Xbox 360 owners to spurn HD DVD drive

**The News Bot** · 09-10-2006, 9:20 PM

According to predictions by trade journal Screen Digest, only 10 percent of Xbox 360 users will invest in the system’s optional HD DVD drive. For this reason, the trade analyst says it’s difficult to gauge the influence of the 360 on the HD format war. It concludes that Blu-ray retains the upper hand.
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Eliot · 09-10-2006, 9:35 PM

what upper hand? hddvd is out selling bluray 11-1 i heard

AgentCool · 10-10-2006, 7:46 AM

More market analysis drivel. The survey done on this forum concluded that around 75% of 360 owners will purchase the drive. I hardly think that we forum users would account for a 65% margin of error.

IanA · 10-10-2006, 10:20 AM

I think people who use this forum are not necessarily good guide group.
We tend to be fairly into new technology in the first place and are therefore likely to purchase this kind of drive. Especially as a cheap way to get a HD-DVD player.

As with all consoles the thing that will really drive it will be if producers start relesing games HD-DVD only. If game x were released HD-DVD only and became the 'must have' game then sales of the drive would go up.

I do find the 10% figure surprising low though.

Tom Tom · 10-10-2006, 10:25 AM

So will Xbox release a console with HD-DVD as standard?

pmonger · 10-10-2006, 10:46 AM

Rumours are that they will eventually release the xbox 360 with an internal HD-DVD drive. I'll certainly buy the add on HD-DVD (if its good) as it's half the price of a stand alone HD-DVD player!

Valkirk · 10-10-2006, 11:31 AM

The chances of them releasing a game just on HD-DVD is virtually non existent as they would not wish to lose all the potential sales from people who just have the normal drive. Even if they bring out a 360 with HD built-in it's still unlikely (Take the fact that even now after years and years of PC DVD availability it is the exception not the rule that games are released in DVD format) by the time there is a need for that much storage for a game and the drive is inbuilt I would expect us to be on XBox 3!

The only reason I can see to purchase would be to view HD Films and that just depends on if you are happy entering the format war.....if the dual format disc works though then I would expect the number of drives sold to increase dramatically as it would no longer matter which drive you had you could watch the film! See here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/5364238.stm

pmonger · 10-10-2006, 11:54 AM

microsoft have said that they will not release any games on hd. the hd drive is purely for watching films and if the playback quality is close to that of a stand alone player then im sure lots of people will invest. one reason ill be buying the hd add on, is the fact that the hdmi port on my hitachi 42pd7200 plasma tv is already in use by my sky hd and i can use my current xbox 360 connection.
i get the feeling that ps3 games will become very expensive if the games makers are adding extra content just to fill up a 40gb plus blueray disc!

Jonstone · 10-10-2006, 1:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markwpage

More market analysis drivel. The survey done on this forum concluded that around 75% of 360 owners will purchase the drive. I hardly think that we forum users would account for a 65% margin of error.

I do not know how they arrived at their 10% figure, but to suggest that this forum is even remotely representative of the general buying public would be wrong.

*stuart-f* · 10-10-2006, 4:11 PM

We're definitely not representative. Most people, IMHO, are buying HD ready telly's thinking they just need to plug them in to get HD. Talk to them about the source for their HD and they just look bemused and say 'ah but the tellys's HD so I'll be OK'.

I suspect a huge amount of 360 owners don't really know what the HD drive is actually for.

Just my 2p worht.

unheardof · 10-10-2006, 4:23 PM

That article seems to be the complete opposite opinion of almost every games forum i read. Mnay are placing preorders for it now so as not to miss out

Bursar · 10-10-2006, 4:31 PM

I'm not getting one, simply because my 360 makes so much noise, I'd never hear the dialog from the film.

Besides, it's a prediction, not fact based. Take with a good dose of salt. You might as well call Mystic Meg and ask her how many HD drives will be sold...

RLT · 10-10-2006, 4:35 PM

Its only their opinion.
Opinions are like 'rear ends' everyone has got one

steve0 · 10-10-2006, 5:59 PM

I have a HD DVD player and I thought HD dvd might win but after reading the review of Click Im not so sure.

Brilliant picture and sound also all extras are in HD none of this compromise Combi format with Standard def extras.

rooster-x · 10-10-2006, 6:22 PM

Well 10% has got to be about quarter of a million based on 2005 annual sales. 10% might be half a million by the end of 2006. That's not a bad boost for HD-DVD

Rooster-X

Rasczak · 10-10-2006, 6:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rooster-x

Well 10% has got to be about quarter of a million based on 2005 annual sales. 10% might be half a million by the end of 2006. That's not a bad boost for HD-DVD

...and it should be remembered that there probably won't be a much higher percentage of PS3 users who use the BluRay playback element of their console.

Indeed you could argue that HD DVD has the advantage: people will buy the HD DVD drive because they want to view High Def movies. Ergo they will buy drive and discs. Most PS3 users will get a free BluRay disc in their PS3 bundle, decide it's not very special/no different from normal DVD on their TV, and never buy another.