PS3, Xbox 360 HD-DVD, Wii
Entry posted by EricBall
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Okay, Sony has announced that the Blu-Ray based PS3 will be available November 11th for US$600 for the full featured model and US$500 for one with a 20GB hard drive (instead of 60GB), no WiFi, and no HDMI outputs. No HDMI means no HDCP, which means downsampled outputs for movies that have that setting enabled. But is this as big a deal as the value Xbox 360 lacking a hard drive? It is if A: you think that Blu-Ray will make HD-DVD a technological footnote and B: you have (or plan to buy) an HDMI+HDCP display. And I'm not sure that A is true (I'd advise waiting for the combo players rather than placing bets on one or the other) and I suspect that B is not true for the majority of consumers.
Microsoft has anounced an USB 2.0 connected HD-DVD drive for the Xbox 360. (Does this mean I could plug it into my PC?) The problem I see isn't with the drive, but (again) with the lack of an HDMI/HDCP output on the Xbox 360. However, see A & B above as to why that may not be important. Really, the Xbox HD-DVD drive is really just a pseudo HD-DVD player which only really works for HD-DVDs which allow unrestricted analog outputs. I wonder if you'll be able to download firmware updates from XBox Live?
Now, I know that both the PS2 and original Xbox are capable of being used as a DVD player. However, that's only attractive when the price point (plus quality & features) for a dedicated player is comparable or higher than the console. Worse still, in this generation, both consoles are on opposite sides in the early going of a format war. And Sony, at least, is counting on the PS3 to make a significant difference in that war.
Which brings me to Nintendo and Wii. (And I agree, the name sux.) N is sticking with the "it's the games, stupid" mantra again which they tried with the GameCube. The question again is whether N will be able to get enough developers on board (especially since the Wii should be cheaper & easier to develop for than the PS3 and Xbox 360) to get a decent library of release titles (and a steady stream of releases afterwards) to temp buyers along with a lower price point?
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