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Microsoft says no Blu-ray for Xbox 360

reuters.com — Microsoft Corp is not in talks to include Sony Corp's Blu-ray high-definition DVD technology in its Xbox 360 video game console, an executive said on Wednesday.

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jordanlgta 135 days ago, made popular 134 days ago

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neiltc13, on 03/13/2008, -77/+11If it's not in talks then that means it isn't happening, right? I mean, it's not as if Microsoft couldn't buy an off the shelf Blu Ray drive and do some of its own testing.

Who the hell cares anyway? DVD is fine.
- theaceoffire, on 03/13/2008, -16/+36If you have a large tv (50 inches or larger), DVD is not "fine".
  - B1663r, on 03/13/2008, -33/+15I have a 108" TV, and upscaling a DVD to 720p works just fine.
    
    http://picasaweb.google.com/gregalb/Cinema/photo#5 ...
    http://picasaweb.google.com/gregalb/Cinema/photo#5 ...
    - theaceoffire, on 03/13/2008, -6/+20HD looks far better. It is a sort of "Drop your jaw" better that is memorable.
      As a 360 owner (I assume), you have seen this quality difference between dvd's and your games.
      - paradigmx, on 03/13/2008, -21/+4why do you assume he's a 360 owner? that makes no difference, i'm a 360 owner and I had no interest in HD-DVD or Blu-Ray, i'm waiting for the switch to Flash media
      - theaceoffire, on 03/13/2008, -2/+21I assume he is a 360 owner because this is posted in Gaming, under Xbox, in a thread about how the 360 won't get HD video, and he is saying no one needs HD video.
        He seems to fit the profile.
      - B1663r, on 03/13/2008, -11/+4You are taking my statements out of context, while I would agree that no one 'needs' anything but some food and a reasonably warm place to sleep.
        
        My point is, I have tried HD setups for my situation and for the extra 5-10k dollars that going from my current setup to a 1080p setup would cost is not worth it, thus no reason for blu-ray.
        
        You can look around my picture gallery and see my mechmate cnc machine I am building currently as well as my luxury lake cottage I built last year. Clearly, if I wanted to build a 1080p system, I could. However, the quality it offers, does not justify the 10x price it would cost.
        
        I am not arguing the picture is not nicer. I am saying, I will look again in a couple of years and this year I am gonna go to Hawaii instead of buying something that I will be able to buy for 1/10th the price in two or three years.
        
        Except for the room its self, that entire setup you can see in my pictures was $1500. $900 for the projector, $400 for the sony upscaling dvd/stereo, and $200 for the screen goo. Every last person who uses it is blown away.
      - wellyuk, on 03/13/2008, -1/+7@B1663r,
        
        Got any spare change, mister?
      - B1663r, on 03/13/2008, -1/+1wellyuk,
        
        I am headed to Florida on Saturday, saddly all my money is tied up right now. I will post some more pictures though when I get back next week;)
      - bejayel, on 03/14/2008, -0/+3Stop building cottages then. Share the wealth man!
    - Zamfir, on 03/13/2008, -12/+14108" TV at 720p from a 480p source! OMFG! Just horrible... No wonder you're so pissed off at the world.
      - dOOBiEx213, on 03/13/2008, -3/+14Agreed. Even on a 40" TV can you notice the difference between 720p and 1080p. Bigger =! Better.
    - B1663r, on 03/13/2008, -10/+8theaceoffire,
      
      Nope, I have hooked it up to hd sources in the past. Is not jaw dropping better. It is a little sharper, yup, but certainly not twice as much money for media and 10x as much for the player better. I would have my xbox connected to my projector but for... huge screens are no good for gaming, you have to crank your neck around to see the whole screen. Nope for now this is just a DVD player.
      
      Zamfir,
      
      This is my second projector system. The difference between 480i to 480p is bigger than the difference between 480p and 720p (what my projector supports)
      
      In three four years when a 1080p projector costs mortal money rather than the deluxe Hawaii vacation that they cost now, I will look at it again (when I need a new light bulb), but for now, I couldn't be happier with my theater setup.
    - mywhitenoise, on 03/13/2008, -7/+14"The difference between 480i to 480p is bigger than the difference between 480p and 720p"
      
      Bull *****.
    - kansai22, on 03/13/2008, -5/+14Dude you have a ***** set up thats most likely why you cant tell the difference.
      #1 the walls are white so you get a lot of reflection
      #2 The screen is *****
      #3 The projector is *****
      #4 You did that yourself didn't have anyone certified calibrate it.
      I could go on and on but i wont.
      
      If you want a decent setup that isn't expensive
      
      Sony VPL-VW60
      Paint the walls a color that isn't reflective.
      Get a stewart cine W screen
      Have the projector professionally calibrated by someone thats certified you can not do that yourself.
    - B1663r, on 03/13/2008, -10/+3kansai22,
      
      Lol, you are an idiot. You just suggested a system that would cost 10x what I paid for my system, with the very lowest end screen you suggested would cost 2x as much as I paid for my entire setup.
      - popfrogs, on 03/13/2008, -7/+7So you're a cheapskate and you want to criticize quality. Guess what, quality costs money.
      - B1663r, on 03/13/2008, -3/+4No, I am not cheap at all. I am not criticizing anything. I am saying I can spend $1500 dollars this year and have a great experience watching movies, and also go to Hawaii on vacation, or I can spend $10k dollars and have a little bit more resolution, and not go on vacation.
        
        I am sure the projector and screen he suggested are very nice. Just not as nice as spending 2 weeks in Hawaii;)
      - latova, on 03/13/2008, -5/+3I know you like your xbox, but when you pull numbers out of your ass then you're not exactly convincing anybody that xbox/dvd are better.
      - B1663r, on 03/14/2008, -5/+3lotova,
        
        Google is your friend. Go look at the prices of what he suggested. The projector he suggested, is $5000, and the very lowest end screen (about half the size of my screen goo screen) he suggested is $3000, and professional installation is about $1000. Still need a stereo after that ~$500(but he called my stereo ***** so he undoubtedly wants a nicer one), and still needs a PS3... Now you move onto the $30 dollar movies.
        
        Ok so costs 10x is an exageration... So it costs 8x...
        
        Lets see is my point still valid? Ok, so I will take the private helecoper ride off of my Hawaii vacation...
        
        Happy now?
      - kansai22, on 03/14/2008, -3/+5Thats all fine then if you cant afford that kind of setup. But don't come in here and say that DVD upscaled to 720p is just as good as a 1080p source. It is not not even close.
      - B1663r, on 03/14/2008, -4/+2kansai22,
        
        All things considered, I would rather have my nice bright 1800 lumens projector than that dim dark 1000 lumens projecteor you suggested. I have had projectors that lacked sufficient brightness in the past, and at a 1000 lumens you could barely see the picture from that projector on a 9 foot screen, and certainly not with room lights on.
        
        Just saying as a person who knows what they are talking about to a person who hasn't a clue. The number one thing you are looking for in a projector is brightness.
      - IllBeBack, on 03/14/2008, -1/+4@kansai22:
        He did not say that upscaled DVD was just as good as 1080p. He only said that it wasn't enough better to justify spending the kind of money that you suggested.
      - latova, on 03/14/2008, -3/+3So you *need* all of that to watch bluray movies? Ok I guess to play the xbox 360 you *need* about 10 games, the wifi adapter, 3 controllers, 4 years worth of live subscriptions, faceplates for all of it, rechargeable packs for all of them, another few headsets, the HD DVD drive, and a surround sound speaker system and a huge 50" plasma tv which makes the xbox 360 cost 5000 dollars.
        
        See? I can do it too.
      - kansai22, on 03/14/2008, -2/+2Lumens are not the only factor in a projector especially in a dedicated room. I'm going to ignore what you said because if you had a clue there is no way you would have made the statement you did. The Sony projector I suggested is considered by most to be the best projector under $5,000. I personally have a Runco projector which is well out of your range but its all relative.
        
        All I'm going to tell you is go down to a CEDIA certified dealer and look at a properly calibrated projector and that what you have. I think you will be very surprised. I'm sure for $5,000- $10,000 I could design a setup that would blow you away based on what you are coming from.
      - B1663r, on 03/14/2008, -1/+2kansai,
        
        Post a picture of your runco install or I call BS and it is time for you to STFU.
    - B1663r, on 03/14/2008, -4/+2Oh and one more thing, the projector I have is 1800 lumens, and the projector he suggested is only 1000 lumens.
    - kansai22, on 03/14/2008, -2/+2Not even going to justify that with a response.
    - B1663r, on 03/14/2008, -1/+2Well since you responded...
      
      http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000RL6XVM/ref=cm ...
      
      Go tell those reviewers that this projector is "*****" Notice the double irony here, What game is that on the Amazon demo page?
  - paradigmx, on 03/13/2008, -20/+8in a year, Blu-Ray will be obsolete, Flash memory is making huge strides in the data storage department, not 2 years ago 128-512mb memory sticks where top of the line, today, you can buy one thats 16GB, thats 4 times what you can fit on a DVD, in a year they'll be over 100GB and only grow from there. I have no plans to buy a Blu-ray player, I didn't buy an HD-DVD player, and I won't support any format that isn't flash media anymore
    - dOOBiEx213, on 03/13/2008, -2/+23lmao
      Good luck with your flash memory player.
      - paradigmx, on 03/14/2008, -6/+1I already am having great luck with my MP3 player which uses SD cards, which are *gasp* flash media
        
        and on my PSP, i have 4 movies on my Memory Stick PRO DUO, which is once again *doublegasp* flash media
    - aceakm, on 03/13/2008, -0/+13I haven't heard anything about "flash media" taking over until just now. Sad.
      - flip360, on 03/13/2008, -9/+3Well if you haven't heard about it then there is no way it could possibly happen in the future.
      - aceakm, on 03/13/2008, -2/+6Not true, but the fact that I haven't heard of it to begin with suggests that it's a technology that's nowhere close to being the prevalent choice for movies. My feeling is that Blu-Ray is going to be king of the crop for quite awhile.
      - flip360, on 03/13/2008, -6/+1So, are you claiming to be omnipotent in the realm of technology?
        Seriously...let us consider flash memory's pros at this point in the time line:
        It is getting cheaper and capacities are getting higher every day, it seems. It is far less susceptible to scratch or other damage, in a much smaller form factor and can be erased and rewritten to allow for re-use if the end user so choses. It is also solid state and there would be no drive noise whatsoever. Give it a few more years and it could easily develop into a very strong contender in the High Definition, Home Theater arena. I am not saying it will happen but, I think you dismiss the concept too quickly. I, personally, will stick to the torrents as my source for motion picture entertainment for the foreseeable future.
      - aceakm, on 03/14/2008, -0/+5Aside from the prohibitive cost to pop out a standard DVD on a flash chip versus a disc, the idea of having customers flock to some sort of movie download kiosk to refill memory cards with new releases just seems absurd. Sure, this could sound marginally appealing from the sidelines, but I just can't imagine all those DVD cases at your favorite big box retailer getting swapped out with movie-filled SDHC cards anytime soon.
      - paradigmx, on 03/14/2008, -6/+0you havn't heard of it because hollywood doesn't want it to happen. DRM on flash cards is still limited and easy to copy, whereas a blu-ray is a little tougher(though still doable)
    - schemax, on 03/13/2008, -4/+8thats, because, although it has a lot of capacity, reading and writing of flash-media is slow as hell. And that was only improving very slowly over the past time. Growth of size and speed arent the same in hardware.
      Its right, that flash makes huge strides in the data storage department, but that has nothing to do with its media capabilities, especially high Definition Formats which can only work with a high reading data-rate. and flash is very, very far of reaching that data-rate.
      so, as said, good luck with your flash memory player...
    - B1663r, on 03/13/2008, -2/+5schemax,
      
      I am sort of embarrased to point this out to you, but the current specification for read speed on sdcards is 1MB per second faster than the blu-ray player in a ps3, and the new specification has a read spead more than 2x as fast as the blu-ray player in the ps3....
      
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Digital_card
      - aceakm, on 03/14/2008, -1/+3Flash cards are not capable of being cheap enough to produce at the speeds needed for high def, no matter how you look at it. For video transfer/editing, you are required to use an external harddrive for large files, because flash cannot handle transfers of so much data. (Example: A film that needs to be edited.)
      - DarkShroud, on 03/14/2008, -3/+2Wrong answer. I'll go by your wiki link for SD speeds:
        Rating Speed (MB/s)
        6x - 0.9MB
        40x - 6.0MB
        66x - 10.0MB
        133x - 20.0MB
        
        "According to the Blu-ray Disc specification, 1x speed is defined as 36Mbps. However, as BD-ROM movies will require a 54Mbps data transfer rate the minimum speed we're expecting to see is 2x (72Mbps). " The Blu-ray drive in the PS3 is a 2x drive.
        
        http://www.blu-ray.com/faq/#bluray_speed
      - paradigmx, on 03/14/2008, -1/+3MB/s is different than Mbps
        
        1MB/s(Megabyte) = 8 Mbps(Megabit)
        
        a 20MB/s SD is equivelant to a 160Mbps BD-DVD, which you don't have
        
        http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-mbps.htm
      - aceakm, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1Right, thank you paradigmx. And DarkShroud, I never posted a wikilink, all my information is knowledge I knew and didn't have to base off of user based websites. Glad you don't know what you're talking about.
      - schemax, on 03/15/2008, -0/+1im waiting for a L1 cache player :), but fun aside,
        B1663r your right. i wasnt quite up to date on that. sorry i didnt look it up first... and the point is, like aceakm said, that high speed flsh is too expensive
        
        but im sure, no one is planning to use flash like ROM :)
        it would not be that clever to buy a new flash card for each movie or game.
        so if you use flash (a small mass non volatile r/w storage device) in a stationary media player, than it would be much cheaper to just use hard-disk drives.
        Flash is with its size in my opinion only useful in portable media players
      - DarkShroud, on 03/15/2008, -0/+1@aceakm Sorry that I didn't clarify but my response was to B1663r about the wiki link. This comment system really sucks.
    - dheaddy, on 03/14/2008, -2/+2lol, wtf are you talking about
    - ohcoaster, on 03/14/2008, -0/+3even when flash cards are capable of storing a hd movie, no one will sell movies or games on them because optical disks will be cheaper and quicker to mass produce.
    - smackafiyah, on 03/14/2008, -0/+3lol, flash media
  - Alex.w, on 03/14/2008, -0/+2What 2006 did you have the misfortune to live in, cos in my 2002 I had a 512, and I don't think even that for a "top of the line."
- FredFredrickson, on 03/13/2008, -6/+12Agreed - DVD ain't going away any time soon. HD market penetration is dismal, and with a recession in the US, it's not picking up anytime soon. Another medium (or digital distribution) will leapfrog this generation of formats. Most people are not going to pay a premium for higher resolution videos.
- souljaboytellem, on 03/14/2008, -3/+9DVD is not "fine", sure you can get the digitally upscaled DVD players for your HDTV, but Blu-Ray just looks so much better
  - FredFredrickson, on 03/14/2008, -2/+1The experience of the whole thing remains unchanged though. DVD is just fine for that, and cheaper to boot. I mean, I know all your cable channels aren't HD yet - how do you get by watching those? No, wait, let me guess - the same as with the HD channels?
- Bishop256, on 03/14/2008, -1/+3who the hell cares anyway? VHS is fine.
  - FredFredrickson, on 03/17/2008, -0/+1And by your logic we should have all jumped on board with Laserdisc. Right.
horrorpunk, on 03/13/2008, -37/+13Of course "they" aren't going to. People who went HD DVD (such as myself) have already come to terms with the fact that they got screwed. We have moved on, use the HD player as an upscaler,and have bought used PS3's online.
jordanlgta, on 03/13/2008, -52/+8In video games, we strive for gameplay and graphics. We know that gameplay always trumps graphics in the end, of course. With movies, you can get better "graphics" with Blu-ray than you can on a DVD. However, the "gameplay," or...the stories of the films...are exactly the same. There is no large advantage for upgrading from DVD to something else.
- tastypastry, on 03/13/2008, -7/+47Well no ***** you can't get better "graphics" as you say, but what you do get is amazing picture quality and uncompressed audio. So I would have to say there is a large advantage from upgrading. To be honest with you I stopped buying DVDs and now only buy Blu-ray films.
  - KingGoonie, on 03/13/2008, -21/+2Uh huh. Guess what. America isn't following suit. Probably why MS isn't switching to Blu-Ray just yet. The format war is over and Blu-Ray won? Thats nice... tell that to mainstream America who wasn't buying either format, and now isn't buying Blu-Ray that it "won" over HD-DVD. America in general simply doenst think its worth it to upgrade.
    - WhereAmI, on 03/13/2008, -3/+22Blu-Ray won. Move on.
    - vault, on 03/13/2008, -3/+19Blu-Ray absolutely won...that isn't open to interpretation. It will take time and prices have to come down but eventually DVD will die just like VHS.
    - B1663r, on 03/13/2008, -14/+2vault,
      
      It is not a zero sum gme... Blu-ray didn't lose, it is still too early to say if they 'won". Since HD-DVD left the arena, BD player prices have gone up. A quick trip to your local Blockbuster will reveal that they have more copies of Hitman for DVD, than they have blu-ray titles, and from their inventory, it looks like they don't really rent those much.
      - norman619, on 03/13/2008, -6/+1BD is not going to overtake standard DVD's for a very long time. Most likely will be replaced by another standard before that can even happen. The holographic format is making its way to the consumer. It's still VERY pricey but dropping steadily. The next format war isn't too far away.
      - mywhitenoise, on 03/13/2008, -1/+6"The holographic format is making its way to the consumer. It's still VERY pricey but dropping steadily."
        
        What movie has been released on holographic disc? Pull your head out of your ass and stop talking useless *****.
    - vault, on 03/13/2008, -2/+10It is a zero sum game, actually...there's Blu-Ray and HD-DVD. HD-DVD "left the arena" as you put it and Blu-Ray "didn't lose" ...what conclusion can we draw from this?
      
      As far as the fact there's more copies of a given movie on DVD, yes I agree...that's why I said it will take time but eventually DVD will die. HD for the average consumer is still too new and too expensive, but it won't be forever. Having a standard is a good thing, we don't want two competing formats. I'm glad there was a victor.
    - dOOBiEx213, on 03/13/2008, -0/+11Only because the rest of America prefers to watch ***** quality doesn't mean no one should enjoy 1080p glory.
- Topher06, on 03/13/2008, -2/+26Wow, and to think that Konami is having trouble fitting a game on 50gb Blu-ray disks. Its not about getting better graphics from Blu-ray for a game, its about expanding the game content providing a larger gamining environment filled with more extensive rich content. So no, its not EXACTLY the same stories or gameplay, larger media capacities are inspiring more creativity in games. I think game developers are going to starting having to make comprimises if they want to bring their IP to the Xbox360 because it only supports DVD media, and I think a lot of those developers are just going to start making PS3 exclusives because Sony didn't force developers to use last gen technology to make next gen games.
  Games are becoming more cinematic and creative. You can still make a 3D FPS that has about 12 hours of gameplay, but now adding 4+ hours of storytelling and rewarding successes in gameplay with longer cinematic sequences is defining next generation gaming. Its too bad Microsoft didn't think more then 2 years into the future with their game console, while Sony did.
  As for Blu-ray's and movies, Blu-ray will replace DVD's, but it will take a few years, just like with every other format switch in history. THe problem was in having two competing formats that fragmented releases. Within 4 - 6 months, all new releases will be on Blu-ray and there will more back-libraries brought to Blu-ray. As more content is available and as prices drop, along with the fact that HD televisions are outselling SD TV's by like 20 to 1, Blu-ray will dominate the home theater, and everyone that owns a PS3 already has everything they need to enjoy next gen gaming AND movies.
  Keep telling yourself Microsoft made the right decisions. Its become obvious to everyone else that Microsoft will have to make a new game console to compete with the PS3 in the next 2 years, maybe this time they might use next-generation technology.
  - norman619, on 03/13/2008, -11/+1"Wow, and to think that Konami is having trouble fitting a game on 50gb Blu-ray disks."
    
    Sorry but that's just crappy coding and/or bloat. Crysis is smaller than that when fully installed.
    - theaceoffire, on 03/13/2008, -0/+12And of course, no game/movie can ever be bigger than Crysis.
    - Elranzer, on 03/14/2008, -0/+2The only reason MGS4 is that big is because they're using tons of uncompressed audio.
  - v0yeur, on 03/14/2008, -2/+2Thank you! finally someone thinks down the road.
    I own a Wii, and altho Zelda is supreme fun, I am disappointed that it isn't HD - it would be untouchably epic if it were.
    so what's the next 360 going to sport? DVD swapping? or cartridges? they're going to have to change eventually.
- Dracusis, on 03/14/2008, -0/+5your logic is illogical. Epic fail.
- Bishop256, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1OK do you want to go back to the quality of VHS??
doshindude, on 03/13/2008, -27/+9random executive=/=the entire company....buried as inaccurate.
RolltheStampede, on 03/13/2008, -4/+86guess they will focus on digital downloads for movie media.
- andres9888, on 03/13/2008, -4/+51If they made cheaper harddrives this can actualy happen.
  - WhereAmI, on 03/13/2008, -3/+84And if America had a real internet infrastructure.
    - toxicityj, on 03/13/2008, -10/+51You can mock our president. You can call us fat. But don't you dare insult our internet infrastructure! hold me back! hold me back!
      - dOOBiEx213, on 03/13/2008, -6/+20DUGG!
    - TheKage, on 03/13/2008, -0/+19It's true though. Our (US) internet connections are sooo slow, especially compared to like Japan and Sweden.
      - jftitan, on 03/13/2008, -2/+8But Japan and Sweden are like 1/3rd the size of USA. So even though they have a better internet infastructure, its because they can dish out to the whole country is smaller terms compared to us. But I agree... I want faster broadband. ***** TV (because its full of ***** anyways), and thank you faster internet to get my shows I like, without commercials. Telephone... I can stick with my cell phone, or get a VoIP setup.
      - knowitman, on 03/14/2008, -1/+5Blame the FCC and Bill Clinton back in 1996.
  - toxicityj, on 03/13/2008, -6/+5space isn't the issue at all. Considering most new computers come with at least 250GB and you can double that for roughly $70 on your own. I think WhereAmI has it right. It's a lack of widespread broadband and sufficient speeds.
    - spoogieking012, on 03/13/2008, -1/+8250 gig hd can only hold about 5 movies if they came on a dual layered bluray disc. I'd rather not spend 70 bucks to have enough space for them AND buy them with drm
    - grumbel, on 03/13/2008, -0/+13The problem is the Microsoft tax:
      
      120gb drive: 60€
      120gb drive from Microsoft: 180€
      
      Ripping of the customer is one thing, but letting them pay three times as much as a normal drive costs is totally insane.
    - theaceoffire, on 03/13/2008, -0/+9Not on the 360. So far, its $90 for an extra 20GB, $170 for an extra 120GB.
      Thats a strong argument AGAINST downloadable HD movies for the 360.
    - g2g079, on 03/13/2008, -0/+5I think he was referring to the 360 drives. The 120gb 360 hd goes for around $179 USD. In a perfect world we would be able to download movies from the 360 and be able to store them on our computer and do with it what we please. But instead we have movie assosiation keeping us from making any such copy, a software giant thats doing what they can to make it impossible to use anything but their own, and then there's me, the loyal customer who can't use the technology at hands because the Consumer Bill of Rights was never finished. (sorry about that long sentence).
      - toxicityj, on 03/13/2008, -1/+1yeaaah... i just realized that. >.< I know you're all already doing it, but bury that until I see it no more.
      - g2g079, on 03/13/2008, -0/+1I have not yet but I will to calm the nerd outrage on your comment.
- rockrapdude, on 03/13/2008, -0/+8But isn't sneakernet cheaper by the gigabyte?
  - chokeaduck, on 03/13/2008, -0/+7Currently, I believe that is true, due to the incredibly low cost per gig for a decent HDD, and the lack of dependable broadband nationwide. That will change eventually, though.
- PainToad, on 03/13/2008, -0/+12That doesn't help us Australians who's only video downloads is Halo Trailers
  - IllBeBack, on 03/14/2008, -4/+3Why do you need to rely on the United States to provide your content? Why aren't Australians creating content along with the hardware players or delivery systems needed to deliver that content?
    - Cenobia, on 03/14/2008, -0/+6wtf are you talking about? Microsoft has to make that *****. Australians can't just decide to make a clubhouse and start slapping ***** up on Live. Sony has seperate divisions dedicated to making content in different regions (although they do a ***** job of it in Europe). He's saying that they should do the same type of thing with Australia. If Microsoft would hire people there thats different, but you can't blame a ***** continent because Microsoft won't supply content to the rest of the world. You, sir, fail.
    - supermajic, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1Oh I'm sorry, I forgot that each country had its own national video game console. Microsoft chose to sell its US made video gaming console in the Australian market, and offer Live services to Australia and is responsible for the content available on these services... etc....
    - Dracusis, on 03/14/2008, -0/+2New flash, Microsoft control the content their console's online service. Their non-US Xbox Live divisions need to get their ass in gear big time and seek out content to provide non-US consumers. No doubt there's heaps of willing media channels all across the globe that would love to get their content for sale on Xbox Live, the only entity holding things up is Microsoft itself.
- BlueSkyfish, on 03/13/2008, -7/+1They should just focus on video games. We are talking about video game consoles, right?
  - IllBeBack, on 03/14/2008, -1/+6No. These video game consoles are fully capable of playing movies in HD, so discussion of movies seems fully appropriate.
- harveywalbanger, on 03/14/2008, -7/+11Actually the downloaded HD movies look great on a big 42" plasma - but they take 6+ hours to download on cable high speed. I'm going to retire the XBox 360 and get a PS3. Nothing but problems playing standard DVDs to begin with. They choke half way through a movie - presume ably due to some memory overflow/leak (that's a feature, not a bug).
  I'm told you can exchange your XBox360 for a working one, but I don't have the time to deal with Microsoft.
  - juicebag, on 03/14/2008, -3/+14Dude, it lets you start watching the movie about 10 minutes in to the download while the rest of the movie downloads.
  - dajernts, on 03/17/2008, -0/+1If they make a mistake and allow you to exchange in the system system that sounds like good service. Mistakes happen. Some PS3s probably have problems too.
- Bishop256, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1which is retarded considering not all of the world has super internet access like the US and wont be able to download high def movies.
  - dajernts, on 03/17/2008, -0/+1It is a next-gen console though. It's pushing future tech. I you don't want the extras like this you can get a PS2 or Wii or something.
spoiled1, on 03/13/2008, -25/+11If true, good for Sony then.
- theaceoffire, on 03/13/2008, -16/+3Sony is not involved in this. Blu-ray is not owned by them.
  - LovelyNeko, on 03/13/2008, -30/+3[[[##x\^@&_3pWWWp333d&_ x[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[/
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    - ferrariman60, on 03/13/2008, -0/+12Fail.
      - LovelyNeko, on 03/14/2008, -1/+1It was an encrypted message!
    - IllBeBack, on 03/14/2008, -1/+5Your encrypted message has been received. The cell has been activated and will carry out the instructions immediately.
      /kidding
      - LovelyNeko, on 03/14/2008, -0/+2Very well, begin Operation Pink Pony.
    - LovelyNeko, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1So now we know what happens IF aliens contact earth by sending an encrypted message via Digg.
      /facepalm
  - ausfahrt, on 03/13/2008, -1/+11but they DO have a blu ray player in the ps3 which is owned by them.
  - LovelyNeko, on 03/13/2008, -8/+19 ............................................________
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    .............../...................................................,:”........./
    ..............?.....__.........................................:`.........../
    ............./__.(.....“~-,_..............................,:`........../
    .........../(_....”~,_........“~,_....................,:`........_/
    ..........{.._$;_......”=,_.......“-,_.......,.-~-,},.~”;/....}
    ...........((.....*~_.......”=-._......“;,,./`..../”............../
    ...,,,___.`~,......“~.,....................`.....}............../
    ............(....`=-,,.......`........................(......;_,,-”
    ............/.`~,......`-...................................../
    .............`~.*-,.....................................|,./.....,__
    ,,_..........}.>-._...................................|..............`=~-,
    .....`=~-,__......`,.................................
    ...................`=~-,,.,...............................
    ................................`:,,...........................`..............__
    .....................................`=-,...................,%`>--==``
    ........................................_..........._,-%.......`
    ...................................,
    - neiltc13, on 03/13/2008, -3/+6I think it may be a TRAP!
- Dracusis, on 03/14/2008, -0/+4The Blu-Ray board oof directors is comprised of:
  
  Apple
  Dell
  HP
  Hitachi
  LG
  Mitsubishi Electric
  Panasonic
  Pioneer
  Philips
  Samsung
  Sharp
  *** Sony
  Sun Microsystems
  TDK
  Thomson
  Twentieth Century Fox
  Walt Disney
  Warner Bros.
  
  Sony does own a controlling stake in the format. I've also read (from several different sources) that Sony own the Blu-Ray logo, but that sounds odd to me as I don't see how a single entity can "own" a logo for a consortium. It's more likely that one of the Sony divisions were commissioned by the consortium to create/design the logo, thus it is credited to them and Sony may gain some kind of royalty share from it's use, but ownership is a different kettle of fish.
Topher06, on 03/13/2008, -31/+8Hopefully it was because Sony said "If you want Blu-ray, you have to kiss our asses Microsoft!"
bobthegreat1224, on 03/13/2008, -16/+77I like the bit where MS blames the PS3's sales lead on inventory. Heaven forbid people actually want a PS3 (for something like Blu-Ray, maybe?), and we all know inventory issues have kept the Wii from becoming the best selling console.
- rhenretta, on 03/13/2008, -17/+2wait, what?
  Wii has sold 20.5 million units
  360 has sold 17.5 million units (with a 1 year head start)
  PS3 has sold 8.5 million units
  How are they not the best selling console?
  - bobthegreat1224, on 03/13/2008, -0/+19....................*wooooooosh*
  - marm0lade, on 03/14/2008, -1/+8Wrong. PS3 has sold over 10 million units. Do you not remember the story that hit the front page of digg about the PS3 making it to 10 mil faster than 360?
    
    Yea, I bet you don't remember.
    - tehrich, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1Are there any people who remember front page stories? I think we'd have lots less dupes if there were...
  - FoxOrian, on 03/14/2008, -0/+6Let's put this simply for you, dude. The Wii currently has sold the most consoles despite near permanent "inventory issues." The PS3 sells more than the 360 for a month or two, and Microsoft says "don't worry folks, this isn't as bad as it looks -- we're having inventory issues, give us a minute." --- meaning *****.
    
    Sometimes sarcasm is easier to read than you think.
  - elliotys, on 03/14/2008, -0/+6Anybody who can quote console sales off the top of their heads is a ***** dick.
    - DarkShroud, on 03/14/2008, -1/+1Yes I like to ***** with my dick. But no I can remember the sales numbers because of all damn the non stop stores from everyone posting them.
      
      And yes the PS3 has now outsold the 360 for February as well. I'm = willing to bet this will continue for awhile since stand alone Blu-ray players are pricey and don't do as much as the PS3, besides the whole playing games thing.
- rhenretta, on 03/13/2008, -6/+1Oh wait, I just got the sarcasm. Got it.
  - dave6179, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1DISREGARD THAT, I SUCK *****
sandymac, on 03/13/2008, -17/+157MS doesn't want you to be able to compare the PS3 and 360 directly.
- LiquidIse, on 03/13/2008, -21/+7Converting delivery media hardly makes for a direct comparison. Even with Sony's new development platform, developing for the Cell is an expensive endeavor, it has hurt them more then anything else in this console war, and it will continue to give xbox a development edge for atleast another year or 2
  - santasing, on 03/13/2008, -1/+11If I send you my resume, could you forward it to the HR department in the game company you work for?
- GothAlice, on 03/13/2008, -21/+33I compared them - the 360, upgraded to match the PS3 and the PS3 upgraded with a larger HDD to match cost $412 and $933 respectively. That's $933 for the X-Box 360. Now, with the death of the HD-DVD drive, I should re-consider my cost to include a separate blu-ray player!
  - DarkDx, on 03/13/2008, -13/+3Being buried by the truth? This is just lame. (-1 at the moment after my +1)
  - sathias, on 03/13/2008, -8/+18How in the hell did you get to that conclusion? What "upgrades" did you buy for the 360 to "match" the PS3?
    - Rizmaster, on 03/13/2008, -3/+20presumably the 100 dollar wifi adapter that PS3 has in the box and the (formerly) 200 dollar HD-DVD added to an Elite that's already overpriced.
    - Ajajadude, on 03/13/2008, -2/+21Plus rechargeable battery pack, larger HDD, media card reader...is there anything else we've missed?
      - sinembarg0, on 03/25/2008, -0/+1How much does a vibrating controller cost for ps3?
        and if it's an elite, there is no bigger HDD. plus the HD-DVD drive was $180
    - WhereAmI, on 03/13/2008, -1/+6Xbox Live. But the larger HDD goes to the Elite 360, not the PS3.
  - BedPost, on 03/13/2008, -12/+16PS3 (low end) - $400
    - 40GB HDD
    - Wireless Bluetooth
    - Free Internet Service
    - Bluray
    - No component cable ($5)
    - No mic
    - Not backwards compatible
    
    Xbox 360 Elite - $450
    - 120GB HDD
    - No wireless (to upgrade, MS adapter $99)
    - No bluray (to upgrade, $199, internal PC Drive)
    - $50 for XBL
    - Comes with $20 mic
    - Backwards compatible
    - Ethernet cable
    - Component cable
    
    That's $800, if you want to fully upgrade it purchasing the most expensive hardware ($99 MS adapter? You can pick up a $45 802.11g if you want to, fully supported). Bluray is $199 at cheapest, so yes, that would be expensive. XBL is another $50 dollars (yearly). Also, keep in mind I used the 360 Elite version, with the 3x larger HDD. I could've used the comparable Premium, with a 20gb HDD. That shaves off $100 right there.
    
    The question is (if you plan on purchasing all upgrades), is the money worth it? For me, the 360 vastly outweighed the PS3, purely based on exclusives and XBL (fantastic service, IMO). However, others may think otherwise.
    
    But $933? Stop spreading FUD.
    - Dracusis, on 03/14/2008, -4/+14You forgot the recharge Kit for the 360.
      
      A 120GB HDD for the PS3 wouldn't cost that much.
      
      The 360 isn't really backwards compatible, even the "fully supported" games I've played ran poorly and just playing old Halo games well doesn't make it backwards compatible IMHO.
      
      You can't install an internal BD drive for the 360, you'd need to purchase an external Blu-Ray player. If you want to try and use a PC drive then you should also include the cost of the PC required to output the video signal to a HDTV over HDMI.
      
      I don't know where he got $900+ from, but the 360 *is* more expensive, and it has less exclusives. Most of the 360 games I want are being released on the PC anyway so I just don't see the point.
      
      The PS3 offers better exclusives, Blu-Ray, better quality control and a much more convergent and smartly designed device overall. With the 360 doing all a PS3 can do you have to deal with that horrid power brick, an ugly case, an external HD player, some tacked on wireless box, horrid fan and DVD drive noises and abysmal quality control.
      
      Given the choice now, I'd get a PS3 over a 360 in a heartbeat even if the PS3 cost more, yet, in the end, it's still cheaper while maintaining numerous benifits over the 360.
      - BedPost, on 03/14/2008, -1/+2Well, it was either use the internal PC drive or the $400 external drive - and that seemed too high. Also, I was trying to keep it comparable to the $199 HD-DVD drive Microsoft previously sold. Again, I want to stress that I'm trying to avoid fanboyism; just getting facts out.
        
        I've said it before, I'll say it again, exclusives and XBL sold me, personally. You of course have different values; you mentioned that most 360 games you want are coming to PC. I, unfortunately, do not have the luck to be able to game with my PC - my X800GTO tends to complain when it comes to running games post 2005.
        
        I can see why people would prefer a PS3 - personally, for me, the bluray point is bunk. I just don't care about high def movies (the few movies I watch are viewed on my PC). That means that I'm evaluating the consoles purely based from a gaming standpoint, rather than technological - that means the 360 wins, hands down (to me). Also, I don't need a wireless adapter, so that's another $100 off for me. But I'm not everyone.
    - bejayel, on 03/14/2008, -3/+9Sorry to burst your bubble, but $850 isnt exactly great when comparing to 933. The 360 is still overpriced for what you get.
      - BedPost, on 03/14/2008, -2/+2It's $800, using the overpriced Elite edition. Bring that back to the Premium, that's $700. Now, admittedly, that's still a huge bundle of cash - but cheaper than $933. I was more trying to put the facts out there, rather than claim support of one side or another (I personally like the 360, but I can see why many people want PS3s).
        
        It all comes down to what you want, and again, XBL and the exclusives (I'm a big Halo guy amongst the tons of other Xbox exclusives that I love, and I have never been huge into MGS - GTAIV being announced for both consoles way back in the day was also another deciding factor) sold me. A nice surprise was the marketplace and PC integration - I use both of those a lot, and would be sorely missed on any other console. I'm not trying to be a fanboy. I'm just trying to get facts out... and $933 seemed vastly overpriced (at first, after researching, it wasn't that off).
    - DarkShroud, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1The 40gig does play PS1 games. Just not PS2 games, though it is possible with a future firmware update.
  - duzytata, on 03/14/2008, -1/+5What if people don't want/need the extra features? I paid 350 for my premium and it has more than enough hard drive space for my uses. 50 for another wireless controller and 15 for a energizer quick charge kit with 8 batteries that was on sale at Home Depot. I also get live from Buy.com using GCO for under thirty bucks. 445 total for my xbox setup. Plus the system has all the games I enjoy and all my friends have one as well. I dont' care about BlueRay or HDDVD and other features. I'm happy with the money I've spent and I've never looked back.
- dajernts, on 03/17/2008, -0/+1True, but I don't think theres enough demand for blu-ray yet to make this a great buy. I think a lot of people would prefer the online aspect.
- GothAlice, on 03/26/2008, -0/+1My formula was thus: Microsoft's official accessories when possible. WiFi adapter, recharge kit, HD-DVD drive, 'reasonable' memory card adapter, 120GB HDD, XBL 1-year subscription. 120GB HDD for the PS3. I worked from the standard Xbox 360 base model available at the time and from the 80GB PS3 model available at the time. Prices -are- subject to change, people, and by no means did I go for the cheapest options, or for the most expensive.
1jaxstate1, on 03/13/2008, -28/+9This is great. I'm glad they are pushing digital downloads, which will be the way of the future.
- woofers07, on 03/13/2008, -1/+12it will, but not for awhile, not until fiber optics reach critical mass.
- Ajajadude, on 03/13/2008, -0/+5Unless you live in America.
CrudeDarkness, on 03/13/2008, -25/+7"Microsoft Corp is not in talks to include Sony Corp's Blu-ray high-definition DVD technology in its Xbox 360 video game console"

DVD technology?!!
- michaelaranda, on 03/13/2008, -1/+11Well, they ARE still digital video discs.
  - Magicmasta, on 03/13/2008, -0/+5DVD (also known as "Digital Versatile Disc" - see Etymology) is a popular optical disc storage media format. Its main uses are video and data storage. Most DVDs are of the same dimensions as compact discs (CDs) but store more than six times as much data.
    
    -Wikipedia
    - Elranzer, on 03/14/2008, -1/+1Ah, Wikipedia... you are never inaccurate.
    - michaelaranda, on 03/16/2008, -0/+1If you check the Etymology (which I did, prior to posting my above comment) you'll see that DVD is accepted to stand for both Digital Video Disk and Digital Versatile Disc.
- Poco, on 03/13/2008, -1/+5Digital Video (versatile?) Disc
  
  Blu-ray is digital, it is video, and it is a disc.
- bigbadgoat, on 03/13/2008, -1/+2Blu-ray is still a Digital Video (versatile) Disc by definition
- DoTheFandango, on 03/13/2008, -1/+1DVD technically stands for nothing but the type of disk itself, so yeah.
- Elranzer, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1By definition, Blu-Ray is also a High-Definition Digital Video Disc (HD-DVD)
ToMZiLLA, on 03/13/2008, -8/+23Liars
Falldog, on 03/13/2008, -6/+28:(
kelowna4life, on 03/13/2008, -1/+46how is Microsoft facing supply shortages...we are so deep into the life cycle this is crazy!
- LOCK3D, on 03/13/2008, -3/+54Probably because of the failure rate. They have to replace nearly half of them. My "elite" just got the RROD and now constantly has screen freezing issues. It's going back to microsoft this week. They sell more lemons than a citrus grove.
  - endlessoul, on 03/13/2008, -2/+14I can testify to the ***** of 360's. Just got mine back from Mexico for repair.
    
    I'm counting on it to fail. Again.
- FredFredrickson, on 03/13/2008, -7/+2The official word is that they sold more units than expected during the holidays.
chingy1788, on 03/13/2008, -43/+142360 is useless to me now
PS3 is slowly coming out with games
Mass effect possibly coming to PC
the PS3 is essentially a Bluray player that can play games
The 360, if they are pushing digital downloads, thats bad
Because in Australia we have something called internet caps
There is no way you would get me to download A full length 1080p Movie, because depending on the quality and length it may mean 1/4 - 1/2 of my months quota gone
I have an old gaming PC, that runs crysis on low, and I'm happy...
- spect3r, on 03/13/2008, -30/+7digital downloads ftw.
  - candafilm, on 03/13/2008, -0/+9I'm not using digi-distribution on the 360 until they drop the insane price of the HDD. I can buy a 1TB HDD for the same price I can get a 120GB Xbox HDD.
    - EvilFerret, on 03/14/2008, -0/+2Where can I buy a 1TB 2.5" HDD for $200? No really, I'd like to know because last I heard the largest 2.5" HDDs just recently hit 500GB. People forget a lot of times that the 360 doesn't use a desktop HDD that are cheap as hell right now. However they are still marking up the prices quite a bit..... A 120GB 2.5" HDD will average around $70 on the internet.(Probably around $120 or so in retail stores) For the same price you could get a 320GB 3.5" (desktop) HDD.
    - chingy1788, on 03/14/2008, -0/+2still, $200 for the 120GB 360 Drive, a standard one costs anyware between 70 and 120 as you say
      so its still a massive price difference
    - Bishop256, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1Oh really? Because i can enjoy TBs of data on my SATA HDD with PS3! I can switch out and format a new HDD in minutes. its nice.
  - WhereAmI, on 03/13/2008, -1/+4Which we can do on the PS3. Did you know Warhawk, a great PS3 game that comes on Blu Ray too, can be downloaded to your hard drive? How many full 360 games do that?
- kingmanic, on 03/13/2008, -0/+34Mass effect IS coming to the PC. It's already been announced.
  - MasterGrief, on 03/14/2008, -0/+5At the risk of being buried.... Mass Effect just wasn't that great to me anyway. Great story, great universe, rather poor gameplay.
    - logandurand, on 03/14/2008, -0/+2I've heard it's pretty hit-or-miss as to weather you like it, still worth a try.
      - MasterGrief, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1Oh yes, I think everyone should play it and determine if they like it or not. There's definitely a game in there to love, but unfortunately, there's a pretty big one to hate too. I won't go into detail... I think those who have played it know what I mean.
- jabberwolf, on 03/13/2008, -20/+5360 is useless? It still has tons more games than the PS3.
  If they dont provide a Blue Ray DVD addition, then its only a matter of time before a 3rd party does.
  
  Sorry we forgot about 3rd world countries that have those caps, sincerely sorry about that.
  - chingy1788, on 03/13/2008, -3/+8tons more now
    but the PS3 came out a year later, and starting to get more games (GT5? that looks awesome)
  - thefurball, on 03/14/2008, -1/+3Third world country? Unnecessary.
  - Dracusis, on 03/14/2008, -0/+4Yeah, Australia sucks, I hate having to spend 5 minutes in the beautiful sunshine walking down to my local video rental store to pick up a Blu-Ray movie, I'm much prefer to sit around inside and wait 6 hours for it to download. I hate that I'm stuck with this "third world" PS3 crap. Really wish we had that download thing, I'm so jealous, 6 hours, you're defiantly onto something good there...
    - chingy1788, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1jabberwolf's experience
      Yeah, Australia sucks, I hate having to spend 5 minutes in the *burning* sunshine *waddling* down to my local video rental store to pick up a Blu-Ray movie, I'm much prefer to sit around inside and wait 6 hours for it to download. I hate that I'm stuck with this "third world" PS3 crap. Really wish we had that download thing, I'm so jealous, 6 hours, you're defiantly onto something good there...
- xcheats, on 03/13/2008, -9/+37Your 360 is useless to you now? You bought a $399 Game Console for watching movies? I feel bad for you.
  - chingy1788, on 03/13/2008, -3/+16well actually i haven't bought it yet
    I'm a jobless uni student, $400 isnt exactly easy to come by...
    - Ajajadude, on 03/13/2008, -0/+20Sell your roommate's stuff...if you have a roommate.
    - Dgen_X, on 03/13/2008, -1/+5I hear selling drugs to school children is a great way to earn some extra cash!
- chris1012, on 03/13/2008, -2/+5I hope they bring out more downloads, here in Canada and in USA we too have bandwidth caps, maybe this will start to push those retarded caps away. It's ***** stupid that I can get fibre and great speeds where I am, but it's limited to 30GB/month up/down.
  - bejayel, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1What the ***** ISP are you with in Canada that you have a Cap? I have used 4 different ISP's and i wasnt capped on a single one of them. There is EASILY a TB of throughput coming out of my house alone each month between the 4 of us computer nerds and the 2 different ISP (Shaw and Sasktel) we tried simply dont care.
    - chris1012, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1bell, rogers.... thats "what the *****" i am talking about. Look it up. Thankfully I was with rogers before the bandwidth cap, they only apply it to new customers. Congratz on the nerd house... :P
- drizzlelicious, on 03/13/2008, -0/+41Did you just write a poem?
  - chris1012, on 03/13/2008, -1/+2lol.
- mlvassallo, on 03/13/2008, -6/+7I wouldn't say the 360 is entirely usless yet. The PS3 has yet to deliver in the games department. Exclusives like Metal Gear and Final Fantasy are still months away and ports to both systems are still playing the same just with faster load times on the 360. Other than being a fanboy statement, it isn't really one you can make logically just yet.
  - chingy1788, on 03/14/2008, -3/+3its a bluray player that can play games it wins hands down
    - lime148, on 03/14/2008, -2/+3When will it start playing games?
      - DarkShroud, on 03/14/2008, -2/+1When you insert the game into the oh so silent drive.
  - bejayel, on 03/14/2008, -1/+5Go play a couple PS3 games. I am happy with my current collection.
  - SpeedSteamBoat, on 03/14/2008, -3/+2"ports to both systems are still playing the same just with faster load times on the 360."
    
    Actually, that's a long way off from a statement of reality, but don't let the truth distract you now!
    - Fentekreel, on 03/14/2008, -0/+2Devil May Cry?
    - MaxD, on 03/14/2008, -0/+3Devil May Cry loads faster on the PS3 *cough*after.the.ps3.has.spent.half.an.hour.installing.it.of.course*cough*
- Vektuz, on 03/14/2008, -6/+1The answer is to get your internet fixed.
  Caps are not okay.
  - SpeedSteamBoat, on 03/14/2008, -1/+2You're right. In magic fantasy land where everyone that plays consoles also has affordable access to ultra fast internet connections the 360 wins with all the HD-content you can download to your infinite hard-drive space.
  - chingy1788, on 03/14/2008, -0/+3if you pay my monthly bill for unlimited 10Mbit access ($150AUD+) then sure
  - christhechris, on 03/14/2008, -0/+3If we could fix we would...but that what happens when the main telecom is form government department and basically has a monopoly over the whole country...it slowly getting better...untill then Blu-ray will do just fine
replaysMike, on 03/13/2008, -13/+43That's fine, I'll be happy to buy a PS3 and have my Xbox sit in the corner. Once MS stops sulking they might change their mind.
- SuperSunny, on 03/13/2008, -21/+11Cool! I never knew we buy VIDEO GAME CONSOLES to go watch some ***** movies. *****, I don't even remember the last time I bought myself a DVD. The majority of the world doesn't give a ***** about Bluray.
  - theaceoffire, on 03/13/2008, -5/+16Oh no! I bought something for a different reason than you! I am such a bastard!
  - marm0lade, on 03/14/2008, -5/+2I hope you realize that the technology to store hi-def movies is also the same technology they use to store your games on. Meaning, it will be cost prohibitive for MS to continue using HD-DVD, since the hardware to do so will become increasingly more expensive to obtain as less and less people buy HD-DVD players and movies. Amazon has already slashed prices on HD-DVD merch to try and get rid of it.
    
    But I'm sure you don't realize this, or else you never would have made that post.
    - Seifey, on 03/14/2008, -0/+2They stopped making the HD-DVD add-on, if you read the article.
  - bahamutxd, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1SuperSunny huh? Your digg name sure doesn't match your attitude.
- dajernts, on 03/17/2008, -0/+1You through money around like? If only you were the average consumer.
Adrian540, on 03/13/2008, -5/+38So much for giving consumers a choice.
- jabberwolf, on 03/13/2008, -5/+1Wait for a 3rd party to come out with the add-on. MS usually says no, and a month later someone does it for them. But they dont cry about it, they usually are pretty dam dependent on people doing that.
  - Ajajadude, on 03/13/2008, -0/+3How about they focus on a third party add-on to rival their HDD and their WiFi adapter instead. I'm sure more people would buy that.
  - DarkShroud, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1Every part of the 360's hardware is proprietary. So companies can't make anything beyond a wired controller for the 360 without MS's permission/licensing.
MScrip, on 03/13/2008, -17/+14Not just movies... how long will XBox360 continue to use DVD9 games? Or will the future be downloadable games?
- Jibberwalk, on 03/14/2008, -0/+9The 360 will always use the DVD9 format for games.
  
  What the next iteration of Microsoft's gaming machine will use as a format, I think it's safe to assume bluray will be the defacto standard.
- bejayel, on 03/14/2008, -0/+9You want to download games for your 360???? Are you ***** mad? The 360 will use DVD9 for the rest of its lifespan (which i would venture to guess is around 3 more years)
- christhechris, on 03/14/2008, -2/+3download 20GB+ to your god awful expensive MS branded HD...yeah that seems smart...NOT
  .
zbeast, on 03/13/2008, -8/+70Microsoft is stuck now, they may not be in talks now but they will be.
There is no way i'm going to buy locked digital downloads for any game system whats the point.
When the game system dies and you know it will you lose the movies.
You don't like the move you can't sell it or give it away.
it's a lost cash investment.
- shakajumbo, on 03/13/2008, -1/+21seriously.. this is the most objective, fanboi free argument i've ever heard on digg. Plus I whole-heartedly agree with you sir.
  
  nice job
- TheNik, on 03/13/2008, -11/+3Unless, since Xbox Live is a huge service with the definitive resources to pull it off, you can just redownload it or transfer your content when the 360's successor comes out. Who knows, they may even integrate it with Live Anywhere and you can watch movies on your phone, laptop, PC, etc...
  I'm sure they will think of something if they really don't want to use Blu-ray.
  - KMartSheriff, on 03/14/2008, -4/+8XBox LIVE is a rip-off.
  - DarkShroud, on 03/14/2008, -0/+2MS hasn't even fixed the DRM issues with XBL games and transferring them to the brand new refurbished console they send us.
- FredFredrickson, on 03/13/2008, -0/+8The movies on 360 are rentals - you're not buying anything but a license to watch the movie for a limited time. All three systems offer downloadable games though, so all you can do is get the system with the physical games you want, and avoid the downloads altogether, I guess.
- jakefloyd, on 03/14/2008, -0/+2what's up with all the poems?
djdingo, on 03/13/2008, -9/+78"Xbox is not currently in talks with Sony or the Blu-ray Association to integrate Blu-ray into the Xbox experience"

It's a video game console, not an "experience".
- SuperSunny, on 03/13/2008, -23/+7True. Most of the PS3 owners I know do not own HDTVs. and if they do, it's hooked up on Standard TV mode on an HDTV, because they don't know any better. Bluray is useless. So is their stupidity.
  - Opiate, on 03/13/2008, -2/+12Spoken like a true fanboy. Judging your previous posts I'd say you are full of *****.
  - Cenobia, on 03/14/2008, -2/+1Wow...That is the most retarded comment I've seen on digg. If PS3 owners were a race you'd be the biggest ***** racist in Texas. Douchebag.
  - christhechris, on 03/14/2008, -1/+3That comment says alot about you and your friends and absolutely nothing about how useful a PS3/Blueray is...
- TheNik, on 03/13/2008, -9/+4By definition it technically is... You experience an Xbox by playing it, watching movies on it, etc...
  - MasterGrief, on 03/14/2008, -0/+2Dugg for not using "et cetera" more than once
cortez_a, on 03/13/2008, -0/+34Is it just me or is this how companies announce that they are doing something? It seems like every time an exec says,"we are not working on this and don't have plans to ever release this." They are really saying, " We hope to have this deal done officially by Friday."
- PolishLogic, on 03/13/2008, -0/+3Exactly what I was thinking. I look at this story as saying they may be discussing, but aren't engaging in formal talks at the moment. Especially considering that Greenberg never came out and said "360 will definitely not be going with Blu-Ray technology". Looks like this was basically an attempt to diffuse the initial reports that they'd be releasing a Blu-ray component by summer.
  - Zman0101, on 03/13/2008, -3/+1It's similar to dating and saying "I love you" to someone for the first time.
    You might be thinking it, she might be thinking it, but you both aren't 100% sure yet. It's better to just deny it for the time being until the time is right rather than making the commitment by acknowledging it.
    
    Not that diggers would know about that anyways. :)
- Hoogs, on 03/13/2008, -0/+4Bungie said the same thing about online co-op in Halo 3. At first they said it wouldn't be there, next thing you know, there's four player co-op online. MS likes to mess with us I guess...
carl25, on 03/13/2008, -13/+6why is this news, they never supported games on hd dvd, possibly because they didn't want to risk it. And that's a good thing considering hd dvd died. If blu-ray died ps3 would have died.

Next xbox should support blu ray.
- Brasky, on 03/13/2008, -0/+12No, the PS3 wouldn't have died. You just would have had only PS3 games on Bluray. The PSP isn't dead just because they don't make UMD movies anymore.
  - carl25, on 03/13/2008, -6/+3no, sony was banking HUGE on blu ray
    - WhereAmI, on 03/13/2008, -0/+1Its true. But its not like Blu-Ray was the obvious winner.
spacebuddy, on 03/13/2008, -29/+30Time to sell my xbox360 and get a PS3.
- SuperSunny, on 03/13/2008, -24/+8THANKS FOR BUYING A ***** video game console so you can go watch your "SUPER PIXEL MOVIES!"
  - namtellum, on 03/13/2008, -2/+13What do you care what he/she does?
  - TheKage, on 03/13/2008, -6/+8He's a Microsoft FanBoy.
  - redneckblues, on 03/13/2008, -5/+8While I wouldn't have put it that way, I agree. Why buy a console just to watch movies? I will choose the console with the most compelling games, and for me, that is the Xbox 360. If I get a Blu-Ray player, it will likely be standalone.
    BTW, I will bet that they do have plans for Blu-Ray.
    - WhereAmI, on 03/13/2008, -5/+4GT5
      MGS4
      Resistance 2
      inFamous
      ^exclusives
      GTA IV
      Midnight Club: LA
      etc
      - redneckblues, on 03/14/2008, -1/+2Compelling to ME.
    - Dracusis, on 03/14/2008, -1/+2But the 360 was promoted as an all-in-one entertainment hub, but now it's had it's HD media format cut our from under it you can't really call it a modern entertainment hub, it's more like a runty little error prone PC that you'll never be able to upgrade.
digitallysick, on 03/13/2008, -4/+19I agree with the above remarks, its a hard choice with the game system market. The ps3 is the cheapest blu ray player, but it also plays games. Now that blu ray has won the format war, its the best option for high def movies. Digital downloads are nice for the xbox 360, but i don't care to pay for an xbox live membership and then on top of that, pay for a movie.
- npsken, on 03/13/2008, -1/+2xbox live silver is free
  - digitallysick, on 03/13/2008, -2/+8Oops, but still, you have to pay to play games online, ps3 network is free! (the main reason i got it)
    - bejayel, on 03/14/2008, -1/+4PSN being free was the point that pushed me straight to a PS3. I already pay enough for this *****, paying more just to play my game is retarded. I still fail to see why people pay monthly subscriptions for games like Wow. I will never buy into a game that requires post payment installations in order to just play the game.
- lime148, on 03/14/2008, -0/+2"but it also plays games"
  ?
- kevindoc, on 03/14/2008, -1/+1$50 a year for xbox live is more than fair compared to the $30 per movie blue ray price. I know xbox live movie downloads do cost, but I'd rather pay that then put out all that money for a blue ray disc that will get watched once then sit on a shelf.
PaddyD, on 03/13/2008, -6/+39Microsoft just shot itself in the foot. All Xbox owners want it, and Microsoft will not deliver. Their Digital Distribution would actually be good if it weren't for the terrible and strict DRM (the film will delete itself no matter what in 24 hours from pressing play). I certainly don't think it's worth 400-800 points for that.
- SuperSunny, on 03/13/2008, -12/+2A tiny group of people would enjoy Bluray. The average 360 Live playing Joe doesn't know what the hell Bluray actually is. Most people don't have HDTV's.
  
  Sorry, but last time I checked, we bought video game consoles to go play video games. Halo 3 on Live, Gears, COD4, etc. I don't remember anyone ever complaining about the fact that they can't watch movies. The average Joe will just rent from online. Don't even complain about DRM -Locking. Once again the average Joe doesn't know what DRM - Locking is. They just want to rent a movie.
  - BingoPower, on 03/13/2008, -0/+9Wow, way to totally ***** up.
    
    Many people would enjoy blu-ray.
    Most 360 owners probably know what blu-ray is.
    More and more people are buying HDTV's, including my mother who is the biggest technophobe on the planet.
    
    Right, now start again son...
- Uranium118, on 03/13/2008, -8/+2A console is for games, if I want movies, I'll buy a dedicated quality machine, not some add-on but I don't need Blu-Ray when I have Bit-Torrent.
  - Cenobia, on 03/14/2008, -0/+2You would buy a more expensive stand alone player vs. the PS3 which plays bluray and games for less...You should rethink that statement. I'm a PS3 fanboy, but if the xbox had HD-DVD (and it won) from the get go, and let me have it for less than a stand alone player, I'd be all over that console.
    And bit torrent doesn't deliver the quality of bluray...unless you can spare 10gbs per download, which would take days and eat HDD space.
  - Bishop256, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1P.S. Downloading movies from bit torrent is illegal. you know, just FYI.
- FredFredrickson, on 03/13/2008, -3/+7I don't want Blu-Ray. And that's not to do with any hate towards Sony or the PS3 - I am simply not interested in paying more for movies that I will enjoy just as much on DVD. The "advantages" of Blu-Ray do not justify the premium yet.
  - BingoPower, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1Remember, DVD was expensive compared to VHS when it hit the market. Blu-ray disks will drop and you'll change your mind.
willgonz, on 03/13/2008, -0/+23These aren't the droids you're looking for.
- harveywalbanger, on 03/14/2008, -0/+4These aren't the droids we're looking for. Move along, move along..
saggygrandma, on 03/13/2008, -11/+27EPIC FAIL! if they don't want Blu-Ray and HD-DVD is dead, what the hell are they going to use on their next gen console! Flash Cartridges?!
- FredFredrickson, on 03/13/2008, -7/+2It's doing just fine without BR now... why would they need it in the 360? Perhaps a future system... but not the 360.
  - saggygrandma, on 03/14/2008, -1/+3by next gen I meant next generation of console, ie after the 360.
- BlueSkyfish, on 03/13/2008, -6/+2Probably the next disc format. HVD, terradisc, maybe even direct downloads.
- thejynxed, on 03/13/2008, -3/+4Maybe they will. With solid state drives rapidly approaching consumer mass-market prices, and the capacity of flash drives increasing just as rapidly, there is no reason at all to continue releasing games on optical media. They'd be a hell of a lot more reliable on SSD/Flash media anyhow, and would eliminate the cost of expensive drives like Blu-Ray completely.
- harveywalbanger, on 03/14/2008, -0/+5Actually... That isn't a bad idea now that you think about it.
- mCanada, on 03/14/2008, -1/+1JesusToast obviously
radixus, on 03/13/2008, -7/+21Hum, he says: "Xbox is not currently in talks with Sony or the Blu-ray Association to integrate Blu-ray into the Xbox experience"

Integrate being the key word. Meaning yes Microsoft will never integrate Blu-Ray into the Xbox 360. But that doesn't mean Microsoft will not release an add-on blu-ray player. Sneaky words Microsoft.
- magicaltrevor, on 03/13/2008, -3/+6He said 'Xbox experience'. I assume that covers addons like the HDDVD drive.
Amorn, on 03/13/2008, -8/+90Microsoft doesn't care about black people
- hurricanewane, on 03/13/2008, -13/+11who does?
- BruceDude, on 03/14/2008, -3/+6Microsoft doesn't care about anything but the highest bottom line.
  Doesn't care about quality, reputation, employees, fair play... any of that.
  
  It is a money making machine, and it will do so by any means necessary.
cleudo, on 03/13/2008, -16/+11The 360 sounds like a snow blower anyway - who wants to watch a movie with that in the room? PS3 sounds like the way to go - shame TiVo never went down the gaming route tho' - that would be the perfect console....
- cruzer2727, on 03/14/2008, -2/+1You obviously haven't heard a ps3.
aceakm, on 03/13/2008, -10/+19The next generation XBox is now not so next generation...
- SuperSunny, on 03/13/2008, -14/+5Yes it is. It has a GPU capable of modern-gen graphics. HDR, 1080p, Higher Poly Count per Model, increased Physics and Particle Functions, etc. RTR on all surfaces, with realistic refraction and diffraction.
  - DarkDx, on 03/13/2008, -1/+10refractiona nd diffraction? wtf
  - KMartSheriff, on 03/14/2008, -2/+10RRoD is a feature?
  - logandurand, on 03/14/2008, -1/+3Sorry SuperSunny, Crysis on very high is next-gen. 360 came out in 2005. Not so cutting-edge anymore.
  - paulsmith288, on 03/14/2008, -0/+3It also has a last generation storage device. Had HDDVD come as standard then it would be next gen (well current gen i suppose)
  - bahamutxd, on 03/14/2008, -0/+3Is Microsoft paying you to be an annoying troll?
  - Bishop256, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1Do you even know what half those things are?
- xcheats, on 03/13/2008, -5/+6Because it can't play Blu-Ray DVDs? It had the HD-DVD Drive as an add-on for a reason. It's a game console not a media center.
  - aceakm, on 03/14/2008, -2/+2See, that's the thing. I'm paying for something that's NOT a media center and marketed as you put it, strictly a "game console". So why not fork over the same amount roughly, for a PS3, which is capable of playing hi-definition movies, wifi, etc etc? Because XBOX exclusive games? In today's market, most games are multi-platform, with the exception of a few. And those few aren't worth giving up a high def experience. Especially if you have the television and sound system to run it.
  - xero9, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1Wow, where to begin.. If it's not a media center, then why does it allow me to connect to an Media Center Edition to watch videos, listen to music, etc? Why did the fall update include DivX/Xvid and possibly other codecs? Why does it let me download movie and TV shows from XBL Marketplace?
    
    So please enlighten us on what would make it count as a media center?
    - xcheats, on 03/19/2008, -0/+1Last time I checked Xbox.com they didn't have a movies section.
  - Bishop256, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1Isnt there an xbox media center OS?
tbunreal, on 03/13/2008, -10/+49Video game systems = games, i didnt buy it so i can watch movies on it, sure its a convenience buts its not the end of the ***** world.
- SuperSunny, on 03/13/2008, -9/+16THANK YOU!
- umdigger, on 03/13/2008, -7/+8Exact reason I got a Wii.
  - DarkShroud, on 03/14/2008, -1/+1How many games does that have again? I'm still waiting for the promised 3rd party games that didn't happen with my GC. Only I have the gameboy adapter for my GC so I can play all but my DS games on it. And yes I have the Super Gameboy for my SNES.
    - umdigger, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1I'll admit, I'm far from a hardcore gamer, I play my wii a few times a week at most. But with Guitar Hero and Smash, I'm set. Plus when Mario Cart comes out I'll have more than enough to keep me happy.
- willgonz, on 03/13/2008, -4/+2I know...and who would want an oven that bakes too. Geez
- kuhlmeye, on 03/14/2008, -6/+2Games for the PS3 are on Blu-Ray disks...
- thedragon4453, on 03/14/2008, -1/+2I think MS is just thinking a little longer term on this one. I don't think it not having a blu-ray player is going to matter because in a year blu-ray players (stand alone) will be much, much cheaper.
  - DarkShroud, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1The only way MS could be thinking long term is trying to save money for a blu-ray drive for the Xbox 3/720. Though it would be nice if the BDA added MS's HDi menu software to the Blu-ray 2.0 spec.
- SpeedSteamBoat, on 03/14/2008, -3/+1"i didnt buy it so i can watch movies on it"
  
  Really? That's wonderful. I, and many other people, did buy a system for that purpose (PS2) and now many others want to watch HD movies, but don't mind that. Do you have any other interesting personal trivia you would like to share?
  - ScionX, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1So you bought your 360 to watch BR movies???
- paulsmith288, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1Ok , so you bought your xbox to play games. It does this very well now .....
  
  FFWD a bit - games are so big they cannot fit on a DVD. More and faster storage doesn't always need to be relevant for movies.
SuperSunny, on 03/13/2008, -4/+12Complain about this all you want, but if a consumer decides on what Video Game Console to buy based on what kind of Digital Video Disc system it uses to watch their favorite super pixel movies, then there has been no point in developing a video game console. It's a media center, obviously,, but the point of the console is to go play video games.
- knowitman, on 03/14/2008, -1/+2And what is wrong with having 1 machine instead of a Game console, a DVD/Blu-ray player, a Tivo, a CD player (Because you don't buy MOVIE players to listen to music, etc etc.
- bejayel, on 03/14/2008, -0/+3I am pretty sure that Sony and Microsoft made it fairly clear that their consoles were meant to be home media systems. On top of that, if you dont want to watch movies on your 360, then why were 90% of 360 owners calling out for better codec support? Your statement is complete *****.
  - doctordbx, on 03/14/2008, -1/+0"why were 90% of 360 owners calling out for better codec support? "
    "Your statement is complete *****." ^^^ so is yours. How did you arrive at the figure of 90%
- bahamutxd, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1By selling a full fledged media center, it makes your product more marketable and reaches a broader audience. By pushing the Blu-ray format along with the other things the PS3 does, it was a gamble that worked out wonderfully. If they developed a game console, you'd ostracize those who want to watch "SUPER PIXEL MOVIES" as you say. You'd lose potential millions by trying to center on a particular demographic.
Pake, on 03/13/2008, -6/+16Correct me if I'm wrong, but Sony doesn't own Blu-Ray, so it would be pointless for MS to talk with Sony unless it desired for Sony to make the Blu-Ray drive. If MS wants Blu-Ray, they'd speak directly to the Blu-Ray group which Sony takes part of, but does not have control over.
- umdigger, on 03/13/2008, -5/+3You're kind of wrong.
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc_Associat ...
  
  Sony started the DVDblue which pretty much is current day blue-ray. So in a group of companies that are 'owners' of Blue-ray, Sony is on the top of the list.
  - Pake, on 03/13/2008, -0/+3Sony helped develop it with Pioneer though.
- frobozz0, on 03/13/2008, -6/+6Okay, you are being corrected. Sony does own the Blu-Ray format.
  - Pake, on 03/13/2008, -0/+5Based on Wikipedia, they don't own it. Unless there is another source that specifically states they do, that is what I'm looking for.
    - MacSuxWindozSux, on 03/13/2008, -0/+3Truthiness
- DarkShroud, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1I would think MS would just have Philipes make the 360 Blu-ray drive for them since Philipes makes the 360 DVD drive.
pierrecee, on 03/13/2008, -2/+15Come on microsoft! I've got a 360 and I want a blueray attachment....forget compressed digital downloads and your cheap discontinued HD-DVD drive.
Synthesize, on 03/13/2008, -10/+4Blu-ray for Xbox 720 confirmed.
catfud, on 03/13/2008, -2/+12said they wont put bluray into the system
whcih means an addon is still possible
zaprowsdower, on 03/13/2008, -3/+8"We're the only console offering digital distribution of entertainment content,"

Well whoop dee doo. So does Bittorrent, except I'm not limited to a pitiable catalogue of films, have to use those annoying microsoft points, get locked into whatever drm theyve slapped onto the files or get the film auto-deleted after a few days. I like to buy movies and have lots of pretty boxes on my shelf. It's not the end of the world, and I may just have to sell a few limbs to afford a PS3, but this still uber sucks for movie lovers on a budget.
- FredFredrickson, on 03/13/2008, -3/+2Bit torrent isn't a video game console. Re-read the sentence, and try again.
jimcavoli, on 03/13/2008, -3/+3This shows that they're pushing their direct downloads instead, and lends substance to the theory that they attempted to drag the war out for such purposes. Looks less conspiracy now.
- Kenzan, on 03/13/2008, -0/+3And when your Xbox breaks, all of your downloads you paid for will be useless when you get a replacement device.
  - SuperSunny, on 03/14/2008, -1/+1I'm sure they are developing a system to recover these digital downloads in the event of an emergency. Much like iTunes.
    - DarkShroud, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1Yeah it works great for the XBL games. How long has the RRoD been a problem for MS? So where's the system at, it should already be here.
    - Kenzan, on 03/14/2008, -0/+1I'm sure they are not.
dOOBiEx213, on 03/13/2008, -9/+5Just ***** get a blu-ray drive. Definitely worth it for 130 bucks on eBay. Plus, I can now rip blu-ray to my PC (not that I would since that is against copyright laws as we all know.)
- Kenzan, on 03/13/2008, -6/+1Except the new ones do not have the features that the current Gen of Blu-Ray discs support.
  PS3 has firmware downloads that will support any new feature.
  - dOOBiEx213, on 03/13/2008, -1/+6Like what features? BD-Live? I thought Blu-ray drives were dependent on the software used for playback as opposed to any "firmware."
Yage2006, on 03/13/2008, -2/+21Digital downloads are not going to replace DVD or BluRay sales ever.
Thats fine for people who like to rent there movies. But people who actually buy disks often are collectors who like to have the packaging and features.
So while digital distribution will eat into the rental market places like block busters ect. Its not going to touch the fans and collectors market at all.
- FredFredrickson, on 03/13/2008, -5/+1Considering how small the HD market is right now, I think they can afford to wait.
- cadmiumpaint, on 03/13/2008, -0/+11also, people don't realize, it takes less time to get into your car, drive down to your blockbuster, browse, come back home, put the disc in your player and start watching a movie that it does to download a full movie esp. at HD resolutions. Nobody plans out their Friday night movie rental a week in advance.
- ausfahrt, on 03/13/2008, -1/+3never say never but it wont be soon.
  - kevindoc, on 03/14/2008, -1/+1Couldnt agree more. The future is definately digital. Eventually the price of storage will be cheap enough for everyone to own full digital libraries and downloads will be fast enough to handle HD. Microsoft has the right idea, they just might be pushing it a little too soon.
petethepanda, on 03/13/2008, -6/+25This may be the final nail in my "deciding to get PS3 over 360" coffin.
frobozz0, on 03/13/2008, -1/+22This makes sense. They're going to try digital downloads. I think everyone agrees that digital is a great way to go as long as it is portable to your other devices. However, blu-ray on the PS3 has two very distinct advantages:

1) 50GB of space for physical delivery of games. I see this really limiting XBox360 in the future.

2) 1080p physical delivery of feature length movies.

I don't know about you, but your ISP is going to need FiOS speeds or better to make 1080p high def video / audio a reality any time soon other than a Blu-Ray.
- MacSuxWindozSux, on 03/13/2008, -1/+1More like they feel dumb reminding people that their HD-DVD upgrade is useless, while asking them to get a new Blu-Ray upgrade.
FredFredrickson, on 03/13/2008, -5/+12HD is slow to take off... market penetration is terrible, and we're in an economic recession. They have plenty of time to wait and weigh their options. In the meantime, they've still got the best video game console based on current games, and that's not going to change for months either.
- bejayel, on 03/14/2008, -3/+4Cause The US is the only land mass on this planet.
  - elint6, on 03/14/2008, -0/+3It's called globalization -- financial markets and GDP growth are linked in our modern world. Not to mention the USD: OPEC uses USD. 'Nuff said.
- FredFredrickson, on 03/14/2008

Microsoft says no Blu-ray for Xbox 360