I always laugh at those "physical media is dead" types..

The number of people downloading full feature films is 0.01% of the population. Downloading is not something the ma & pa crowd are going to do. Not only do I have no interest in spending more time downloading the movie than actually watching it, I don't want the SD or HD-lite(720p) versions being offered.

Physical media is going to be here for a very, very long time.

diverguy

Didn't Microsoft say "We will consider Blu-Ray when the market demands it?"

Well after 20 or so rumors, I think that the market is demanding it! Come on guys, just make the damn thing already!

jnemesh

@BayTraveler:
Microsoft tacked it on as an afterthought because the xbox was already on the market when HD-DVD came out. Microsoft also had no intention of making games for the xbox on the hd-dvd format, so an external device was fine (and quieter).

You are correct that Microsoft != Standard.. usually the opposite lol, but the XBox is a good product, and so was HD-DVD.

There really is NO point for Microsoft to make a blu-ray xbox. A blu-ray add-on like they did for HD... maybe... but there really is no point to it.

Rabid Penguin

I'm not convinced that lacking Blu-Ray will drive desirability of the XBox way south just yet, but I feel it would be in their best interest to at least support a BD peripheral for the console. As it stands, the PS3 hardware is a better deal for being an HD format player and the games are starting to roll in, but right now I think Microsoft has some room.

Kaiser-Machead

As someone who bought a PS3 yesterday specifically to play movies on, I think M$ has their heads up their asses.

AndyDuncan

Microsoft != standard;

M$ is just mad because they picked the wrong one and got laughed at. They didn't even bother putting the HD Drive into the system, instead the tacked it on as an after thought. BD was the obvious winner when the PS3 came out with it as its base format. The "We don't need no stinking QA" guys over at Microsoft just can't get over losing.

BayTraveler

Downloads just don't make sense right now for feature movies. And if they don't want to go to the expense, let someone make an accessory so you don't lose all your customers to Sony.

Buran

@Rabid Penguin: I'm a bigger fan of Sony:Bony

qbrad

Well, if only 50% have made the music transition, and it stands to reason that fewer have made the dvd -> download transition...

Wouldn't it be in MS' best interest to adopt the interim format while consumers are making the video/game transition?

I'm just sayin'...

ideaman2020

"no Blu-ray for the XBox 360." That doesn't mean they don't have plans for the XBox 360BR, XBox 1000, XBox BR, etc. There's a lot of wiggle room.

Volalum

Sony is just better.
Sony: Because Caucasians are just too damn tall!

+ Watch video

Rabid Penguin

Well I could care less about the blu-ray crap. But if it makes the internal drive more quiet for games then I WANT ONE!!!

axiomatic

Hmmm...can't say I can follow MS' thinking on this one.

An external BluRay drive would make a load of sense, as while downloads may be the future, the current state leaves a lot to be desired in the picture quality department.

Maybe it's just antipathy to anything smelling remotely of Sony.

Cobolman2

If Microsoft wants to be Old-Gen, let them.

Earthslide

@Cobolman2: that'll explain it. thnx

kahri

This makes me feel that much more confident it'll happen.

Ron-Mexico

@Kahri:

The only Firefly HD-DVD was the movie...are you comparing the series price to the movie price?

Cobolman2

I was a Blu-ray fan yesterday. Today I found out that 'Firefly' is going to be $64 as apposed to $20 on HD-DVD. Grrr!

kahri

@Volalum: I was about to say the same thing

utube2007

@AndyDuncan: "As someone who bought a PS3 yesterday specifically to play movies on, I think M$ has their heads up their asses."

Sounds like you have your head up your @$$

Most consumers want download, until you fanboys realize that you are in a small minority.

BostonPimpDaddy

I don't get it. A recent article just said that BluRay demand is going down, and you guys are bashing Microsoft for not putting it on 360? I'm sorry, but I thought my parallel universe sliding days were over.

ripfire4

@HeartBurnKid: Good point. I'd rephrase it as "it's the stupid games". Maybe consumers want simple games instead of involved FPS multiplayer techfests where it takes a week to figure out where on the map is the only sniper nest where you won't get fragged immediately.

The Lab

I have bought and returned four XBOX360s (I have commitment issues, ok?) just so I could play the one or two important games that come out each year. Obviously I need to play GTA4 but now my girlfriend has an HD set and I am suddenly finding myself considering a PS3, a console I couldn't imagine owning, because of the BluRay. I want to see a movie in its HD glory, without the artifacts of compression from some shitty download.

The Lab

@Rabid Penguin: Oh, I agree, there's definitely room for the other consoles... but I think it's a rather self-centered view to sit here and cry and whine about how the public wants this and the public wants that, when the market figures show that the general public cares about the issue so little that the console that completely lacks either feature is in the lead.

I just want to grab MS and Sony and slap them around a little bit. Both of them are seeking the mythical "convergence" box that nobody really wants except for the companies that put them out. And the fanboys fuel that attitude by pissing and moaning about all this stuff. Frankly, if there's one lesson that can be learned from the Wii's meteoric rise to dominance, it's this: It's the games, stupid!

HeartBurnKid

I kinda feel like they are denying just so they dont lose the inbetween-now-and-when-we-release-it Xbox 360 purchases...

so yeah, i lean toward the "they are going to do it" crowd.

rainfever

@HeartBurnKid:
I love my Wii and my XBox 360... I don't discriminate. If it's good, it's good, and they're both good for different reasons. Though (as it's been proven) the Wii is more mass market friendly.

Rabid Penguin

@BostonPimpDaddy:
About 40% of American's are still on dial-up, I would think that number would be substantially more in other parts of the world. Although more and more broadband users are wanting downloadable movies, I don't think physical media is going anywhere anytime soon.

Physical media (such as blu-ray) is generally higher quality and provides better features than the downloadable counterparts (unless you're pirating).

I don't think Microsoft has their heads up their ass for sticking with downloadable movies, but I don't think anyone is in a small minority that is purchasing physical media either.

Rabid Penguin

You know, it's funny; we fret and fret about Blu-ray and digital downloads and all this other superfluous crap, when the Wii is in the lead.

You know what the Wii does? It plays games. Oh, sure, it has some minor social networking-type-stuff built into it, but for the most part, it just plays games and that's it. You'd think that the other guys would get a clue.

HeartBurnKid

I have a hard time envisoining myself adopting into Blu. The next logical step for me is digital. But not the locked-on-my-xbox kind of digital downloads. I want cross-platform baby!

PollockRoc

Or they could be telling the truth and the Blu-rays are being produced for their next-next gen system.

DashTheHand

@The Lab:
If you want to play an FPS in all it's glory, why not play on the PC?

"Hard-core gamer" anymore means, a fanboy so blinded by his obsession for tech specs and pretty pictures that he wouldn't know a good game if it bit him in the ass.

You need to try to broaden your horizons. There are a lot of good games out there that aren't FPSs.

Rabid Penguin

Comparing multi-gigabyte HD movie downloads to multi-megabyte music downloads is like comparing you know what.

If we had 100+mbit connections to the Internet in a majority of homes digital download only HD movies would make sense.

Not to mention, most people still like to have a physical copy of something they pay more than $1 or $2 for. Because they feel like they are "guaranteed" it will be playable for the forseeable future. But what if you buy movies that are locked into Apple TV or Xbox 360, and the next Xbox doesn't play the old movies, or you can't transfer them over. Or Apple stops making the Apple TV, so you're stuck hoping yours doesn't die? Any other kind of software that locks you into DRM could suffer the same fate, and the consumer would be left with nothing.

With a Blu-Ray movie, at least you can have a feeling that the next drive you get is going to be capable of playing it, if it is a successful format.

But regardless of that, like I said, consumer bandwidth is the real wall that is holding back digital distribution of high quality movies. And it's going to be at least 2 to 3 years before a lot of people have access to the speeds needed to make it a tolerable experience. And at least 5 years before a majority of broadband users have the ability to purchase such bandwidth from a provider.

smcallah

I personally don't care. Because the 360 has more than 3 games I would LOVE to play. So long as the games are still great and look great, who cares? Sure maybe in the next-gen console war, all consoles will have blu fever, but I think for right now blu-ray isn't even NEEDED at the moment. Go Microsoft!

aaj111

@HeartBurnKid: Game selection on the 360 is no slouch. In fact, I prefer the kind of games on the 360 than on Wii. I agree with Rabid, Wii is targeted more to the mass market. But if you want the games targeted for the "enthusiasts" then there's the 360, PS3, or PC. And I don't just mean shooters.

ripfire4

@BostonPimpDaddy:

There are movies that I want to rent. I don't really care if I download them or they get mailed to me. There are other movies that I want to own in hi-def, and for those, I want physical media. I'd like to state for the record that I'm not a fan boy.

Where did you get your info/data that "most consumers want to download"? Does that refer to renting only or owning as well?

telliott

Now that Rogers is capping the bandwidth limits for people, I'm going to have to wish for external Blu-Ray drive support. 60GB/month isn't going to cut it.

Kareem King

So, is this "No blu-ray for 360", as in "there is no 360 Elite". Then a couple weeks later, they unveil the 360 Elite to no ones surprise.

Darkest Daze

@ripfire4: Not what I meant, honestly. I definitely know that the selection on the 360 is no slouch, and I'd probably have bought one by now if not for the RROD issue. But I'd be buying it for the games (and for X-Box Live Arcade, which, again, is about games), not for movie downloads or blu-ray. Frankly, I could care less about those, and it would seem that those aren't make-or-break features for anybody else either.

HeartBurnKid

more than likly a new xbox is coming plus for the blue ray ps3 was like 600 to 700 why would you wanna pay that much when most game makers havent gotten a handle on making a blue ray game give it a few years then make a blue ray xbox

bigcollossus

All this talk of Movies being downloaded etc is just unrealistic considering the UK Isp's have got Traffic Shaping in place plus the usage allowances are around 8gb per month and fines for going over the allowance at approx 2 pounds per GB, it would be cheaper to rent a Blu-Ray or SD Dvd.

Also the UK isp's are whinging about people using the BBC Iplayer, they would have manic heart attacks if people on mass start downloading chunky movies.

Untill more ISP's start allowing unlimited usage without the fair use policy I can't see movie downloads being a winner,in the UK at least!

darkone69

xbox = games, monthly charges for multiplayer, future downloadable movies
ps3 = same games, free multiplayer, blueray, futuredownloadablemovies

common sense = I think the ps3 has it.

Flynbrian2

Since the XBox 360s' HD-DVD drive was an external unit that used a USB connection (and can be used on a PC
running Windows XP or Vista, using WMP
to watch the movies in HD) couldn't the 360 use an external USB Blu-Ray player? Is anybody making one yet?

Rincewind