Don't read this! No seriously, made mistake.

[WynnFire]

Coming Summer 2006, well the games anyway.

Microsoft on Wednesday confirmed months of speculation regarding plans to support HD DVD in the Xbox 360. The company will make available an external HD DVD drive for the new game console in 2006 and plans to have 50 HD capable games on store shelves by this summer. Titles will come from popular vendors such as Electronic Arts.

According to Microsoft, the Xbox 360 is on track to be the fastest-selling video game console ever, with the company expecting to ship up to 5.5 million units worldwide by the end of June 2006. Sony is readying the PlayStation 3 for a spring launch, and will include a Blu-ray drive in its new console.

http://ces.betanews.com/entry/Xbox_360_to_Get_HD_DVD_Drive/1136434138

[l Maximus l]

Sweet! I'll be picking one up!

EDIT: LOL, Wynnfire! This is almost as bad as the time when I got extremely drunk and started posting stupid stuff on this site :rofl:

[Go420Dawgs]

So what do i have to go buy a dvd drive now to add on. I mean i probably will though It will look good on the 50 inch DLP mhmmm

Edit: If its on 1up.com I think its true.. http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3146681

[ll Mista GT ll]

Stupid Microsoft... It'd better look sexy as hell... another add on that they will charge us 100 bucks for. :rolleyes:

[Ninjermy]

Wtf?? PS3 Spring launch??? Is this 2006 or 2007?

[laughs]

Xbox 360, on pace to be the fastest selling system ever??? Wrong! It's a damn good system, but, and correct me if I'm wrong here, wasn't the original xbox even doing better in sales?

[ShadedNine]

Xbox 360, on pace to be the fastest selling system ever??? Wrong! It's a damn good system, but, and correct me if I'm wrong here, wasn't the original xbox even doing better in sales?

Err..yeah, you are wrong. The Xbox has sold a lot more units, but it didn't sell more in the first couple months than the 360 has.

The article, as the poster has already pointed out, is nonsense. Particularily since they talk about HD games...(since all the games are already HD, and if they actually meant HD-DVD games, MS has stated that there are absolutely not plans for releasing games on HD-DVD, even if a drive were introduced.

[laughs]

Xbox 360 Stats:

* 325,902 Xbox 360s were sold in the United States in November (Core:Premium ratio unknown).

* 556,221 Xboxs were sold in the United States in the same number of days following launch.

* The best selling Xbox 360 title, Call of Duty 2, was sold 250,730 times to members of the United States public, making it the 3rd best selling console title in November.

* The worst selling Xbox 360 title, Ridge Racer 6, was sold just 9,091 times to members of the United States public, making it the 187th best selling console title in November.


* The best selling first-party title, Perfect Dark Zero: Limited Edition, was sold 85,593 times to members of the United States public (if sales figures for the Limited Edition were combined with sales figures for the regular edition, Perfect Dark Zero would be number three on the Xbox 360 chart).

* The first-party title with the least sales was Kameo: Elements of Power, with 73,801 units sold.

* Total number of units sold by the Xbox 360 top 10: 1,031,829.

* Total number of units sold by the Xbox 360 top 19 (18 launch titles & Perfect Dark Zero: Limited Edition): 1,273,352.

* Total number of units sold by original Xbox launch line-up: ~1,334,930.

* Total number of dollars taken by the Xbox 360 top 10: 57,894,847.

* Total number of dollars taken by the Xbox 360 top 19: 72,072,729.

* Tie ratio of the Xbox 360 by the end of November (average number of games sold per console): 3.9.

* Tie ratio of Xbox in equal number of days: 2.4.

* Xbox 360 accessory tie ratio: 3.1

* Wireless controller tie ratio: 98%

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The 360 must have had a really strong December... Plus, I guess the global thing must have helped out... I know they did terrible in Japan though

[Dr_J]

You kids, I swear. You would believe that the Virgin Mary was gay if you saw it on a website.

If you want news, go to a reputable site.

What the site listed above is 100% completely false.

http://www.forbes.com/2006/01/05/gates-ballmer-microsoft-cx_cn_0105autofacescan03.html?partner=yahootix



Microsoft Vice President of Marketing Peter Moore took to the stage and revealed that 2006 would see the introduction of an external HD-DVD next-generation optical drive for the 360, although he was mum on the possibility of HD-DVD games and a likely price for the gear. Moore also reassured those concerned by the limited number of games for the console, saying 50 titles would be available by June--there are currently 19 games available worldwide.

Nowhere does it say that the games will be HD.

It's just another case of some moron who can edit a webpage, takes words from an official website, and twists it around so goons like you can believe them.

[laughs]

You kids, I swear. You would believe that the Virgin Mary was gay if you saw it on a website.

If you want news, go to a reputable site.

What the site listed above is 100% completely false.

http://www.forbes.com/2006/01/05/gates-ballmer-microsoft-cx_cn_0105autofacescan03.html?partner=yahootix




Nowhere does it say that the games will be HD.

It's just another case of some moron who can edit a webpage, takes words from an official website, and twists it around so goons like you can believe them.


Sawyer??? Is that you?

[Dr_J]

Sawyer??? Is that you?

Robert Sawyer?

Tom Sawyer?

Sawyer Products?

Sawyer County Government?

[laughs]

Lost Sawyer :p

[thatdude222]

wanna know why the 360 hasnt sold that many systems?







BECAUSE THERES NONE TO BE SOLD.

[Dr_J]

wanna know why the 360 hasnt sold that many systems?







BECAUSE THERES NONE TO BE SOLD.

Thanks, Captain Obvious.

:sleeping:

[laughs]

wanna know why the 360 hasnt sold that many systems?







BECAUSE THERES NONE TO BE SOLD.

And if that was their tactic, it was a piss poor one. Creating buzz??? I don't really think so... The closer we get to the ps3 and revolution launch the more the 360 will suffer. Should have spit them out when they had enough made. Even if that meant delaying the system a couple of months.

[thatdude222]

why, so there would be xbox 360's collecting dust in a warehouse?

[laughs]

why, so there would be xbox 360's collecting dust in a warehouse?

Supply and demand

[thatdude222]

but microsoft would be making the xbox's regardless, they just wouldnt be selling them. wouldnt it make more sense to sell the ones they can while they manufacture new ones?

[ShadedNine]

but microsoft would be making the xbox's regardless, they just wouldnt be selling them. wouldnt it make more sense to sell the ones they can while they manufacture new ones?

Exactly, why do so many people fail to acknowledge this logic? You're always going to have an initial surge in demand on the release of such a product. You can't gear yourself to manufacture 100,000 units a day only to cut back to 10,000 soon after, nor can you ask any of the part suppliers to do so. They might be behind in their production schedule, but holding back release won't fix it. Faster distribution might shift things a day or two in their favour...that's about all you can do, from there you just have to wait out the storm.

Anyway, don't look at the HD-DVD drive as an accessory have to buy. Look at it as a discounted HD-DVD player for those who bought an Xbox 360. If you prefer, you could always spend the $400-500 that the early players are expected to hit the market at....that is if the format actually catches on. I still think both HD-DVD and Blu-ray will fail miserably as both a movie and a data storage format.

[thatdude222]

i sure as hell wont buy one

[swivel]

Exactly, why do so many people fail to acknowledge this logic? You're always going to have an initial surge in demand on the release of such a product. You can't gear yourself to manufacture 100,000 units a day only to cut back to 10,000 soon after, nor can you ask any of the part suppliers to do so. They might be behind in their production schedule, but holding back release won't fix it. Faster distribution might shift things a day or two in their favour...that's about all you can do, from there you just have to wait out the storm.

Anyway, don't look at the HD-DVD drive as an accessory have to buy. Look at it as a discounted HD-DVD player for those who bought an Xbox 360. If you prefer, you could always spend the $400-500 that the early players are expected to hit the market at....that is if the format actually catches on. I still think both HD-DVD and Blu-ray will fail miserably as both a movie and a data storage format.

Tell Microsoft this. They are getting ready to open their third plant to ramp up production. Doesn't sound like a steady cycle to me, it sounds like an increase in supply to meet demand.

Industry has no problem quickly revamping lines to increase production, nor does it lack uses for those plants when demand dies down. Producers have almost no control over the economy. Consumers have all of the power.

[laughs]

but microsoft would be making the xbox's regardless, they just wouldnt be selling them. wouldnt it make more sense to sell the ones they can while they manufacture new ones?

HaHaHaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!! Are you serious? The whole problem was the stupid global launch thing. Japan will never support the xbox, they over stocked Japan, while understocking North America...It's as simple as that guys.

[swivel]

HaHaHaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!! Are you serious? The whole problem was the stupid global launch thing. Japan will never support the xbox, they over stocked Japan, while understocking North America...It's as simple as that guys.

Exactly. :crying:

[ShadedNine]

That much is true...though even the excess Japanese supply wouldn't be enough to saturate the North American market. Would have been a nice Christmas bonus for a lot of people though.

Then again, they probably figured they'd at least have DOA4 to go alongside the launch...and it would have been way too late to pull the plug when DOA4 was announced as late. Not that it would have brought the console to the level of hype it has here, but considering the Japanese who bought it were more interested in Ridge Racer than any other title... ><.

[swivel]

That much is true...though even the excess Japanese supply wouldn't be enough to saturate the North American market. Would have been a nice Christmas bonus for a lot of people though.

Then again, they probably figured they'd at least have DOA4 to go alongside the launch...and it would have been way too late to pull the plug when DOA4 was announced as late. Not that it would have brought the console to the level of hype it has here, but considering the Japanese who bought it were more interested in Ridge Racer than any other title... ><.

Yeah, and Ridge Racer and DOA are both getting ho-hum reviews. How hard would it have been for Microsoft to make one in-house RPG for the XBox2 for the Japan launch? That's what they should have done. And you don't even need great graphics, just a FF-type RPG with big-eyed caucasians wearing really tacky clothes and weilding swords the size of semis.



Edit: Also, it is up to us to let MS know what they can do better. This will not be the last XBox system made. In 5 years or so we will see another launch. If you guys don't let MS know, with your voices here and elsewhere, how they can improve, you will see the same thing repeated. I promise you it will help Sony in no way, it will only improve MS's product and further the innovation that comes with demanding consumers. The reason Japan is getting the treatment they are this year is precisely because of the complaining they did regarding the XBox. It is because of them that this console looks the way it does, and that certain games are getting mega bucks and hype. If everyone here stays quiet, due to some sort of fanboyish deferment, then you are giving up your say in the future of the console, and MS will learn that they do not need to please you to get your dollar.

In a free-market system, the consumers, not the producers, have all of the power. Vote with your voice and your dollar.

Americans almost only play Shooters, Racers, and Fighters. And even though the Japanese love the latter two in arcades, it isn't going to sell a console. They want stories above all else. That's why the MGS games sell so well over there. They are 10% action/adventure 90% reading a story on your TV. Same type of split that RPG's have.

Americans won't watch a subtitled movie, much less read text in a game. They just want nice graphics of things blowing up. And it is this misconception of the Japanese gaming culture that is costing Microsoft.

I do see it turning around for them once an RPG comes out, especially if Square/Enix releases something. Meanwhile, though, all of those systems would have been better here. And having the system cheaper there, and not diluting the numbers with core systems, is just maddening for me. Biting the hands that feed them. If Japanese developers ever take off for the system, they will be free to utilize the HD in mandatory and creative ways, impossible for developers over here. That means the Japanese have a superior product base, a cheaper cost, and we will see fewer quality games ported over here where two types of system exist.

I know that I get accused of being the resident skeptic (some say cynic), but I fail to see anything good with how the Japanese launch has gone, and how it has affected us here.