360 Elite validates Sony's hi-def focus – analyst

Matt Martin 15:00 (BST) 28/03/2007

"Microsoft will likely offer a Blu-ray drive with the Elite," says Pachter

Microsoft's release of the Xbox 360 Elite validates Sony's focus on capturing the early market for high-definition entertainment, according to Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter.

As the format holder continues to sign up more providers of downloadable content to Xbox Live Marketplace, the support for HDMI output is Microsoft's acknowledgement that the hi-def consumer is more important that it initially believed.

"Microsoft's move is an endorsement of high-definition output, and its inclusion of HDMI validates that Sony's initial strategy was correct," said Pachter, speaking exclusively to GamesIndustry.biz.

"The 120 GB hard-drive is focused on helping the roll-out of IPTV, and I expect a progression of HDTV broadcast from the current 720p to the 1080p standard over the next few years, so the HDMI output will be relevant."

"On balance, this is a very smart move by Microsoft, but it appears to validate Sony's strategy, and serves as an acknowledgement that HD content matters," he commented.

For Pachter, the Xbox 360 Elite is stepping closer to the functionality of the PlayStation 3, but instead of offering an all-in-one package, Microsoft is giving the consumers a choice to upgrade their current console or buy the individual components relevant to their needs.

"Microsoft has made a bold move here in order to capture additional market share. They have essentially offered consumers the opportunity to replicate the performance of a PS3 by purchasing the 360 Elite plus an external HD-DVD drive," he offered.

"The value proposition is fair, and it places the two companies on similar footing."

The fact that Microsoft is not offering the external HD-DVD drive as part of the new Elite bundle may be an indication that it believes Blu-ray will eventually win the hi-definition format wars.

"It appears to me that Microsoft sees the writing on the wall – Blu-ray is going to win the format wars," he said.

"Ultimately, Microsoft will likely offer a Blu-ray drive with the 360 Elite, and I think consumers will be able to select based solely upon other drivers."

Pachter also believes that although the Xbox 360 Elite will register with early adopters of hi-def content, the current 20GB model will still be sufficient for many consumers.

"I'm hopeful that Microsoft does not phase out the 20GB model," he said.

"I continue to believe that most consumers will be perfectly happy with that SKU, and those with 720p TVs should be very happy with the performance of the current 360."

A price drop of the Premium console would also not be out of the question, said Pachter, giving Microsoft an advantage over Sony at retail.

"Microsoft is in a good position to lower the price of the USD 399 version, and it would give them a big competitive advantage to do so."

"In the final analysis, I would be surprised if they eliminated this SKU, and would consider it a mistake if they were to do so," he concluded.

March 28, 2007

Microsoft Announces New X360 Video Marketplace Partners

Following official confirmation of the much rumored Xbox 360 Elite hardware, officials from Microsoft have also announced the support of a raft of new video content providers for Xbox Live, including Paramount, Warner Bros., A&E Network, ADV Films, National Geographic and TotalVid.com.

Paramount Pictures will also offer content on Xbox Live for the first time, with move titles such as “Braveheart”, “Team America: World Police”, “World Trade Center” and “South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut”.

At the same time, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will release direct-to-video movies exclusively in high definition on Xbox Live – simultaneous with their release on DVD. Initial titles confirmed for the series include “Sublime” and “Babylon 5: The Lost Tales”.

Content offered by A&E Network will include “Dog the Bounty Hunter,” “King of Cars,” “Gene Simmons Family Jewels,” “Driving Force” and “Criss Angel Mindfreak”. National Geographic will offer television series such as “Is It Real?”, “Taboo”, “21 Days to Baghdad” and “Air Force One”.

Specific titles from ADV Films and TotalVid.com have not yet been announced, although the former is one of the major producers and distributors of Japanese anime in the West. TotalVid.com specializes in extreme sports such as skiing, snowboarding, skateboarding, motocross, surfing and mountain biking.

“With more than 300 games expected by year’s end, an Xbox Live community of more than 6 million people and a growing catalogue of premium content from some of the biggest names in entertainment today, Xbox 360 is an incredible value,” said Microsoft’s Peter Moore. “Adding partners and content like this helps reinforce the console’s position as the center of connected entertainment in the living room.”

Microsoft claim that the new partners will add more than 1,500 hours of downloadable content to that already available on Xbox Live. It is further claimed that downloads have grown by 400 percent since the service began offering TV shows and movies late last year.

The downloading of movies and TV shows is currently limited to North America, with no specifically announced timetable for a similar service, which would require different licensing deals in other parts of the world.

As examples of the service’s popularity, Microsoft revealed that “South Park” episode “Good Times With Weapons” – the first ever in high definition and offered only for a limited time – has been downloaded 380,000 times. Promotional clips for movie “300” have been downloaded more than 477,000 times.

POSTED: 05.50AM PST, 03/28/07 - David Jenkins

Microsoft: Data From Two Xbox 360 HDDs Can't Be Combined On 120 GB Drive

XboxhddIn announcing the Japanese launch of the 120 GB Xbox 360 hard drive, a Microsoft Japan press release revealed some additional information about migration of content: most notably, that the data from two 20 GB drives cannot be combined onto one 120 GB drive.

This wouldn't be so bad had Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg not told gamers at the launch of Xbox Video Marketplace to go out and buy two drives:

At this point we’re not ready yet to roll out a bigger hard drive. I can tell you what people tell me they do to get around this. What they do is they put their Live account on a memory unit and then they have one hard drive that they put their games or related content on, and then they have another drive that they put their movies and TV on.

And so if you took Microsoft's advice on this, you're apparently screwed.

I've translated the pertinent part of the press release, which has a few more details about migrating content, after the jump.

* You can only move data from the 20GB Hard Disk to the 120 GB Hard Disk. Transferring data in the other direction, or any other combination, is not possible.
* Any data stored on the 120 GB hard disk will be automatically deleted.
* Any data stored on the 20 GB hard disk will be automatically deleted after it is moved over.
* You cannot put the data from two or more 20 GB hard disks onto one 120 GB hard disk. If you attempt to move multiple drives, only the last one you move will be stored.
* Once you move the data over, it cannot be placed back on the original hard disk.

Original Japanese:

・ハードディスク (20 GB) からハードディスク (120 GB) へのみ、データを移行することができます。
逆方向への移行や、これ以外の組み合わせでは、データの移行ができません
・移行先のハードディスク (120 GB) に保存されていたデータは消去されます (収録されているコンテンツは除く)。
・移行元のハードディスク (20 GB) に保存されていたデータは、データの移行後に自動的に消去されます。
・2 つ以上のハードディスク (20 GB) のデータを、1 つのハードディスク (120 GB) にまとめることはできません。
移行を複数回行った場合には、最後に移行したデータのみが保存されます。
・一度移行したデータは、元のハードディスクに戻すことができません。