Xbox 360 and HD DVD to drop for under $500?
By Ryan Block 
posted May 16th 2006 11:37AM
posted May 16th 2006 11:37AM
Assuming the Xbox 360 Core pack price stays the same at around $300 US, that gives Microsoft a $200 window to play with in order to make a next-gen optical capable 360 competitive in price with Sony's Blu-ray toting PlayStation 3. Of course by this November the Xbox's price structure could change drastically, as they have stated many times their intentions to drive down price and cost. What GamesIndustry heard from a UK retail source, however, is that the 360 + HD DVD (which may or may not come bundled together) will still weigh in lighter on the wallet than the PlayStation 3 by a significant margin -- however, that margin is pending British pounds, with the Xbox and HD DVD being £339 ($640 US), and the PS3 at £399 ($750 US). So what isn't immediately taken into account here is the effective price differential in currency conversion between nations; in the US that same PlayStation 3 will debut for $499, about $250 less than it will for our British counterparts, thus making the window for pricing the drive competitively much larger in overseas markets. If you ask us, we'll vote for a US price window of $200 to $250 (depending on the going rate for an Xbox at the time of launch), but any more than that and it'll be a hard sell being that it's really only a movie add-on to gaming platform.
I own a 360 and I got it for 399 and now they got the external drive for another 100 so basically 499. And everyone is complaining that the ps3 is too expensive. I don't know people can bitch about another 100 bucks for the premium ps3. I mean.....What's another 100 if you are going to spend an ass load for something you want.
I think it'll flop fairly well at anything over $150US. Add-on peripherals have never sold well on any console, and one that costs more than half of the console itself seems bound to fail. Not only that, but a $200-250 tag makes me feel more like plopping down the extra for a PS3 with blu-ray and getting their exclusive games to play as well.
I love my 360 and Live, but anything over $150 and I'm back in the market to add a PS3 next to it.
An external IDE drive that is only used for HD-DVD movies for the same price (if not more) than the Wii?
No thanks.
I would rather get a Wii for less monies.
Is MS going to sell 360's with integrated HD-DVD, or just external drives?
If they do sell it integrated within the next year I'll be pissed I bought my 360 at launch. But in the big scheme of things, by the time I'm ready to get a HDTV, this add-on will be cheaper.
I have personally already ordered 12 for purchase to sell on ebay.
Hey,
Right now MS says they're not going to add an internal drive model, probably due to the prohibitave pricing. I, for one, agree with that model. Let the Xbox seem more attractive than the PS3. No one is really begging for Blu-ray or HD-DVD support as of yet, seems as if they've jumped the gun a little.
Often times, people point to the PS2 and say, "A crucial selling point was the PS2's DVD playback!" and I'd agree, but I'd also pose the point that we're not to that part of next-gen optical's life cycle as of yet. DVDs were introduced in '98, the PS2 in 2000 (is that right?) so the market had two years to figure out how to bring the costs down. Obviously, the console market is off this generation, and Sony might end up botching the PS3 because of it.
Later,
Randall
I think MS knows that most consumers have no interest in HDDVD or BluRay. For those few that do, they have a cheap (compared to the stand alones) expansion option to get HDDVD.
It's funny that the add-on drive is bigger than the Wii.
Microsoft wants to drive the cost down of making the console...not the price of selling it. With PS3 being so expensive...there would be no reason for 360 to drop price to still have a huge cost advantage in the mind of the consumer. And it is also Microsofts tradition to include a free game or accessory rather than give an actual price cut.
So maybe this Christmas Microsoft will have a bundle that includes Kameo...or PGR3 but at the same price point of $299 and $399. Adding value but not reducing price.
I like having the option to upgrade to HD-DVD without being forced to pay for it up front. This Christmas I can buy the HD-DVD add on and alot of games...like Gears of War.
Gears of War looks great...I won't be missing Halo this Christmas with a title lik GOW. It's clearly going to win all the awards for Best of E3.
Forget them both - go for Nintendo. Just good gaming.
@ $250 i dont care it sings and dances while playing HD-DVDs thats sucide. I understand the cheapest HDDVD is $499. but come on MS, take one on the chin. Sell me it for $149 tops and ill gladly buy into this HD-DVD jazz.
for $100 more you can get the 360 itself.
$250+tax for a add-on is a bad idea. especially if its marketed as a movie only feature. If there willing to take a loss on the consoles then they should be willing to take a bigger hit on a trojan horse add-on which will benefit them down the road if its a sucess
for them then it's a disaster for Sony.
Pricing for it should be like this
after the price drop in nov.
20gb HD $49.99
100 GB HD $99.99
HD-DVD Add on $149.99
Vision Camera $29.99
IMO this drive isn't really about the games or the movies. It's about Microsoft causing a format war with Sony, it doesn' t matter to MS if HD-DVD fails as their games will continue to be released on DVD. Sony could have problems marketing the PS3 if blue ray fails to become the mainstream media.
Whatever happens it's consumers that will get the worst part of the deal, next gen formats feature more DRM and restrictions on how we use the movies/games/music we legally buy.
#15:
What does Microsoft have to win in a war? I can only imagine that its not about winning: it's about making Sony lose. Which I think they can do that all on their own: root kits, price, etc...
The next Xbox will (likely) have digitally distributed games. The xbox 360 with live seems well set up for the advent of episodic gaming. MS gains by any format war that speeds up the death of optical media. Digital distribution is a lot cheaper than pressing discs sending them to retailers etc...
I completely agree Sony has lost the plot recently and the PS3 is the height of their madness, but after a price drops it could be a good multimedia/gaming system but I wouldn't bet on it.
I'd like to see an internal drive version sold alongside the current model(s). But most everyone I know plans to wait for the HD-DVD / Blue Ray format war to play out before making an investment.
To Post #7...I think you are d-bag. I hope you don't sell a single one, but consumers are too stupid so you are going to make a lot of money. But that won't take away that you are still a d-bag.
399 for PS3? Everywhere i've seen in the UK is advertising 425 which is $801.
Am I missing something obvious? What's the point? Are there that many people out there who are itching to rebuy seasons 1-6 of the Sopranos on a format slightly crisper? And what does this have to do with video games? As gamers we are in the middle of a war over something that I think none of us really need. Somehow Sony and Microsoft have made us desire a technology which will do nothing new for us. What I want is a DVD that never skips, now that is a technology I want and need.
Unless the HDDVD drive is < $100, I won't be getting it.
who wants HD DVD's anyway? DVD's are more than good enougth for 98% of people... I suppose at least with the 360 you have a choice.
LOL its funny how many people brush off hddvd .. when all your regular dvd's start having hd-dvd's on their flipside then what will you say LOL. the cost to manufacture hddvd's is so small its funny... while on the other hand the failure rate on the bluray drives was skyrocketing the last time i checked one of the prime reasons for the high media costs.
www.nextechnews.com
The fact is no one wants bluray or hddvd, why? because at the moment the difference between them and dvd is so small it's sad the only real usage that benefits from either is datastorage perhaps but in the end even thats gonna get whiped clean just now why?
if you think bluray is a big format lol watch for i think it was called acvd or something like that there already talking over 1tb per disk... and when that comes out in 3-4 years what then .. that bluray drive equiped ps3 is crap again even though you over paid for it.
i dont want either so ill stick with my 360 premium without either a hddvd or a bluray .. why? because they dont make sense to have for the next 3-4 years anyway until this "format war" is over or until a third contender smashes them both lol
Perhaps Microsoft didn't add a feature to upscale regular DVDs to 720p for the sole purpose of trying to give some sort of benefit to HD-DVD.
Pure HD looks better than an upscaled DVD, no doubt about it... but it's not so much better that it's worth paying double for the media AND investing hundreds of dollars in a player.
My modified Xbox (not 360) with XBMC can upscale DVDs to 720p and it looks pretty good... the Xbox 360 is undoubtedly capable of doing this too. They simply chose not to include the feature.
The post proves that MS was correct in there assumption that people didn't want to pay the extra money to have the drive built in... Sony said "screw you... your buying a Blu-Ray drive whether you like it or not"... MS is giving the consumers the CHOICE of adding it!
If you can justify spending the $200 dollars on this drive how could you justify spending $599 on the PS3? It brings the costs to about the same thing...
It's funny how by including the drive in the machine Sony has some people convinced that it's a good deal.
I was hoping MS would have made the 360's optical drive swappable like the hard disk. Perhaps in a future 360 design? The DVD drive was the only thing that gave me problems on my xbox1.
MS should sell the HD-DVD drive for $99. That would keep the Premium 360 + HD-DVD = base PS3 price.
"If you can justify spending the $200 dollars on this drive how could you justify spending $599 on the PS3? It brings the costs to about the same thing...
It's funny how by including the drive in the machine Sony has some people convinced that it's a good deal."
But Blu-Ray is better technology than HD-DVD!!
#26: Wrong on both counts.
1) If you've ever gone from watching a DVD to just watching over the air HD broadcasts, you know what a tremendous difference any High Def format will make over standard DVDs. Particularly when figuring in the fact that High Def media will (hopefully!) not have the same compression issues as OTA HD content.
2) "next next" gen media is irrelevant - who cares about a 1TB disk? Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are here to bridge the gap until video on demand and electronic delivery/hardware based content become standard.
So have they announced when 360 with HDDVD drive will come out - not the add-on the built in drive?
DVD's are fine for most folks, though I splurged and picked up the Toshiba HD-A1. Granted my Plasma is only 1024x768, but I can see the difference in quality comparing MOST DVD's to their HD-DVD counterparts.
The problem is that older titles (such as Apollo 13) were shot on lower quality film stock and don't look that much better than the standard DVD. Serenity, on the other hand, is night and day.
Keep in mind that my TV is displaying HD-DVD's at HALF the resolution possible (FYI: 1024x768=786432 pixels, HD-DVD is 1920x1080=2073600 pixels)
Once you see HD-DVD and standard DVD on a display capable of 1920x1080, the difference is staggering. It ranks right up there with the difference going from VHS to DVD.
Until the majority of TV's are capable of displaying a full 1920x1080, the general public won't see enough difference to invest.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the majority of films shot prior to 1995 (or so) used older film and camera technology. The further you go back, the less difference you'll see when comparing HD-DVD to DVD.
Apollo 13 was shot around the aforementioned time period and I have trouble telling the HD-DVD from the standard DVD. There isn't a problem with the HD-DVD... it's the source material. When you see newer films, the different is clear... and it's stunning.
I can't wait to compare the BluRay release of The Fifth Element to the standard DVD. To this day T5E is still reference material when it comes to PQ.
XBMC kicks serious ass, was free, and upscales all my content to 720p or 1080i (I like the higher bandwidth 720 progressive signal though, as there is never page tearing this way...ever :] ).
If Microsoft releases the HDDVD drive add-on for $99, it will sell like hotcakes. I know that I would buy one for that price, no questions asked. HDDVD's are only going to be about $20 - $25 on average when they start to saturate the market, and I'm willing to pay that price to get native HD resolution from my DVDs. I also own a Samsung HDTV however, and that helps a lot too with my decision. I had to save up a lot of money to afford my HDTV + Xbox 360 + games + XBL, but I am happy with it. At the same time though, if the add-on HDDVD drive is over $99.95, no one is going to buy it, despite the cheap price point.
I love you Microsoft (for different reasons than I love Linux and MacOS), so don't screw this one up! By releasing the HDDVD player @ the $100 price-point, you will sell a TON of them and bring HDDVD into the market quickly. Just because most of the major movie companies want HDDVD doesn't mean they won't support HDDVD if it starts to sell well. At the very WORST, you drive up Sony's cost of production for Blu-Ray EVEN higher, and weaken thier sales of Blu-Ray movies.
LEAVE ME ALONE ALREADY! i have a collection of DVD movies, the quality is fine, and Blu-Ray/HD-DVDs are gonna cost more per movie, just like in the bad old days when DVDs first launched. It took forever in Britain for the price to drop. Thank God for Nintendo, cos MS and Sony are rapidly losing me as a casual gaming consumer.
THis is all about the format wars..this was planned to push that price up on your 360. It'll {[360+ HD DVD DRive ]probably end up costing the same as the PS3 when it's all over. Funny how most ppl talk about the expense of the PS3..why? What did Peter Moore say when he heard someone played over $2000 on ebay? "I you have the money, go for it.
I say they won?t price this over $149.99... and if they choose to make it really sell it will be $99.99(but that?s just wishful thinking)
If I want a gaming machine I will buy one. If I want a dvd player I will buy one. The only time I use my xbox to play dvd's is when I watch a movie in my bedroom every so often where my 2nd xbox is. I dont use my xbox for dvd playback not because its good or bad but because its what I use games and since my dvd player is already sitting on my shelf... I think this is the same mindset as hd-dvd and bluray. The only people who will really use it are people trying to skimp by. If I am a consumer who WANTS blu-ray, buying a PS3 is not on my list because it doesnt go with the rest of my components.
Quite a lot of Americans seem to forget sales tax when comparing to British prices. Our 17.5% VAT is included in the stated value.
The point is that you don't have to pay hundreds extra for the 360...you actually have a choice to buy HD-DVD. Sony doesn't give you any choice therefore PS3 is way overpriced.
I would pay $100 extra if the PS3 lets me make some Belgian Waffles.
Compare the two premium systems....
The PS3 doesn't just have the Blu-ray as extra. there is Wifi, Bluetooth (3 available devices minimum if all 4 controllers are used) STANDARD Flash card reader (not shit proprietary memory cards that cost stupid money) and an extra 47GB (its not 20GB its 13GB useable).
The Xbox 360 with all these extras will cost MORE than the premium PS3 and it will look a MESS! with boxes and adapters hanging out all over the place... including that hefty PSU that PS3 will hide.
I wish Microsoft would make an all in one system, with proper media facilities (not the half arsed attempt with MCE extender functions) but they probably never will because they will show how hard it is to price such a system below $600.
My Xbox 360 is good for one thing right now. Geometry wars. I love it. The rest of the games are boring, and my other interest in movies and TV isn't catered for properly on Xbox 360. There is no way I'm buying all that shit for it, Id rather keep it as a gaming rig and buy a PS3 for the other stuff. Please release an all in one to compete with PS3 Microsoft. Seriously, you will need to eventually.
#19: is that good 'ol envy i sense towards #7? yes it is., why don't YOU do the same he's doing and make a few buck$$$ on eBay and release some of that inmature envy you have inside of you, will ya.
There?s a line from an old Devo song goes something like ?Freedom of choice is what you got; freedom from choice is what you want?. I disagree, I like choices and options and control over how much or little I spend on things like this. So by all means Microsoft don?t include the wifi when the standards change every couple of years. I don?t need it or disk capacity ten times what most games require. Give me future proofing by building a system whose capabilities can be upgraded before this console cycle is over in 4 or 5 years.
Why does everyone assume that the cell will be more capable than a multicore system? I don?t see PC manufacturers using cell and we know those blow consoles out of the water in terms of performance. In the PC world the specs on AMD 64 vs. Intel CPU?s don?t have a thing to do with how fast they run applications.
We will know when we can see PS3 run the same game along side the 360. We will know whether there?s any appreciable difference between 1080I and 1080P when they are right next to each other. I don?t think they will be that different. But if Microsoft is smart and cuts the price of their systems down by $100 and sells the HD-DVD for $100 to $150 they can take Sony and Nintendo out.
Ler see PS 3 has:
Built in HD Blue Ray
60 GB hard drive Built in
Free Online service
Wireless WiFi...
How about X Box360? Hmmm Duno.... Nothing Above.. ha ha ha, And if you upgrade your X box it will cost you more than PS 3. X Box going down and you guys going with it.