[opendtv] Microsoft kills Xbox 360's HD DVD drive
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 29 Feb 2008 17:11:40 -0500
http://www.digitaltvdesignline.com/news/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=ERW
XZHWKSSBLWQSNDLRSKHSCJUNN2JVN?articleID=206900349
February 25, 2008
Microsoft kills Xbox 360's HD DVD drive
By Paul McDougall
Days after Toshiba formally pulled the plug on HD DVD, Microsoft said it
will discontinue an external Xbox 360 drive that supports the
high-definition movie format.
Microsoft will "no longer manufacture new HD DVD players for the Xbox
360, but we will continue to provide standard product and warranty
support for all Xbox 360 HD DVD Players in the market," company
officials said in a blog post Saturday.
Microsoft had been selling an HD DVD player as a $129 add-on for the
Xbox 360.
Toshiba, which developed HD DVD, last week confirmed speculation that it
would nix the format. The move follows decisions by virtually all major
Hollywood studios to throw their weight behind Sony's rival Blu-ray
high-definition format.
The death of HD DVD puts Microsoft in a quandary. Sony's Playstation 3
console features a built-in Blu-ray player. With HD DVD no longer
viable, Microsoft needs to find an alternate high-definition format for
the Xbox.
The company could itself move to Blu-ray. More likely, however, is that
it will reject its rival's technology and focus instead on offering
high-definition downloads through its Xbox Live online content service.
Microsoft already sells a limited selection of HD television program and
movie downloads on Xbox Live, which boasts more than 10 million members.
In the meantime, Microsoft says that HD DVD's discontinuation won't hurt
Xbox 360 sales -- insisting that it's games, and not movies, that
dictate console sales.
"We do not believe the recent reports about HD DVD will have any
material impact on the Xbox 360 platform or our position in the
marketplace," the company said. Microsoft shipped 4.3 million Xbox 360
systems in the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with 4.4 million
systems during the same period in 2006 -- a decline of 2.3%.
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