Xbox 360 Ultimate Put on Hold Due to Warner Bros. Backing Blu-Ray?
By Jonathan on Monday, January 7th, 2008 at 5:33 PM PST In Game Companies, Game Consoles, Game Platforms, Gamer Life, Games Industry, Hardware, Microsoft, Microsoft
It’s been an interesting past few days as the news of Warner Bros. planning to publish all their future movies on Blu-Ray has sent waves through the tech community. First the planned CES HD-DVD press conference is canceled, then New Line announces they’re following Warner Bros., then Microsoft makes it very clear that they don’t intend to integrate an HD-DVD player into the Xbox 360. So of course the floor is wide open for rumor and speculation, particularly when the Warner Bros. news is paired with the fact that Microsoft has made no huge announcement regarding their console. Many people were expecting Bill Gates to unveil a new Xbox 360 SKU with tech specs to rival the PS3’s, dubbed the “Xbox Ultimate,” which might include a built-in HD-DVD player. So, with Warner Bros. dealing such a massive blow to the HD-DVD format, could Microsoft be holding back on their announcement? Could they be scrapping an integrated HD-DVD player? Did the SKU even exist to begin with?
Wow, who knew CES 2008 could cause such a rumor orgy? I just hope this format war finishes soon. I don’t want to be like the guy who got a Betamax.
Via Xboxer
I feel fully confident in saying that Xbox Ultimate never existed. Maybe there will be some more beefed-up SKU down the line, but I don’t think there has ever (at least not recently) been a plan to have an integrated HD DVD player.
I thought Microsoft’s whole plan was to go digital anyway, so HD-DVD drives would have been rather frivolous in their eyes correct? And i hardly think disk size will be an issue anytime soon for them so theres no real need to switch from it anyway.
Back in the day, the BetaMax/VHS thing made a big difference in the visual quality, but VHS was cheaper. But this HD-DVD/Blu-Ray thing is a bit harder to swallow, as the visual quality to a layman’s eyes isn’t all that different. So why will one win out over the other this time around ?
I believe that either the 360 Ultimate never existed, or it does exist but doesn’t have a built in HD-DVD drive as MS and Bill Gates himself have repeatedly said that’s NOT gonna happen.
I would be a little leery to go to a total download movie system. I can just see my Hard drive messing up, as they do from time to time, and I lose out on all the things that I had saved. Not appealing to me in the least.
The rumors of an ultimate 360 were either
a) a complete fabrication made by an attention seeking web site or
b) a deliberate spoiler aimed at making any smaller announcements into an anti-climax.
I don’t usually go for the conspiracy theories without proof so i guess that makes ‘a’ the most likely but who knows
“Did the SKU even exist to begin with?”
I’m putting money on the answer to that question being “no.” I think it was a rumor dreamed up by a fanboy or the media. Of course the internet got hold of it and that was all she wrote.
I’m pretty sure the ‘Ultimate’ never existed. Although I am surpised at Warner’s decision. I remember seeing on some site that Warner clamied to switch “for the benefit of the consumer” but how is it to our benefit if we have to pay for the more expensive Blu-ray drives. Theres also no difference in the picture quality so I don’t know what they’re on about
The benefit is that chances have grown that a winner will soon be decided (probably in Blu-Ray’s favor), and having 2 HD movie disc formats is a bad thing for us consumers. 1 = no chance of missing out on movies because we didn’t go for the other.
CHRIS IS A FUCKING MORAN!!!!
Chris is a small town in Texas? I don’t get it.
Sorry, but Microsoft says the Ultimate /never existed/
i have a feeling that it does exist (After all M$ do lie a lot) but now they’ll back down and/or fix all xbox 360’s current problems