Rumors float around the Internet questioning when Microsoft will ship a Blu-ray enabled Xbox 360 or add-on device like they did with the, now failed, HD-DVD. At CES 09 Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices division, says this request is “way down the list.”
Mr. Bach had some great selling points as to why a Blu-ray player has little value in the world of Xbox 360. The primary reason, of course, being the Xbox 360 developers cannot take advantage of Blu-ray as a development platform for games. This was the price Sony, or the consumer, paid to own a PlayStation 3 since all games are printed on the media and are, in effect, Blu-ray “capable.”
We say capable because not all (any?) PlayStation 3 games currently make full use of the Blu-ray media. Many games will reprint the game on the media for optimization purposes, fill the game with international voice overs for all countries or, otherwise, stuff the media with something that will serve a useful purpose. Sony has near-future-proofed their device by giving game developers years of growth in terms of utilizing the Blu-ray capacity.
Microsoft chose to take the smaller old-style DVD format for games and media. Adding the HD-DVD didn’t add a large deal of risk because, as we saw, they can discontinue the model and not change their core gaming demographic. We still laughed a bit at them, but that was where it ended. Bach also said that it’s not really a great economic time to push a new 360 SKU on potential customers with additional cost just for Blu-ray movies playback.
They could add Blu-ray game development support as well but that would just alienate the “28 million Xboxes” they have already shipped.
“OK, let me get this straight: I’m going to add something to the product that’s going to raise the cost, which means the price goes up, consumers aren’t asking for it, and by the way, my game developers can’t use it.” (gamespot)
Of course, the first thing that came to our mind was “well, you did it for HD-DVD, how is Blu-ray different?” The key areas we can think of really come down to Blu-ray is a Sony technology and they are a direct competitor and, to top it off, HD-DVD allowed them to fight against the PS3 at the media level of the industry. They minimized the risk by making the product a secondary add-on device and, if HD-DVD had won, they’d have the winning format already under production (still not for games).
It seems Microsoft has changed their battle plans a little. They started out talking up the media aspects of the 360, using Media Center, renting movies and TV shows and had the HD-DVD as a subproduct. Today, they’re investing in Netflix for media and everything else favors the games.
Which is fine, we like games.
This weeks gaming podcast we stroll down memory lane with Gauntlet, ponder Microsoft’s role as a PC game publisher, hit up some news:
@Wii U’s launch day update
Oh my … so lemme guess, for a device that has no backup battery to keep the device on, you start delivering hours long updates? Really?
If you have no power backup, then how about delivering smaller, incremental patches, so that there are less chances of a power failure/connection failure during the patching.
@Nintendo DRM traps $400 of downloaded games
😀 … yay, go DRM go!
I think there’s a lesson to be learned here, but hey, I also though that there was a lesson also in the Ubisoft DRM servers going down – yet we have Diablo III and Starcraft II …
@GTA: Vice City removed from Steam over music licensing
This is weird. I’m pretty sure the same music was present also on the retail version of the game, yet the issue triggered pulling off the Steam version of the game.
I guess that the developers or original publishers struck a deal with the music industry, and some details of that deal don’t fit with Steam’s digital distribution system?
Unless we get to see the papers behind the deal between the devs and the music industry, we can only speculate.
I guess Valve’s lawyers should have looked better, but then again, the publisher is more interested in selling games; if nobody catches up to the obscure IP issue, then why not?
@Report: Next-gen Xbox TV device coming in 2013
Not sure what to say about this. There’s always a chance of not being able to handle multiple devices – the old 360, the new 720/infinity, and now the TV box.
Microsoft, be careful.
@Sony: Our iPhone and Galaxy S3 challenger is coming
Well, I won’t bother delivering the same warning as above to Sony. What amuses me is the hype that Sony tries to build: “Our iPhone and Galaxy S3 challenger”! Ha! If it costs 1000 USD, then even Apple can afford to not worry.
@QOTW
Yes! Played the first Starcaft, then Warcraft III, then C&C Generals. I played also the Red Alerts (until RA3), but the game that stuck was … C&C Generals.
While I did play skirmishes on Starcraft, it was the GLA units that tilted the scale for Generals. I mean they are the most charming villains that I’ve seen so far 🙂 …
@WiiU launch issues. If you’re dumb enough to shut your system off during a firmware update you deserve to have
it bricked.
@Over 400 bucks of games trapped in limbo. Being denied one game you purchased and having to pay to get it back because of a old and failing DRM system is one too many. I was really hoping for the WiiU Nintendo would do a across platform account for it’s DRM like everyone else does. That would solve tons of issues. I think the rest of the world including myself is wondering why they arn’t doing something like that yet.
@Nintendo Land. I’ve primarily a PC gamer although I own and play on every console except the Wii. I also hate motion controls. But upon my purchase of the WiiU I’ve really liked playing Nintendo Land with friends. Its still some what “tech demoish” but the games are ones that anyone that enjoys Nintendo titles and playing mini games with friends will like. But I’m not sure how it will stand up playing alone to the average gamer. This next year will be really telling on how the WiiU makes it mark, if and when Nintendo announces its first part titles for the system.
No one “deserves” to be bricked, number one. And just so you know, you lose a customer like that, you lose them for life. That statement is also elitist, since you’re saying people who either can’t afford or can’t get a high speed connection “deserve” to have their console bricked.
There’s an old law: the customer is always right.
There’s another issue: the Wii U will go into sleep mode without warning and it doesn’t “sleep” – it SHUTS OFF. Not to mention the controller has a short battery life and from what I understand, it doesn’t charge while playing.
@Shooting Wii U out of a canon
Although Paul makes a reasonable point that Xbox 360 launch was bad; that was in 2006. Microsoft had to rush the Xbox because it was a dawn of a new gaming era. Even HD-TVs were rare back then. Currently, Nintendo is releasing a console based on 6 year old tech. The launch should be spotless. But the whole thing feels unnecessarily rushed.
I am tempted to get the Wii U because it’s new tech. However, since I will most likely import from Japan (for half the price of a local Wii U)I don’t want to end up trying to sort out a bricked/busted unit with a supplier from another hemisphere.
@Nintendo DMR
Sometimes I think that Nintendo leaves their product development to wise old men on Mt Fuji who are cut of from society. Welcome to Nintendo 2013: resisting efficient change with tooth and claw.
@State of the gaming world: Xbox 360 is ploughing ahead but branching out all over the place and starting to forget that it is a gaming console. Wii U still thinks that it’s 2006. And Sony is one step behind of everything. Where did the simple times go?
@QOTW
Dune II: the Battle for Arakis on Mega Drive. I still love that game. So simple but so addictive. That and Red Alert 2. Unlike other strategy games, those 2 don’t need complicated base building and don’t have 100s of units to choose from. That allows you to concentrate on actual battle strategy.
as i’m studying for the finals, i have only time for the QOTW:
Currently i am not playing any RTS, but I had my days of AoE, Starcraft the 1st and my 1st one, the great and powerful TOTAL ANNIHILATION (points for paul if he got the reference).
@last week’s QOTW: i was a little bit inhibriated so i misspeled Gaben, from Gabe Newell.
idk if you might know him, here is a pic of him leading the PC master race against the dirty console users
http://i.imgur.com/Ytl7W.jpg
The WiiU prompts you to adjust the sleep mode timer before the update begins.
I wasn’t trying to say if you have bad internet and so on then you deserve to have it bricked. I was saying that if you knowingly shut it off then thats a mistake. If youre connection cuts out its not going to brick the system. If its installing it and the system is then shut off then you’re in trouble. This I thought has been common knowledge since firmware has been around. I didn’t mean to come off like a dick. So I’m sorry for that. I was merely trying to say, that shutting off your system while installing, not downloading, is dumb.
@HanzKrebs
😛 All hail Gaben!