In 2006, Bill Gates proudly announced the coming of the HD-DVD player and drive for the Xbox 360. It was intended to be for CD and DVD viewing, and have no direct gaming advancement.
There were doubts from the beginning as to the success of this feature. It was well noted that most computers already had a DVD player, and external HD plug ins, that were in most cases cheaper than buying the Microsoft Xbox 360 version.
It is little surprise that the Xbox 360 HD-DVD player is now discontinued. The announcement came shortly after Toshiba announced it would no longer be using the HD-DVD.
Remember the VHS vs. Betamax wars of the 1970’s? The same principle applied with the HD-DVD player. Toshiba and Microsoft opting for it, rather than the Blu-ray disc (incorporated into the Sony Systems). Sony came out the winner in that battle. Microsoft is, however, still providing customer service and repair for the HD-DVD.
There were some negotiations to try to save the Xbox 360 HD-DVD, but they failed, leaving Microsoft, and Toshiba in the dust while Sony reveled in their victory. In the early stages, there were concerns of abuse by media to charge (read: overcharge) consumers for the right to copy and/or playback media that consumers already owned. The media never got the chance to exploit that possibility.
This was no easy battle, as at one point, the US Department of Justice was called in to do a preliminary investigation. Since the product was to become defunct, it seems that it was basically a waste of time and money. Even the best of companies anticipate good products only to find they are not as useful or popular as they were intended. Such was the case with Microsoft and The Xbox HD-DVD player. You win some, you lose some.
In the scope of the value of the Xbox 360 in general, it is still as popular as ever. Microsoft continues to plan improvements on the product. Motherboards are the rumored talk going around now. The Xbox HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray war may be over, but Microsoft is not taking it lying down. Besides the Motherboards, there are no plans (or rather, formal announcements) on updates to the Xbox 360 Arcade, Premium, or Elite. You never know just what secrets Microsoft may be keeping, however. Keep your eyes peeled and we’ll keep you posted on the latest rumors and news.
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