Google Trends shows Microsoft’s next Xbox is already beating Playstation 4
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Culture, PlayStation 3, Sony, Xbox, Xbox 360,
We trust Google with a lot of things: we trust that it will be there for us when our memory fails and that it will find the best information for us. Can we trust it to predict the future for us too? Well, the future of consumer electronics at least.
Based on Google Trends searches, Microsoft's next generation system is poised to take down Sony's next Playstation console. Google Trends previously held the data that showed the winner of the high-def DVD race, as Blu-ray yielded more search results than HD DVD films. This time, news site Ludos Mundi used Google Trends to discover whose winning the next-gen popularity contest, and found users search "Xbox 720" about 60 percent of the time, compared to searches for "PS4" that occur 40 percent of the time.
You can use Google Trends yourself to see the data. Simply compare "Xbox 720" and "PS4" using the Forecast feature.
Read More 
| Ludos Mundi via Venture Beat
Gallery: Google Trends shows Microsoft’s next Xbox is already beating Playstation 4
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Microsoft ends 360 HD DVD production, slashes HD DVD add-on to $49
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Corporate News, Hardware, Hot Deals, Microsoft, Xbox 360,
Well, with the news that HD DVD had been killed by Toshiba, you knew that it was only a matter of time before the Xbox 360 HD DVD player was eliminated as well, right? Well, the time has come, as Microsoft sent us the following update:
As a result of recent decisions made by Toshiba, Hollywood studios, and retailers, Microsoft plans to withdraw from HD DVD. Xbox 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. As we stated earlier, we do not believe this decision will have any material impact on the Xbox 360 platform or our position in the marketplace. HD DVD is one of the several ways we offer a high definition experience to consumers and we will continue to give consumers the choice to enjoy digital distribution of high definition movies and TV shows directly to their living room, along with playback of the DVD movies they already own.
Okay, well, shouldn’t that be “HD DVD was one of the several ways…”? So, now that we know that the Xbox 360 HD DVD player add-on will no longer be manufactured, if you really really want one, they can now be had for $49.99. That is 75% off of it’s original price, for those of you keeping track. So if you want a piece of recently outdated technology, now is your chance.
Bloomberg
Gallery: Microsoft ends 360 HD DVD production, slashes HD DVD add-on to $49
Microsoft’s official word on their HD DVD player add-on in light of Blu-ray victory
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Corporate News, Microsoft, Xbox 360,
So, HD DVD is dying, as it seems tht Blu-ray has finally become too much for the format to handle. Where does this leave the Xbox 360 HD DVD player add-on? We just got word from Microsoft PR:
“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. As we’ve long stated, we believe it is games that sell consoles and Xbox 360 continues to have the largest next-gen games library with the most exclusives and best selling games in the industry. We will wait until we hear from Toshiba before announcing any specific plans around the Xbox 360 HD DVD player. HD DVD is one of the several ways we offer a high definition experience to consumers and we will continue to give consumers the choice to enjoy digital distribution of high definition movies and TV shows directly to their living room along with playback of the DVD movies they already own.”
Well, we think it is safe to say that we will be seeing the 360 HD DVD player (along with all the others) hitting the bargain bins over the next week or so. Now we await official word of an Xbox 360 Blu-ray add-on. It’s gotta happen.
Gallery: Microsoft’s official word on their HD DVD player add-on in light of Blu-ray victory
Sound Familiar? Xbox 360 HD-DVD Add-On Now $179 And Comes With Five Free HD-DVDs
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Accessories, Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
Announced at Comic-Con, the new price drop on the HD-DVD add-on for the Xbox 360 will lower the unit’s price to $179 (down from $199.99) starting August 1. As an added incentive, Toshiba’s Perfect Offer has been extended to the 360 HD-DVD Player – anyone who purchases the HD-DVD add-on will be able to select five free HD-DVDs from a list of 15 through a mail-in offer. Don’t expect the greatest selection of movies, though, as is the case with the five free Blu-ray movies that come with the purchase of a PlayStation 3. But free is free.
Microsoft also teased the HD-DVD release of Heroes: Season 1 and 300; Xbox Live will be home to some exclusive content. On August 14, 300 will be available for download in HD, and for a limited time, the pilot episode of Heroes will be free to download.
It certainly looks like Microsoft is pushing hard with HD-DVD, and understandably so – Blu-ray has been the more successful of the two next-gen DVD formats as of late. And the success of Blu-ray is of major support to Sony and the PlayStation 3 - and Microsoft isn’t looking to do them any favors.
Gallery: Sound Familiar? Xbox 360 HD-DVD Add-On Now $179 And Comes With Five Free HD-DVDs
Rumor: New $479 Xbox 360 SKU features 120GB HD, HDMI
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Corporate News, Release Dates, Rumors, Xbox 360,
The big news this morning comes to us courtesy of GameInformer magazine and a scan-happy reader, who points to a new article detailing the upgraded Xbox 360 that’s been rumored for so long. The major details so far? The new 360 will come in black (which our very own gearlive scooped right here), and it will feature built-in HDMI outputs, an HDMI cable (zing!), and an upgraded 120GB harddrive for holding all that new IPTV content. The system’s rumored to break in “late April”.
The $479 price tag is obviously meant to take another cheap shot at Sony, as MS’s most expensive SKU will still be cheaper than Sony’s cheapest PS3. Still, with all these upgrades to the console built in, it’s a wonder they forgot to include WiFi compatibility out of the box… no love for those of us with our routers in other rooms?!?
And for all of you wondering whether this is an April fool’s joke, the story appears to have been vetted by Kotaku:
Matt Helgeson, senior editor over at Game Informer, just dropped us a line to let us know that the story is in fact true. As a rule they don’t post fake news stories in their April mag. So go celebrate.
There you have it! See the scans after the jump.
Click to continue reading Rumor: New $479 Xbox 360 SKU features 120GB HD, HDMI
Read More | Kotaku.com
Gallery: Rumor: New $479 Xbox 360 SKU features 120GB HD, HDMI
Microsoft HD DVD Player: 4.7 Million Lines Of Code
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Hardware, Xbox 360,
Microsoft’s Xbox Team has offered up a little insight into the development effort that went behind the launch of the HD DVD player. 4.7 million lines of code seems a bit much, but knowing that all of the audio and video codecs had to be developed in software puts this complexity into context. According the the Xbox Team, all of the following had to be implemented in software for the HD DVD to play back discs.
- Video Codecs: H.264, MPEG-2, VC1
- Audio Codecs: Dolby Digital+, DTS, TrueHD, LPCM, MPEG
- HDi: The HD DVD runtime engine.
- GDI: Drawing stuff like menus
- AACS: Cryptography/DRM stuff
- MF: Audio/Video pipeline
According to the team, the HD DVD decoding software utilizes all six Xbox 360 hardware threads to play back video, possibly pushing the console harder than any other software title besides Gears of War. While one can appreciate the effort that Microsoft has made in bringing the HD DVD player to market, one also has to note the all of the additional complications that next generation video formats seem to hold for the average consumer.
Read More | Xbox Team
Gallery: Microsoft HD DVD Player: 4.7 Million Lines Of Code
Xbox 360 HD DVD Player $200 In North America
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Corporate News, Xbox 360,
Microsoft has finally announced pricing for their HD DVD Player add-on for the Xbox 360 in North America. While no date has been set, the device will sell for $199.99 USD, and will included the HD DVD version of King Kong along with the Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote control. For those not in the know, the HD DVD Player allows you to view HD DVD movies, delivering six times the resolution of a standard DVD. With the next Xbox 360 dashboard update comes the ability to output the signal in 1080p (same goes for games, which will be upconverted.)
While not super-cheap, getting and HD DVD Player for $200 can’t be seen as anything other than a bargain, as the cheapest standalone unit runs for $500 USD - and that one can’t even play Xbox 360 games.
Gallery: Xbox 360 HD DVD Player $200 In North America
X06 Webcast Video Download
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Action, Corporate News, First Person Shooters, Hardware, MMORPG, PC, Role Playing Games, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade,
Microsoft is making a download of their opening announcements for the start of X06 in Barcelona available at Xbox.com. Microsoft announced a new game in the Banjo & Kazooie franchise coming from Microsoft Game Studios. For Xbox Live Arcade, Microsoft announced that Doom would be available starting tonight on Xbox Live Arcade. Other Live Arcade games announced include:
- Sensible Soccer
- Contra
- Ultimate Mortal Kombat
- Small Arms
- Gyrus
- TotemBall
- Defender
- Assault Heroes
- Heavy Weapon
- Settlers of Catan
In terms of upcoming games, the Japanese RPG Blue Dragon will be available in the US and Europe in 2007. Bungie will have an announcement about Halo 3 by the end of the year. Project Gotham Racing 4 was officially unveiled. Rockstar announced that Grand Theft Auto IV will have two exclusive episodes available for download on Xbox Live. Ubisoft demonstrated Assassin’s Creed interactive gameplay for the first time ever. Bioshock was announced as an Xbox 360 and Windows exclusive. Lost Odyssey was confirmed for the US and Europe, with a trailer showing some of the battle gameplay. More than 500,000 gamers downloaded the Lost Planet demo, and both multiplayer and single player gameplay will be available on the show floor. Splinter Cell: Double Agent footage was shown, and the sequel will be exclusive to the Xbox 360 and on Windows.
The Xbox 360 HD DVD was confirmed to be available in Mid-November 2006 in Europe and the United States for $199.00 US, 199.99 Euros, and 129.99 British Pounds. The package will also include remote, and for a limited time King Kong on HD DVD. Moore also discusses Microsoft’s Games for Windows initiative, and indicates that Windows Vista is still on track for a January 2007 release. Moore also revealed the first preview of Marvel Universe: Online for the Xbox 360 and Windows.
Peter Jackson spoke at the presentation and announced that he has formed a partnership with Microsoft Game Studios. His first project will be an interactive entertainment title set in the Halo universe, apart from Halo 3 and the upcoming film, and Jackson will also be creating a new interactive game series based on original IP. Finally, the presentation wraps with a trailer from a Halo real-time strategy game from Ensemble Studios, called Halo Wars.
The video should be available online soon on Xbox.com at the link below, and should be available as a download via Xbox Live.
Read More 
| Keynote Summary at Xbox.com
Read More | Xbox.com
Gallery: X06 Webcast Video Download
Microsoft Again Denies Internal HD DVD
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Hardware, Xbox 360,
The Microsoft Games Global Marketing again issued a denial for the latest round of rumors that the company was planning on including an internal HD DVD drive. Instead, Microsoft insists that marketing the HD DVD as an add-on is all about offering choice, and expounds on that with all the various choices available to the consumer on the Xbox 360 platform, and a slightly overt stab at their competition. At any rate, expect the HD DVD drive to be available this Holiday, price still unknown.
Read More | Gamerscoreblog
Gallery: Microsoft Again Denies Internal HD DVD
More Rumors Circle About Xbox 360 HD DVD
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Hardware, Rumors, Xbox 360,
New rumors have surfaced via Digitimes that Microsoft is planning to include an integrated HD-DVD drive in the Xbox 360. The rumors have the new Xbox surfacing as early as the first half of 2007, according to the unnamed sources within the Taiwan optical drive industry.
Microsoft’s smackdown and denial of the rumors should hit soon, since the company has been adamant that HD DVD would only be for games. The last time this was suggested by Toshiba, Microsoft was quick to issue a denial. There are a number of reasons why this would be a bad idea on Microsoft’s part. First, they would splinter the market between those that have the HD DVD and those that don’t. Second, the cost of the HD DVD drive would make this prohibitive. While absorbing a loss on each Xbox 360 console makes sense to Microsoft while building a user base, the loss is mitigated by the fact that Microsoft gets license fees from game publishers for every game sold. Adding an HD DVD drive only adds to the loss, without adding more to the bottom line. Third, while Sony is launching with a Blu-Ray drive, they haven’t shown yet that this is the course that the consumer wants to take. Microsoft has time to sit back and evaluate the market and decide later as things develop. Fourth, the backlash from existing consumers would be great if Microsoft released an updated console within the first 18 months of the console’s life span.
Read More | Digitimes
Gallery: More Rumors Circle About Xbox 360 HD DVD
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