http://www.digitimes.com/systems/a20080502PB200.html
http://www.techreport.com/discussions.x/14670
Another twist?
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I'd be surprised if they didn't jack the price up.
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There shouldn't be any surprise the price will climb. Just how much is the question. It'd be interesting to see Sony's response, especially with PS3.
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The question is, if this is the truth, will they begin taking advantage of the capacity in their games. It is going to be very difficult considering they sold their souls to the DVD drive for another generation.
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I don't think we'd be seeing Blu-Ray 360 games. Microsoft will lose a BIG chunk of their constituents who will be unable to play future 360 games on their current consoles. They'd get an uproar so big they could find themselves public enemy #1 with 360 owners for life. There were already owners of older 360's grumbling about the recent HDMI addition/new chips but in this case though their consoles were still able to play the latest games. You turn their $300+ console into a paperweight and they will get angry. Microsoft could offer a special Blu-ray disc reader maybe in the shape of that HD-DVD drive free to current users but the price and logistics would be incalculable. And any attempt to even put a price tag on that for current users will still cause a lot of unrest.
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Their consoles are already selling for a decent amount, how much could this jack the price up of a 360? What advantage would it offer over just buying a stand alone blu-ray player? Obviously MS won't be able to make any of their games on blu-ray. I think they'd be wise to just make an add-on.
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Or perhaps they just don't do a price cut and stick in the blu-ray drive instead. They've been loathe to do price drops this time around.
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They might be able to do this if they offer a Blu-ray add-on for CHEAP. I know, Cheap and MS usually do not go hand-in-hand. As I said before, they basically sold their souls to DVD-Drive for this generation, and this might be their Achilles heal in the future.
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I expect this to be an add-on that replaces the HD-DVD drive that came out last year. Anything else would require a redesign of the system (and the games), and I just don't see that happening.
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It'd have to be really cheap because anything more than $20-30 will still get current 360 owners angry. The effort and cost of switching games to Blu-Ray, not to mention the backlash, makes it almost impossible for M$ to do so.
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Why would Sony need to respond? Microsoft is matching them, not one-upping them. I doubt very much we'll see Blu-Ray 360 games, so... what's the point?
Heck, this is an excuse for Sony to avoid a price cut this year; the price of the 360 is going up, not down. -
So far, PS3 is getting a lot of sales due to it's Blu-Ray capacity. If Microsoft is providing another alternative, people may just go for them since they've got the better gaming library right now and will soon have the one advantage PS3 has (until MGS4 and other exclusives comes out).
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It will cost more to buy an Xbox 360 and a blu-ray drive than it will to buy a PS3. You can almost bet on that. Not much of an alternative unless you already have a 360 so I don't think it will hurt them all that much. Will people really want to wait around to see if and when this add-on really comes out when they can go get a PS3 today? Will the add-on player be updateable like the PS3 is? There are a lot of questions to answer.
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By the time the 360 supposedly gains Blu-Ray capabilities this year, Sony will have a better game lineup heading into the holiday season. MGS4 is going to push a lot of product even six months after its release.
I'd be really curious to know what the MSRP of this Blu-Ray 360 will be. -
If they would bite the bullet and add the BD drive without lowering the price, that would be a huge plus for MS. Anyway, the 360 is due a price cut pretty soon.
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My guess is it will be update-ready considering the HD-DVD add-on was. But I agree, there's a lot of questions but if Microsoft plays it right, they could have a winner.
I would hope Sony's game lineup improves considering I don't find the current library worth forking $60 over (GTAIV may change my mind but I'm waiting for that price to eventually drop).