Microsoft CEO Ballmer: "We'll support BlueRay"

[JamesD]

http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/15893/Micros...Support-Bluray/

By: Andy Eddy - "Vidgames"

Mar. 7th, 2008 11:48 am

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, during a question-and-answer session at the Mix08 Internet conference in Las Vegas yesterday, indicated that the company will "support" Blu-ray in some manner, now that the HD DVD format has been euthanized by Toshiba.

 

"We've already been working on, for example, in Windows, device driver support for Blu-ray drives and the like," Ballmer was quoted by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer as having replied, "and I think the world moves on. Toshiba has moved on. We've moved on, and we'll support Blu-ray in ways that make sense."

 

Of course, Ballmer talking about Blu-ray drivers for Windows is a long way from saying that Xbox 360 owners will get some form of Blu-ray compatibility for their consoles. When TeamXbox relayed Ballmer's comments to a Microsoft spokesperson on the Xbox project, the reply was that there was "nothing new" beyond the company's comment from yesterday. We'll bring you any updates as new details come to us.

 

http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/15886/Sony-a...e-for-Xbox-360/

Sony and Microsoft Discussing Blu-ray Drive for Xbox 360

By: César A. Berardini - "Cesar"

Mar. 6th, 2008 1:10 pm

 

Stan Glasgow, president and chief operating officer of Sony Electronics, has revealed that the Japanese electronics maker is in talks with Microsoft about offering a Blu-ray Disc drive for the Xbox 360. The Financial Times reports:

 

But after Sony’s victory last month in the high-definition DVD format war, Stan Glasgow, Sony Electronics US president, said the two sides were now talking about Microsoft adopting Blu-ray.

 

A Blu-ray drive in a 360 would make Microsoft more competitive with the PS3, but it would also mean extra revenues for Sony’s electronics division. It would also add further cost to the 360, meaning a premium edition of the console could be necessary.

 

Update

 

A Microsoft spokesperson provided the following comment in regards to this article:

 

"We have made no such announcement. Games are what are driving consumers to purchase game consoles and we remain focused on providing the largest library of blockbuster games available."

Edited March 8, 2008 by JamesD

[Mot]

Did you see that PS3's Blu-ray Not big enough for Metal Gear Solid 4?

[moycon]

Did you see that PS3's Blu-ray Not big enough for Metal Gear Solid 4?

 

I aint buying that the disk doesn't have enough space to hold the game data. If I had to guess he's refering to a 3 hour HD 1080p "Making of MGS4" video, that they want to include on the disk or something.

[godslabrat]

I aint buying that the disk doesn't have enough space to hold the game data. If I had to guess he's refering to a 3 hour HD 1080p "Making of MGS4" video, that they want to include on the disk or something.

 

Agreed. Without commenting on the quality of the game itself, there's no way the came can't fit onto a 50GB disc if it's competently designed. I could understand someone making that argument in 2012, but today... nuh uh. They're fluffing it up somehow.

[JamesD]

I aint buying that the disk doesn't have enough space to hold the game data. If I had to guess he's refering to a 3 hour HD 1080p "Making of MGS4" video, that they want to include on the disk or something.

 

Agreed. Without commenting on the quality of the game itself, there's no way the came can't fit onto a 50GB disc if it's competently designed. I could understand someone making that argument in 2012, but today... nuh uh. They're fluffing it up somehow.

Cut scene hell from the sound of it.

[moycon]

Cut scene hell from the sound of it.

 

Based on other MGS games I don't doubt this one will have a crap load of cut-scenes, but even if 2 hours of the game were taken up by HD 1080p cut-scenes this is BS. I was talking about in addition to the game, they must want to put a bunch of videos or something. Something really important to gamers like all the MGS4 comercials in HD, a 25 minute HD video titled "What inspired the creators of this game" and a 35 minutes HD feature "Get to know the MGS4 voice actors" Don't get me wrong. I think that's what all this extra space is Blu-Ray is always bragging about should be used for, but to say the game and an English soundtrack wont fit on the disk sounds like complete rubbish. Something someone might say to inspire sales of the game.

[+HammR25]

Are there even any PC games that require more than one DVD? There's certainly no way one game is suddenly going to require 6 DVDs worth of info.

[Gabriel]

Are there even any PC games that require more than one DVD? There's certainly no way one game is suddenly going to require 6 DVDs worth of info.

 

I'm not sure about PC games, but I was a bit surprised to open Lost Odyssey's case and see a multiple DVD game.

[moycon]

Are there even any PC games that require more than one DVD? There's certainly no way one game is suddenly going to require 6 DVDs worth of info.

 

I'm not sure about PC games, but I was a bit surprised to open Lost Odyssey's case and see a multiple DVD game.

 

My understanding is Lost Odyssey includes lots and lots of cut scenes. (Like 20 Hours Ive heard... is that true!!?) In any case I read that many cut scenes use the game engine, but those that are cinematic are in HD and very high quality. That's what's taking up the space I've heard.

[Video]

Are there even any PC games that require more than one DVD? There's certainly no way one game is suddenly going to require 6 DVDs worth of info.

 

I'm not sure about PC games, but I was a bit surprised to open Lost Odyssey's case and see a multiple DVD game.

 

My understanding is Lost Odyssey includes lots and lots of cut scenes. (Like 20 Hours Ive heard... is that true!!?) In any case I read that many cut scenes use the game engine, but those that are cinematic are in HD and very high quality. That's what's taking up the space I've heard.

 

That's alwas been my arguement there. Tha vast majority of PC games are still on CD. That's CD as in, compact disc (at 600 - 800mb, depending) Not to be confused with DVD (useually single layer, at 4.5-4.7gb, depending on who you ask) There is no way in HELL, that these systems are actually needing all that space. That's why I always gotta laugh when someone brings up the whole "oh yeah, the PS3's so much better than *put system here* cause they can store like 35GB of data, blah, blah, blah"

 

For the record, I have had, precisely one multi disc game in my life (several games with bonuses on a second disc, but only one where the game itself spanned multiple discs) and that one was Final Fantasy 7....on CD's (and I don't think it needed it)

[moycon]

For the record, I have had, precisely one multi disc game in my life (several games with bonuses on a second disc, but only one where the game itself spanned multiple discs) and that one was Final Fantasy 7....on CD's (and I don't think it needed it)

 

Yep, Don't get me wrong. I LOVE RPGs, even traditional ones, and I dig high quality cinematics....but one or two throughout the game is plenty. I can't tell you how many times I've forwarded through the cut scenes (when it's an option) or left the room (when it wasn't) because the game maker chose to force me to sit through one 10 minute cut-scene after the other. As a gamer, If I sit down to play an RPG or any game, I don't want to play for 5 minutes and then frickin sit on my ass watching a movie for 50 minutes. When someone says they can't fit a game on a Blu-Ray disk....beware. If they aren't including video's on the disk...then you're going to be doing a lot of sitting on your ass watching a movie and not playing a game, you can bank on that!!

[dalton4life]

FMV shouldn't really be the issue, because every single Metal Gear game with cutscenes has used in game graphics for the scenes, and not FMV. They aren't changing that with MGS4. That much makes the space used for the video aspect of the cutscenes minimal.

 

It's the audio that takes up so much space. Since they have Blu-ray they are trying to push things, by not compressing any of it which is just plain silly. Take those super audio CDs for example. There are between 4.7GB-8.5GB in size for one CD/Album worth of tracks in 5.1 versus 700MB or so for a regular CD. PS3 and can go 7.1 and if you don't compress over 30 hours of cutscene audio that Blu-ray disc will fill up fast.

Edited March 13, 2008 by dalton4life

[MCHufnagel]

That's alwas been my arguement there. Tha vast majority of PC games are still on CD. That's CD as in, compact disc (at 600 - 800mb, depending) Not to be confused with DVD (useually single layer, at 4.5-4.7gb, depending on who you ask) There is no way in HELL, that these systems are actually needing all that space. That's why I always gotta laugh when someone brings up the whole "oh yeah, the PS3's so much better than *put system here* cause they can store like 35GB of data, blah, blah, blah"

One of the advantages of pc's is that when you load a game on it, it uses the hard drive. There are plenty of multi-disc cd pc games out there, but once you load them in, you only need to use the play disc. I've never seen multi-disc dvd games for the pc though. Although very few pc games are FMC crazy. You would think that by using hd models, that Lost Odyessy could have used in-game graphics instead of FMC to lower the amount of discs used. Especially since this game is a Xbox 360 exclusive.

[Mendon]

Even though I own a PS3 and have enjoyed the visual quality of several Blu-ray movies..... and even though I own a 360 with HD DVD add-on and have enjoyed the visual quality of several HD DVD movies, I'll continue to **BUY** regular DVD's and upconvert them to 1080i.

 

Call me a cheapo but when it comes to paying $15 - $20 for a regular DVD vs. $30 - $40 for Blu-ray/HD DVD, I'll take the $$$$$ savings any day of the week. Not worth the extra money to be able to count the wrinkles on Bea Arthur or see how soft & flowing the arm-pit hairs on Madonna are.

 

(But Planet Earth was the BEST $90 I ever spent!!)

 

 

Mendon