and would be cheaper over all.

[BWS1982]

I don't think the 360 game discs would work well in his new PS3

[Valin]

...... Microsoft don't have anyone who can sell things like Jobs........

Also on the 360 BR drive, Or they could just drop the price by $100? This would make the 360 unsopable at $99....

[lsujester]

Sell it for 99$??
Why would they want to lose money on it? The PS2 isn't even at that price yet.

Sell things like Jobs?? WTF?!?
MS just doesn't have the insane fan base that Apple does. Steve Jobs is a money-grubbing bastard, but people don't care. You could make a device that did nothing but shred your money, name it an Apple iShredder, and the Apple devotees would buy it in droves.

[omni_atlas]

BTW, I don't think the Xbox 360 has any future without hd-dvd/blu-ray -- with the size of games going exponentially up, they'll need to secure a portable media type that will continue the success(?) of the xbox. Hard drives won't cut it, esp since everyone doesn't have T3 lines going to their houses.

[DR-IVO]

oh geez this should be fun if its true. The future of N4G news topics will go something like this.

Which blue ray is better ps3 vs 360?
Which blue ray player is cheaper ps3 vs 360?
Which has more people watching blue ray movies ps3 vs 360?
Which is a failure ps3 vs 360?
Gametrailers comparison screenshots of ps3 vs 360 blue ray?
Will the wii support blueray in the future?
Is the ps3 doomed of microsoft announcement of the blueray player for 360?
Gamespot review gives 360 blueray player 11/10 rating for best product of the century.

[Condoleezza Rice]

But in reality,the Blu Ray 'edge' will always go to the Ps3,considering the console launched with it,the company that manufactures the console are the primary backers of it,and finally,the company that manufactures the console are also the makers of the format.It will always be a 'Sony format' in a 'Sony product',and this association will never go away.

Though,I must admit;If Microsoft announce an in-built Blu Ray Drive,they're going to have a looooooooot of backpeddling to do;

http://www.next-gen.biz/ind...

http://www.tvsnob.com/archi...

http://news.softpedia.com/n...

http://www.gamesindustry.bi...

[Citizen Cook]

In my 360!

I don't want a PS3rd...

I'm happy to buy yet another 360 Sku, i have 5 as it is...

HA HA HA HA!

[syanara]

let me get this right. you have 5 xbox 360sand don't want a ps3 well you obviously have money but you still intened to be bias for the 360 and not even try th ps3... nice.

[Thoas]

5 Xbox 360's why?? Man you are naive.

[pwnsause]

you, know 5 RRODs is better than one RROD in order to warm yourself up in the cold HAHAHAHHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA HAHAHAHAAHAH

[hideo kojima]

I myself have 2 xbox360s. Since i'm done developing the ps2 movie now i can throw the ps3 out and work on 360s.

[zapass]

<< Citizen Cook
118 days 11 hours ago
I hope not!
I'm on my 6th Xbox 360. My second Elite. How many more will i have to go through before M$ release a fully working system?
>>

<< Citizen Cook
117 days 9 hours ago
HD-DVD!
I'm going to support HD-DVD till the day I die.
Its the better format.
>>

[zapass]

nicely done:

http://www.n4g.com/ps3/News...

LOL!

[DanB91]

What does an xbox 360 accessory have to do with Apple?

BTW I can't wait for the WWDC!!!

[Blackcanary]

Even if MS do bring a blu Ray drive out for the 360 Sony will be makeing money of, of MS so no matter how u see it its a win win for Sony.

[PoSTedUP]

but sony will profit alot more from having the only blu-ray player on the market. blu-ray will take sony to the top either or, but if they are smart they would not give it up unless MS strikes a REALLY crazy deal with them.

[Veryangryxbot]

Thats like Nintendo giving away Mario to Sony. Its on that level of retardness. So think before you speak. Sony doesnt need MS at all. Bots talk like as if Sony NEED MS and therefore they would give Blu Ray to 360. Since Sony would get money from MS, they both gain and thus Blu Ray would go to the 360. LOL Talk about massive case of denial. Xbots are pathetic and desperate.

Sony would never even consider this option unless they are like 40 million units ahead of the 360. Or some other ridiculous high number to the point where it is obvious that 360 would never ever ever able to catch up to the PS3.

Until then, this shiat isnt even an unlikely option. This shiat isnt an option AT ALL.

So bots, keep dreaming away. You people are pathetic creatures.

[PoSTedUP]

yes, it IS on that level of retardness! very well put, and a perfect example!

[reincarnated]

looks like xbox is gonna start sucking sony's dik

[PoSTedUP]

i think thats the main reason bill gates dosent want to do it. it will make them look bad. not bad but like they need help or something.

[SONYS LARGE D1CK]

the only people sucking my dik is the same sony droidekas for the last 11 years. keep tosing that black'n'hairy dik
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhh
yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh hhhhhhhh
8============================ =============================== ====D

[eagle21]

lies, lies, lies. Microsoft is desperate for attention. They would call their console a Playstation 3 or Wii if they could buy the patents.

I love Blu-ray like every other owner does. Expanding the format in any way is something I am all for.

But Microsoft? The ones who spent millions of dollars against the format? Supported hd dvd to watch both fail?

I need some Pepto Bismol...

[caffman]

Sony NEVER steal anybodies ideas do they?

[eagle21]

Sony is an INNOVATOR, Microsoft is an IMITATOR.....period.

Microsoft wishes they had what Sony, Apple, Google, Nintendo has..they should stick to office software and cancel the other products.

[TheXgamerLive]

you believe your own lies, don't you. MS will never use BR, never. Use some common sence, I wish whatever sony fan boy who writes these posting would use common sence.

ps3 will thankfully be the only to use BR, and maybe 2 sku's from sony laptops.

[lsujester]

Yes and no. Sony and MS both have innovated and imitated at different times. But it's largely a necessity as the two companies specialize in different things. For any one thing MS copies, you can find something that Sony copied, too. And anything Sony comes up with, you can find something MS came up with too. Look it up, and you'll see.

Sony came up with Blu-ray. However, many of the audio/video codecs the thing uses were developed by Microsoft.

MS slacked in supporting HDMI on the original 360's... but yet it was the success of Live with the original Xbox which necessitated PSN, and, by extension, Home.

There are many other examples, if you care to look.

[eagle21]

What made me sick, was how some gamers are in here defending what they would do "if"...

Making excuses for...

Not making the "rumor" a careless idea even if it were true. The BDA (blu-ray disc association) is made up of over 140 companies. Sony is a major player (the lead innovator) but share in the wealth. Microsoft could have already been in there...

If they could turn back time....

@lsujester...NO...Microsoft has nothing in Blu-ray. That is the whole point, they wanted Blu-ray to use HD-i but Sony used JAVA instead. Hd dvd agreed to Hdi now changed to the name iHD. Please go to wikipedia before posting...

[tweaker]

"you believe your own lies, don't you"

back at you.

[lsujester]

Eagle21... why don't YOU read the Wikipedia for a change? Or even better, some technical specs of Blu-ray. It uses alot more than Java. Java is only for the interactivity part, it is NOT a video codec.

One easy example... VC-1. While a consortium runs the standard, it is primarily a MS development. And it is a mandatory spec of the Blu-ray standard.

Point is, MS has their hands on a lot of software floating out there, and some of it is used by Sony.

[TheExodus]

Bill Gates could walk on stage, announce the 2nd coming & have Jesus walk out on stage to demo a new Surface enabled Zune, but they still wouldn't be able to upstage Apple. Even if Steve Jobs just mulled about on stage for 30 minutes before saying, "I got nothin'."

[lsujester]

Which is kind of sad if you think about it. Look at the iphone... the things were overpriced, got crappy reception, had exclusive deals with AT&T, and Apple even bricked the ones who were hacked.

But yet, everyone kisses Steve Jobs' butt for delivering what they see as the single greatest electronic device ever created by man.

[dkgshiz]

Hmm, using your rival companies product to keep up with the next gen tech. LOL! microcrap is so terrible, they are just degrading themselves. Even if microsoft gets a blu ray add on, its going to just be for movies. That whole thing that downloadable movies is the future, is just a lie. Microsoft doesn't know anything. Vista anyone? All they do is make the biggest flopper tech, and try to make a quick buck. They made the 360 in 6 months, look at that piece of doodie. Its just an RROD box. Microsoft is the peanuts in my poop!

[Snukadaman]

Why would I want to buy a xbox with blu-ray.....when Im on the market for blu-ray I will be buying a ps3...with the problems of rrod they want to put something else in their console. Now if its a external drive like the hd-dvd then thats a possibility because it shows that you wont be needing it for games.

[MikeGdaGod]

at last we finally agree on something

[titntin]

This would be the stupidest move ever. To allow a drive now would make no sense and I don't believe a word of it unless it officially announced. It would be the single stupidest marketing move MS has ever made.
A movie only drive would be of little use to most people, would add yet another sku to the line-up, and still wouldn't allow developers to have more room to store game data. Additionally it would seriously increase the cost of the machine, losing one its main advantages over PS3.

I absolutely totally and utterly don't believe a word of this.

[DJ]

So it wouldn't be a big financial risk for them. It would however be a huge marketing risk, the media would slaughter them, and SCE would have a field day talking about how the PS3 still outputs Blu-ray movies better than the 360 (which would be true; HDMI 1.3 vs 1.2).

It would be pretty funny though. Microsoft spent billions of dollars trying to kill off Blu-ray (and HD-DVD) and look where they are now.

[eyeDEVOUR]

hell...sony could just make an aftermarket drive/add-on for the 360 just like Pelican,Madcats and many others make all kind of accessories for each console...

[mithril]

any company doing external hardware for Xbox360 must have Microsoft approbation.

The company doing keyboard and mouse for any game in PS3 SplitFish Gameware (fragFX) try for Xbox, but Microsoft don't accept.

[Egzekutor]

Buahaha 20.000.000 current XBOX 360 users will be forced to upgrade their consoles to Blu Ray in other to play future games.

Microsoft i desperately trying to make some money, just like they are forcing DX10 on games so people buy Vista.

Why is that Microsoft can never think of anything on their own, they have to copy someone elses ideas and bring them to their crap console. This is the reason why my xbox is not being used and i just keeps getting more dust on it.

[pwnmaster3000]

there not even in 20 mill yet and it been 3 yeas ahahahahahahahahahaahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahhahaha hahahahah

[shysun]

Good news for 360 owners, now maybe the price of blu-ray movies will drop.

[TheXgamerLive]

There's no way in hell that MS will EVER release a Blu Ray drive. Number 1 there's no need for it for gaming and they would never use it for gaming based on there promise when the 360 came out, number 2 there's very little want for BR movies, everyone still uses DVD and to be honest there's very little difference on TV's and Xbox Live has downloadable movies and Netflix is coming soon.
If MS had wanted to put a new tech. drive it would of been the HD-DVD which would of helped it to win too, but again based on there promise of ONLY using DVD from the start it didn't happen and this is only rumor and AGAIN won't happen.

No need for it, no want for it, no use for it. Never happen on this gen. Xbox 360. Never.

[madjedi]

Stop implying your own opinions speak for everyone else when it comes to high def media, it is just retarded and arrogant, thats as bad as me saying everyone in the world is dying for blu ray. Watch some hd dvd's or some blu rays, hd lite isn't that impressive.

If it will get ms more money it will be a choice for 360 owners. As far as media backlash over ms putting in a blu ray drive, they were able to spin it with 1080p and hdmi so they can probably manage this one as well.

[ice_prophecy]

Thats what they said about DVDs ^^ '

edit: when the ps2 came out

[xfrgtr]

HAHAHAHA!!!!!Microsoft is,FINALLY,recognizing that BLURAY IS THE NEXT FORMAT.Xbots used to bash bluray,let's see how they react now,lol.

[SpecialSauce]

i bet they're all reading this shyt and cant think of anything to come bak wit

[xboxftw]

Hey idiot.. the only people commenting in here are droids cuz they are the ones who are so insecure when it comes to anything 360. Guess u got the raw deal with ps3 and are so insecure that u just jump on any news/rumors etc about 360 and try to downplay it. Go play ur' green tinted ps2 game mgs4 and stop getting ur panties in a bunch over news about 360s. Most 360 owners dont care $hit about BD and that's why they are not here.

[Blackcanary]

Like i said Sony own half the rights to Blu Ray so even if MS does bring out a Blu ray drive for the 360 first MS have to up for it and second every Blu Ray Gaame sold for the 360 Sony get Royalites if u don't belive me go on youtube and look for a Interview where David Reffs was saying that if MS did this they would be happy for GOW3 to come out on Blu Ray because they get Royalites the guy from Insomniac was in the interview to.
So Sony wouldn't be doing stupid for doing this, they would be happy for this to happen cause they would be making a Sh!t load of money from them.

[SpecialSauce]

There is a pretty big difference between Blu RAY and DVD. If you meant HDDVD there is also a big difference. thats why BLU RAY took over so fast.

[KatanaSteel]

Upstage the Apple WWDC? No chance...

[aaquib5]

Steve Jobs is set to run the show tomorrow.

- New 3G iPhone
- App Store for iPod Touch and iPhone
- iPhone/iPod Touch firmware 2.0 software
- .Mac remade into Mobile Me
- OSX Snow Leopard (10.6)

A little Bluray announcement can't touch either one of those.

[aaquib5]

Add the extra cost onto the 360 + royalties for Sony + tons of Xbox owners getting pissed = $$$

+ Don't forget that there are Sony BMG music on the Live marketplace. Sony PCs also run Windows Vista software. Sony doesn't really care about taking down Microsoft, they just want the most money possible.

[chanto23]

if it is used for games, not just movies...i always thought that DVD was the only thing holding back the 360...

[eyeDEVOUR]

a HDD wouldnt hurt either...

[C_Dub]

Join 'em. I for one won't be buying this peripheral as I have a PS3.

And no, I highly doubt you're going to see Blu-ray games on Xbox 360, instead it will be an add-on like the HD DVD drive was. Now if this was a built-in drive, then I'd be suspicious.

Of course, that's even if this turns out to be real. I've been hearing about this for months, like most of us have. Eh, I'll believe it when I see it. :p

[Imallvol7]

This makes no sense for MS. They have to keep getting cheaper and cheaper to beat Sony, not more expensive. There isn't much of a reason for Blu Ray in the 360 if none of the games are ever going to be on the format.

[eyeDEVOUR]

they better throw in a HDD also...lol

on second thought they should wait til E3 09 and announce a completely new console that has all the proper sh!t in it this time.(due for a 2010 release)...with all the add-ons they shoulda just built a PC...

[etownone]

some people are either too stupid or too childish to understand that this is a win-win for both MS and Sony.

anyways, i've said it many times already, i was waiting till E3 for an announcement of a 360 with blu-ray, if not I would definitely have been buying the PS3 this xmas.

This is going to be HUGE for the 360, only because there are the casual adult gamers that want a gaming console and end up buying a ps3 because of the added blu-ray. I have 4 friends that bought a ps3 mainly because of blu-ray. And I can't blame them, I mean for 50 bucks more you get blu-ray.

So, now the 360 will have taken away the only real advantage the ps3 had... and unlike PS3, the 360 will still have the price advantage because the more expensive blu-ray sku will be used only for movies, while the much cheaper arcade/pro sku will still be around for the mass market this xmas.
and if they get the newton "wii-mote" they also take away the wii advantage.

again, i'm really hoping this is true, especially since i just found out recently that renting blu-ray movies is the same price as renting regular movies at blockbuster

[Jamaicangmr]

So many things would be wrong with idea.

[xxBATTLECATxx]

enough about blu rumors, it wont happen if theyre touting digital downloads. right? just put it in the next xbox, thats all it can really do in terms of hardware, to add wifi, blu tooth, mouse and keyboard support, blu ray, and hdmi standard in all consoles. even if the PS3 had them all first

[Jamaicangmr]

Really hope this isn't true as the Xbox360 console configurations are already saturated with many different variations.

This just wouldn't be a very good move because the point of this would be to counter the PS3. However how would this be a deter ant for any smart consumer from picking up a PS3? If anything it's gonna farther encourage consumers to compare specs thus seeing that 40GB PS3 is a better deal with more for less.

Besides many might just stay away from it because Microsoft seems to release a new configuration farther adding something more that the Xbox360 didn't have that the PS3 had from the start. This might just encourage consumers to wait a few months and see if they release a new SKU with built in WiFi too.

It won't even be used for games anyway so whats the point then? If i already have an Xbox360 and want a Blu-ray player at this point might as well buy a PS3 or a standalone rather than buy a whole new Xbox360.

[etownone]

"Really hope this isn't true as the Xbox360 console configurations are already saturated with many different variations."

same goes with the many diff ps3 sku's

"It won't even be used for games anyway so whats the point then?"

It will be used for movies, thats the point. Now millions of consumers will finally have a choice, a ps3 or 360, both will have blu-ray.

"If i already have an Xbox360 and want a Blu-ray player at this point might as well buy a PS3 or a standalone rather than buy a whole new Xbox360"

That your opinion. I have two 360's, and would definitely be buying a blu-ray 360 if it comes out. I can always give one of my older 360 away as a xmas present to one of the nephews or nieces.

Think about it, how many people do you know that only owned one ps2?
alot of people bought another one either due to the problems ps2 had early on, or just wanted the new improved ps2.

[etownone]

1. price cut for all currents skus: arcade $199, pro $279, elite $349
2. new sku with blu-ray for price of $449-$499, (pro + blu-ray)
3. a new wii-like remote called newton

Looks like MS is responding to the consumer needs.

MS is in this for ther long haul fellas....
this will be an interesting year.

EDIT
@ eyeDEVOUR
for the highest rated exclusive games, better running multi-plat games, biggest online community, and best online service available.

like I said, I got friends that wanted a 360 but bought a ps3 because of blu-ray.

[eyeDEVOUR]

why would a customer pay 499$ for a 360 when the ps3 is already 399$ with a built in HDD and WiFi...

[PirateThom]

Still, why would the average consumer buy a more expensive 360 over a cheaper PS3 when more people are buying the more expensive PS3 over the cheaper 360 now?

Think about it.

360 sales are down and it's not because of Blu-ray, it's because it doesn't have a PlayStation logo on the front of it.

[etownone]

"Still, why would the average consumer buy a more expensive 360 over a cheaper PS3 when more people are buying the more expensive PS3 over the cheaper 360 now? "

first of all, the 360 is still outselling the ps3 in America. The ps3 only sold more in jan and feb 08 due to 360 shortages.

"360 sales are down and it's not because of Blu-ray, it's because it doesn't have a PlayStation logo on the front of it."

what a stupid fanboyish thing to say. the sales are down becasue MS didn't do a price drop when ps3 with blu-ray dropped down to $399. Even I know a 360pro priced so close to a 399 ps3 gives the advantage to ps3, yet it's still selling as good as the ps3.
And then you have those racist f-cks in Japan that refuse to buy American made 360.

now you think about, America leads the world in the entertainment industry with music and blockbuster movies. And now with video games being the next form for mass entertainment, its easy to see where this is going. When got American dev's making games like GTA4 and Halo3 breaking world records, and the richest company in the world (also American) backing your console, alongside with the best directors (peter jackson also American) making exclusive projects on that console......again, its easy to see where this is going.

America will be the leader in this field of entertainment too, and the rest of the world will be forced to follow. Same way Japan depends on American for its blockbuster movies, in time they will have to cave in to American made consoles IF they want to play the best blockbuster games.

[Blackcanary]

Calling some people in Japan "racist f-cks in Japan"
is a bit much wouldn't u say?
The main reason why they don't buy consoles made from the USA is because
Japanese software and hardware is more advance and more relieable sorry about the spelling tryed to use spell check but i still didn'yt know how to spell it i have special needs so please don't put me down for spelling.
Also what u said is true about having more than one console i was gonna buy another PS3 and 360 for the front room so i don't have to keep carrying my ones from my room downstairs.

Now if MS do start useing Blu Ray DVDs to put there games on and if i was MS i would because Game DATA is getting bigger and bigger if u want a massive RPG FPS or Platform game ur gonna need more space unless its a Online game were u can just keep updateing the game but thats where haveing a 250GB hard drive comes in handy cause u'll never have to worry about runing out of space.
Like u said this could be the move that keeps the life of the 360 living longer. But thats something we don't klnow MS may have already got in there minds that they only want the 360 life to continue for 2 more years.

Yes its a win win for both Sony and MS but its more of a win win for Sony Every 360 thats Sold thats if the new 360s have a Blu Ray drive built in means that sony will get money for every 360 with a Blu ray built in. Hell that make money with ever Blu Ray Drive add on bought and if MS don't play cards carefully that could be the end of consoles for MS.

Hell i thought i heard someone say that the next Console that MS bring out if they don't come out on top then that could be the last console they ever make don't take my word for that cause i can't remember if i read that from an article or from a comment someone left.

[xboxftw]

@eye
"why would a customer pay 499$ for a 360 when the ps3 is already 399$ with a built in HDD and WiFi... "

Well because he/she is looking for games console not a gimped bluray/games console hybrid which not only has lower number of games but loses 99% of the time in multiplatform games in quality. Not only that, the hard drive space is so limited that if he goes out and buys more than 10 games his hard drive will run out of space.

[etownone]

" Calling some people in Japan "racist f-cks in Japan"
is a bit much wouldn't u say? "

no, and i'll say it again. they dont buy anything of U.S. imports, yet we buy all their stuff. Maybe they still hold a grudge, or they are very loyal to their country, but in the end, they are still racist f-cks. The 360 has been around for over 2 years with the most highest rated exclusives, biggest game library, most RPG's, and best online service, yet people in Japan refuse to buy it. so f-ck them all if they think they are better then the rest of us.

If MS puts a blu-ray drive in their 360 it will be used for movies, NOT games. Games will still come on dvd's, so no, Sony wont be getting royalties this gen off of 360's games. If MS uses one of the many partners of blu-ray for their drive, the royalties would go to them, like pioneer for example.

and again, MS is in this for the long haul.

[PirateThom]

Here's this crappy argument.

"It's winning America"

It doesn't matter if it's winning in one region, it's losing in both the other major regions and most of the minor regions.

Europe spent more on video games than America last year and it's losing in Europe.

360 hasn't even got America anymore, look at the difference in PS3 and 360 sales. It's numbers than are being offset every month by a single week of Japanese sales.

It's not being a fanboy like you are, it's seeing sense. PS3 is dominating the 360 in sales because of Europe and Japan, a more expensive 360 won't help.

Thankfully, we're not all xenophobic pricks like you've just proven yourself to be and I'll stick with playing games from all regions thanks to Sony's forward thinking of securing a number of first party developers from America, Japan and Europe and third party developers who still are loyal to Sony, and by playing a small number of 360 games that aren't mindless shooters.

[Chris Bosh]

Who really cares anymore, i think its not gonna happen.
Y'all know about the million articles on this, and it never ended up on the 360.
So i personally think its not gonna happen.
But if it does, that sony is gonna be riach up th a**!!!!!!!!

[Aclay]

Here goes the Xbox 360 Blu-ray mess again. Seriously, there isn't going to be that many people buying an External Blu-ray DVD drive for the 360 except for most current 360 owners. The HD-DVD Add-on for the 360 wasn't so hot, so I don't see how an External Blu-ray DVD drive on the 360 will make a difference.

And in my opinion, the 360 isn't reliable enough to use it as a Movie Player and it's TOO DAMN LOUD, it's like a roaring rocket engine getting ready for take off and you would have to turn the T.V. volume up higher than normal just to hear the movie. Glad my PS3 already has Blu-ray built in, it's reliable and it's quiet as a mouse.

[SpecialSauce]

it's defiantly not a win win. sony will get paid for every 360 console sold & more blu ray movies will be sold as well. xbox will need this to stay in the race but they already mentioned numerous times that the 360 will not get blu ray. even if it dose the added blu ray will cost a fortune considering the added HDDVD was $200

[etownone]

yes, this is a win-win for both companies.

Blu-ray in a 360 will help futher push Sony's blu-ray format sales, (which have still been poor despite blu-ray victory) and yes, Sony will get paid royalties for blu-ray same way MS gets paid by Sony for royalties for Windows in SOny computers.

Of course MS is going to say no blu-ray coming because it was still many months away. It would really hurt current 360 sales and help ps3 sales if they did.

and a quick search for internal blu-ray drives are pretty cheap already.
http://www.directron.com/dh...

for you figure the inevitable price drop coming this year across the board for all 360 sku's, an added internal blu-ray drive could add about $150 to the cost. So if the pro gets dropped to $279 like in europe, with blu-ray it could sell for about $449.

[macca28]

i prefer xbox and own all three latest consoles and am no fanboy ,you think microsoft would have learned by now console add on do not work ,(mega cd ,nintendo 64 dd, sega 32 x)complete waste of time and money,use xbox 360 bluray for games and they will kill off 360 bigtime,put the money into bringing games the gamers deserve.

[Meresin]

This will speed Blu-ray adoption if true, so even if it hurts the PS3 a bit, it will still help Sony. That's hilarious.

[yanikins111]

fact is it can only be good for gamers. It will make the 360 a more attractive purchase, which will in turn drive ps3 prices down, which will in turn lead to more sales, which leads to more games, and more variety in those games as the demographics of the user base grow. Hooray for us!!!

[Mars Attacker]

Hopefully they'll make it an external add-on drive just like the HD DVD was. This is much more convenient: one drive for movies and one drive for games. Save a ton of disk swapping.

[Peow]

"I‘ve got a close friend who works at Microsoft, previously with the HD-DVD division and now in the E&D division (Xbox, zune). I’m told MS will upstage Apple with a Monday 9am PDT announcement (1 hour before WWDC) via press release that the Xbox 360 will get Blu-Ray before Christmas. Price was “under the current Elite”, but i could get any more details."

I don't find it credible....

[juuken]

This again?
It would be interesting if this happened though.

[2cents]

Ill believe it when I see it.

[pshizle]

the ZUNE PHONE 1 hour before...

[air1]

why does everyone one have to be so damn negative about the 360? if it comes out with blu ray it will most likely be an add on for movies just like hd dvd. how is it to late to bring that over? can someone explain that theory to me? it's funny how this gen is working out, last gen everyone loved the ps2 for it's library. now that the script is flipped you ppl still think that sony is the o mighty.

yea sony is finally picking it up, but don't you guy's expect more from a company that's been doing this for 3 gens? shouldn't they know that it's about the games by now?!

funny how ppl are still with the rrod, what did sony do for you when you got the disc read error on your ps2? funny how ppl dismiss certain things. it happened to sony on there second go around just like it did micro.

the 360 is a good console with an awesome library, drop the fanboy sh!t and just take a look at what games are out and proven, that should paint a clear pic. the 360 has rpg, racing, fps, etc. it has all the fields covered today.

the ps3 is a great console too but damn let the thing prove itself before calling it the best console ever stop bashing the console that put great games on the table already. isn't that what matter anymore? games? or is it just all about the best graphics..

so micro has rrod with about a 3 week wait for a fix. while the ps3 has had like a 17 month drought with games. both a problem, but seriously as a gamer witch do you think is the worst problem to have..

[yanikins111]

The no games argument is so old its not funny. You might not remember, but the 360 wasnt exactly swimming in quality titles at launch. Its what a launch is. Remember the ps2? it was the same. Consoles inherently have few games when they are first released. Thats the way it works.

The difference being, myself and alot of other people had their 360's die before the good games came out (mine went somewhere between gears and halo3-the reason i got it in the first place).

Its how a consoles life is meant to work. Early adoption = You pay a higher price, have a small games catalogue, games that are out are more expensive, you have to wait for dev'ing to become cheaper and easier before alot of quality games come out. The thing is, the console is meant to last until the flood of games arrives.

[TABSF]

weather it comes true or not it will be great as a 25GB disc (or 50GB disc) will always be better than that DVD9 rubbish. im crying out for more content and im sure other are to

[yanikins111]

Isn't apple one of the companies that developed bluray? Meaning that they partially own rights to it, meaning that they would know if MS had licensed the tech, meaning its not going to suprise apple at all?

[TABSF]

don't think that apple was involved it was primarily Sony but don't quote me

as far as i know apple only got right to use them in there computers and laptops

[Jamaicangmr]

"same goes with the many diff ps3 sku's"

Yes but there are only 2 PS3 sku's on the market unlike the Xbox360 that has something like 5. If this turns out to be true that will make it SIX(6) now you don't see that confusing to regular consumers?

"It will be used for movies, thats the point. Now millions of consumers will finally have a choice, a ps3 or 360, both will have blu-ray."

Millions already have the choice as stand alones are cheaper. This would've made sense well atleast to me if Microsoft done it say 6 months ago if they wanted to challenge Sony in the Blu-ray playback department.

"That your opinion. I have two 360's, and would definitely be buying a blu-ray 360 if it comes out. I can always give one of my older 360 away as a xmas present to one of the nephews or nieces."

We're both sharing our opinions so don't try to act like yours means more than mine.

So why exactly would you purchase the Blu-ray Xbox360 because with 2 Xbox360's already it couldn't be for game purposes right? Why not just by a stand alone or better yet a PS3?

"Think about it, how many people do you know that only owned one ps2?
alot of people bought another one either due to the problems ps2 had early on, or just wanted the new improved ps2."

Well those who bought another PS2 because of hardware issues can't really be placed in the relms of this discussion because thats jsut replacing not purchasing a new one for the sake of a new SKU.

Those who bought a Slim for the sake up updated hardware are still in a better position as the slim was cheaper. This is a more expensive SKU thus not really the samething.

Upgrading to a new Xbox360 because Microsoft released a new one is just being a collector not a smart consumer.

[VMAN_01]

Microsoft should just annouce that they F****ED up Vista Im sure that will 'upstage apple'.

[TABSF]

did you know that microsoft software is 90% secruity code to protect them selfs from hackers and make sure that the user types in the right thing.

thats why linux is so much smaller in size but has more software pre-installed (open source and free software need no secruity codes)
plus the visuals are much better

[bama]

Its feeling all Sega up in here. Bring on the Sega CD!

Wait I meant the xbox bluray

Right

[Covenant]

Sooo....what about a stand-alone BR drive for those of us who ALREADY OWN A 360 SYSTEM?!?

[TABSF]

i have to say if microsoft did not own xbox it would be bust simply because of all the different systems they launched

core
premium or pro
elite
pro - not sure
pro 2
arcade core
halo limited
simpsons limited
another limited - forgot with one
and possibly a blu ray

playstation is just as bad but not as worst

its a joke least with nintendo you know were you stand

[waldopepper]

"playstation is just as bad but not as worst" I'm having trouble parsing that sentence.

Why do you think that releasing models makes MS lose money? Sure they will spend development time reducing the size of chips etc - most consoles do this over their lifetime. Product evolution helps sales in the long run.

Doesn't every 360 sold make money - and the PS3 still loses PS3 for each one sold? To be honest I haven't kept up to date with the figures.
Even discounting this profit/loss point, opening up your market to more customers by releasing better hardware will sell more consoles, and software, and peripherals etc....

[avacadosnorkel]

sucks to be a 360 owner.

I mean, first you thought you had the sh1t with the pro model...
then they came with the Halo edition...
then the Elite beat the Halo box...
Now the Elite isn't Elite.

Raise your hands...who here has all the 360 models?

Well don't stop now, this one beats em all.

[mistertwoturbo]

This one is going to be the "Super Awesome makes you go blind" model. The Elitiest of the elite that's more elite than the elites of elites. It's "the best of the best of the best sir!"

I still have my original non-hdmi 20gb premium. Never fell into the trap that is the 120gb Elite.

[Neo604]

after all sh1t talking bout BR. 360 fans have to keep buying new 360 every year to keep up with technology. hahahahahaah

[AstroZombie1]

Correct if i'm wrong but can't the Blu-Ray Drive read the DVD's the 360 uses for games if so then it would not alienate 360's without BD-Drives unless MS started re-leasing games in BD only.

[Kyur4ThePain]

You miss the point.

It's the people with a DVD-only 360 that would miss out. Their machines wouldn't be able to read BD, so if future games come out on BD only, they wouldn't be able to play them.

That's why MS will either
a) Never release a built-in BD drive, or
b) Never release games on BD.

Maybe in the 720, but not the 360.

[highdro]

every one knows 360 will obviously hve a blue ray drive some day,..bill gates is not stupid and he knows that consumers of game console will start to look at blue ray as well just like the last gen console were looking at dvd,...the question is when 360 finally has its own blue ray drive will consomers now look at the ps3 and say its to expensive since i can get a 360 bwith blue ray for half price ?

[Kyur4ThePain]

Do you expect MS to give away a BD drive for free?

[PSWe60]

it's so sad to see you guys run around trying to catch up to the latest technology

[Zancruz]

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahaha *Cough, Cough* Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahaha............. ....

[darthv72]

Why does the 360 need bluray? If you say it will make the games better then you are wrong. Changing a format does not translate into better games when you factor in that the rest of the hardware is still the same. Sega CD games did nothing really new other than cd music and FMV. The whole notion of scaling and rotation was already proven in software and by adding in the hardware aspect of it made it easier for devs to do those tricks but it didnt mean the games were better.

Switching from one capacity to another is really just that. If a game is on 1 high capacity disc or 5 smaller capacity discs the only thing you really gain is convenience. Swapping discs is not that difficult to do. Just because you have a higher capacity disc you are still restricted by what the rest of the hardware can do. MS could easily take multi disc games and merge them to a single bluray disc but it doesnt change the nature of the game.

I can remember all the PR stuff said about cd technology being able to do more when in fact the only more it did was more capacity for storage. It didnt magically make more things appear on screen. If a system had a limit of 50,000 polygons on screen (just an example), that limit was still the same even if using a higher capacity storage medium. Do you think the games the ps3 has could not have been made to work on regular DVD? It is the power of the hardware. Not the formatted medium it uses.

Please respect that last statement and understand it from a perspective of games released on one type of format to later be re-released on a different format having still being the same game.

[TABSF]

its total bullshit they say they have made the best with pro then that flops and then the elite is more like n00bl33t
and most of this in done when inproved chipsets come out

when sony improve the chipsets from the 90nm to the 65nm they did not rebrand it and slap on a bigger price tag they dropped there prices and improved the HDD

20GB US$499.99
40GB US$399.99