Toshiba's first standalone HD-DVD player will come out in march costing $499.
"It has been confirmed after months of speculating that microsoft will be making an HD-DVD drive. All that is known right now is that the drive will be external and connect via one of the Xbox 360's USB ports. Microsoft has announced that it will not be used for games but rather to play HD-DVD movies."
"Microsoft will aim and be satisfied if 10% of the xbox 360 owners buy the add-on"
"It's our guess that the add-on will be priced significantly less than standalone HD-DVD players (the first of which was announced by Toshiba with a street price of $499). The xbox 360's ATI graphics processor and custom three core cpu were future-proofed by microsoft from the outset, meaning that the probabilty of this type of extension of the 360 was something built-in from the start. The 360 itself should be able to handle a lot of the workload, whereas standalone HD-DVD players require additional and expensive internal circuitry to accomplish the same feat. "
"It also provides an answer to sony's previous and still-to-come salvos of "It's not real high-definition. We have Blu-Ray so wea re real HD!" It also allows microsoft to test the level of enthusiasm for next-gen media formats. While sony is betting all of its chips on the Blu-Ray, the jump from DVD to HD-DVD/Blu-Ray is nowhere near as significant as VHS to DVD, both technologically and in terms of the likely rate of public adoptation."
Second thing that I found was this article from a Sony Employee that was fired for comparing ps3 to xbox 360.
http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/10175/Son ... velopment/
Sony Employee Fired for Commenting PS3 Development
By: César A. Berardini - "Cesar"
Feb. 3rd, 2006 4:30 pm
Josh Robinson, a former Sony Online Entertainment employee, never imagined that his comments on PlayStation 3 development and comparisons with the Xbox 360 would get him kicked out of SOE.
Last month, Josh posted an article in Downinfront.tv, commenting on PS3 development. He revealed that at the time of his writing there was no final hardware development kits and that SOE got one of only five PS3 development kits delivered in the U.S. But probably what irritated his bosses the most was Robinson’s comments on the superiority of the Xbox 360:
I’ve also talked with people on the technical side of the XBOX 360. The consistent comment I am hearing from people on my end is, 'The XBOX 360 is better'.
Since then, the article was taken down and lot of things happened in Josh’s life. You can still access the original article using Google’s cache at this address, but unfortunately Josh was let go from SOE.
Now, completely free of his employer, Josh gave an interview to PS3Week to discuss what happened after his comments about PlayStation 3 development went live.
Here’s an excerpt:
My life has changed a lot since the article. I was let go at Sony after the article was plopped on the desk of Sony corporate. I was also asked to remove the article immediately. (Which I did without any resistance.) I had lots of job opportunities immediately after I became a “free agent” I am a little fortunate because I’ve made a small name for myself over the last year or so with some things I’ve written. I wrote a 25-page comparison between Maya and 3D Studio Max. That article actually got me a book deal. I was asked to write the entire Max 8.0 essentials book, which I have been working on the last year. It will be in production in the next couple weeks and available at all book stores nationwide. So I’m very fortunate to have all the opportunities I’ve had. I had four or five job offers the same week I was let go. Ultimately I’ll be making even more money, I’ll have a better title at the end of my name and I’ll be very near the beach. So it’s a bit hard to complain I suppose. I ended up settling down near the Santa Monica area. I’d rather not say where right now. I’m pretty excited about the project however.
