XBOX360 will get HD-DVD, but not at launch.

[quote name='FrankieFiero']Just stumbled across this (via Gizmodo)...
http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-Microsoft-Toshiba-HD-DVD-Alliance-Changes-Xbox-360-3902.shtml

OK... so the 360 will get an HD-DVD drive later? What about the people who buy one at launch? Will there be an upgrade, or are they S.O.L. when HD-DVD games come out?

Guess what I'm not buying in November anymore...[/QUOTE]

Given that they made the decision NOW rather than after the initial launch, I'd wager there'll be an ~ $50 upgrade somewhere down the line to give HD-DVD to current 360 owners. They could alter the design of the system behind the faceplate to make it easy to swap out the drive -- I doubt they've gone to full production of units yet so that sort of change could be possible.

Think N64 memory expansion kit. Not all games (probably quite few, really) will use HD-DVD even when the 360 has the drive due to the costs involved, so the upgrade may not even be essential in owning a 360.
 
I'm getting a warranty, so whenever they do (if they do) screw over the people that got it at launch I'll return it for a new one.
 
They don't go into production until August-September, so they'll probably be upgradeable.
 
Don't get too excited yet. The article linked only offers its interpretation of what Gates said, not his actual words. Microsoft is not going to kill their launch by announcing a major feature that will only be available to later units. As of now there is no definitive statement from anybody at Microsoft as to how they might use HD-DVD, only supposition as to how they MIGHT use it in the future.
 
What I read was that the game format would still be the same (i.e. DVD), it would get an HD-DVD player for movies, etc.
 
[quote name='h2dk']What I read was that the game format would still be the same (i.e. DVD), it would get an HD-DVD player for movies, etc.[/QUOTE]

Exactly!!!

Nothing has been anounced for it being in 360 though. I think it's a situation where Microsoft wants to be flexable enough that in a year or two if they see demand for a HDDVD player they will release a version that has one. The new version would be for viewing HDDVD movies only. The DVD there going to use for storage I believe holds about 9gigs. So I think it's not going to affect developers at all in terms space for there games. I'm also betting they would keep selling a regular 360 version for a cheaper price. So we will proably see a regular version selling point at about 250$-300$ when ps3 launches in Xmas 06. Then we might see a HDDVD version sold at the same price point of PS3 that should be between 500$-1000$. That price comes from IGN who said a Sony Rep quoted them that price. There is ALOT of strong evidence from Sony now that the price is going to be VERY high.
 
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