Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says that a Blu-ray accessories are on the way for Xbox 360, though he was quick to point out that the console will be emphasizing on-demand movies. In a recent interview with Gizmodo Ballmer said:
Well I don’t know if we need to put Blu-ray in there — you’ll be able to get Blu-ray drives as accessories.
Our immediate solution for Blu-ray-quality video on an Xbox 360 is coming this fall with Zune Video and 1080p instant-on HD streaming. As far as our future plans are concerned, we’re not ready to comment.
After betting on the wrong horse with HD-DVD, there really wasn’t much of a choice for Microsoft. While a lot of gamers are satisfied with streaming or downloading movies, some customers prefer the superior video quality of Blu-ray, while others rather have physical media instead of a digital download.
Are any of you surprised that Blu-ray is coming to Xbox 360? Will you be picking up a Blu-ray peripheral for your console?
Will this just be a DVD drive for movies, or will games begin to be formatted for Blu-ray?
I doubt I'll get it either way. I'd rather splurge for the PS3. Look at the total cost and it's a no-brainer.
Unless of course the peripheral is free (HA!).
@N8R I doubt it would be for games. That would splinter the market.
I'm half expecting Microsoft to issue a statement saying that Ballmer misspoke.
@ R Pad
That's what I was thinking too.
That said, too little… too late.
I will laugh my ass off if MS goes and adds Blu-Ray after all this time of claiming they don't need it to compete.
adding a BD drive simply for movies seems to be a waste of time. Unless they can sell this drive for no more than $100, anything more and you might as well go with the PS3 if you do not have one.
Maybe this will help them sell FF13 and Rage. Who knows. If it can't be for games, it's really a waste.
Oh yeah….instant 1080p streaming?? Will that be through netflix? That is a lot of bandwidth.
As an accessory, I'm not surprised. And no, I have no intention to buy any Blu-Ray player. It is only a matter of time before Netflix offers 1080p and their selection gets better every day it seems.
@Smartguy
It will be through Zune Marketplace. Netflix hasn't made any announcements about 1080p streaming yet.
@sandrock
Thanks. It will be interesting to see their selection and pricing. Currently, Netflix lets me do unlimited for less than $10 per month. If MS can't do that, I won't visit Zune marketplace on movie night.
@Smartguy
I've heard that it is looking like $6-$9 for a 24 hour HD rental. Microsoft does a good job of getting new releases, so I can see some use for it though.
@sandrock
That is too expensive for me. I'd rather a cheap subscription service similar to netflix rather than a single rent. I'll watch an instant SD movie over 1080p for one low price as opposed to a la carte.
since we're speaking about movies only this doesn't concern me. I have a PS3 so this accessory would serve no purpose.
I will say this though, I am interested in 1080p steaming so the sooner we get that to the market the better!
ive been expecting MS to make a statement similar to this for a while now. I was more expecting something about blu-ray being the system in the next MS console though.
i don't see how this can sell for the 360 now though if it is only a blu-ray drive for movies as an accessory. it could easily sell as a game drive though like smartguy said about games like ffXIII and Rage.
@bsukenyan I don't see why it would be offered for games. That's just more expensive for the publisher.
@rpad yeah i agree that it would be more expensive for the publisher, but i dont believe it will really sell if it doesnt offer something for the games. if its just a blu-ray player add on, and i really wanted blu-ray, i would find it somewhere else (assuming the price is about $100). it wouldnt be worth it to me, and games seems like the only thing that could be a draw for consumers.
@bsukenyan – so what are you suggesting? that square enix hypothetically develop both a BD version and DVD multidisk version for FF13? like ray said way to expensive. Most companies would just do one or the other.
And I would put all the money I've got on a bet saying MS is not willing to render 30 million 360s useless by adding bluray games at this point
@shockwave so i just wrote out a long post explaining everything and then it didnt post, so heres an abridged version.
you and ray are both extremely right, which is part of my underlying point, i am not saying anything in opposition to what you two are saying. MS is screwed with this blu-ray thing though. If it only plays blu-ray, it will not be worth it to the consumer (you can get it cheaper somewhere else) and if it plays games, you make 30 million 360s useless and there is waaay too much cost incurred by publishers to adapt to all of this. MS needs to not do anything with this right now, and just concentrate on making the next console blu-ray capable.
guess that wasnt too abridged huh? lol.
my wireless hiccuped and i couldnt do anything for a few minutes.
i want to poop on his shiny bald head so bad…
@bsukenyan. I do think you have a point. MS doesn't need to touch this at the moment. to my understanding you can get a BD player for about 100 if you shop around. there is seriously no point at all to buy an add on for your 360. I can't think of any reason in the world (movie related) that someone would need an add on like this.
Although in the engagenet interview I think he was talking about people buying their own BD player if they want it. I think he accidentaly used the word "accessory" I think Xbox has every intent to deliver on this 1080p streaming thing which I'm really looking forward to.
As RROD mentioned earlier I do have a love affair with DD. it changed the way my music works and soon it will change the way movies and TV shows are distributed.
I think games will be the last to incorporate it but I wouldn't be surprised if the next generation of gaming used discs at all
correction. I wouldn't be surprised if the next console generation didn't have discs at all
The picture at the lead in is a very Nixonesque pose. I don't know if it's more poetic or ironic.
@shockwave562 if i really wanted blu-ray, i would find it somewhere else (i feel like im talking about cheating on xbox with ps3 when i say it like that, haha)
and yes the 1080p streaming should be pretty cool, i don't use all of the things that Live offers, i probably would if i could afford it all though.
the blu-ray stuff right now just does not need to be an issue, and whether or not you really love the idea of digital distribution it will be the future someday, idk either if the next gen will have discs or not. that will be interesting to see!
@Shockwave562 Unless the broadband market changes drastically in the next few years, a disc-less console wouldn't work in America. There are just too many ISP restrictions. I'm all for it, but I think it would be extremely difficult with ISPs shaping, throttling, and metering bandwidth.
I wonder if Microsoft will ever consider integrating a Blu Ray drive into the console this generation or just wait for the next. I guess it is pretty unlikely. They are just going to sell and add-on drive like they did with the HD-DVD. Something tells me that the add-on Blu Ray isn't going to sell any better than the HD-DVD drive.
-M
http://majornelson.com/archive/2009/10/22/we-have…
He just shoot this one down. NO Blu-Ray FOR 360!
@Sandrock323 Ha! Just like I said in comment #2. I'll go write this up.