cliffbo
04-20-2006, 11:37 PM
He hopes: What planet is he on doesn't he know that the majority are supporting blu-ray?
Chris Lewis, Microsoft's regional vice president for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and the head of the company's Xbox gaming business in Europe, was interviewed recently by the German site Spiegel Online. He discussed how Microsoft was doing with the Xbox 360, and what might lie ahead in the future.
Lewis predicts that by the end of June Microsoft will have sold between 4.5 and 5.5 million units of their next-gen console worldwide. While these numbers are decent, they pale in comparison to the over 100 million installed base of Sony's Playstation 2. If Microsoft is going to make progress in the battle for the next generation, they will have to try and get these numbers up before the PS3 debuts in November. Crucial to this struggle is the Japanese market, where Lewis admits the Xbox 360 has fizzled:
"It's a tough marketplace for us. It's critical for us to get out there with the right games. We're making steady progress, but it's tough."
When asked about the possible launch price of the Playstation 3—a price that a French Sony executive said might be about €600 before retracting this statement—Lewis carefully dodged the issue, saying that consumers should "wait and see" and that Microsoft was not too concerned when Sony launched or at what price point.
When the question of the PS3's Blu-ray capability came up, however, Lewis was more direct:
"Blu-ray right now reminds us of another technology from Sony: Betamax. A bit like VHS—we think that HD DVD is the format that consumers, film studios and publishers will embrace. As you're mentioning the cost of Blu-ray—we think it's about giving consumers choice, we think it's about not necessarily asking them to pay over the odds for a technology that, at the moment, is unproven."
Those of us who remember the VHS versus Beta battles remember that ultimately the choice came down to two issues: the storage capacity of the tape and the number of available titles. Ironically, Blu-ray already has an advantage in the former category and if it is adopted by more manufacturers it could wind up with the edge in the latter as well. However, the outcome is by no means certain, and it seems a bit early to be relegating one format to "Betamax" status. Lewis pointed out that Microsoft was working on an HD DVD add-on for the 360 that would, despite the lack of an HDMI interface in the 360, be able to watch any copy-protected HD DVD movies:
"All I can say to you is—there are interesting developments in the pipeline. We will make sure that the HD DVD-peripheral device will meet all the requirements for consumers to enjoy high-definition DVD playback."
Lewis ended the interview by talking about the positive news about Xbox Live: with the old system only 10 percent of customers used the service, while on the 360 more than 50 percent are connected. No doubt the free trial of Live that comes with the system bumps those numbers somewhat, but the figures are still impressive. He mentioned how exclusive content will be critical for Microsoft in the next-gen console wars, and pointed out how excited Peter "Populous" Molyneux was to be working with the company after the purchase of Lionhead Studios.
Personally, I think this last point is more important than whether or not Blu-ray is the next Betamax. If consumers find that the best games are available only on a certain platform, they will purchase that platform, regardless of what optical format it supports. After all, HD DVD just started shipping recently, Blu-ray still hasn't launched yet, and both formats will be expensive and have a paucity of titles for the foreseeable future. For a game machine, it's really all about the games. The fact that Microsoft seems to understand this bodes well for the success of the Xbox 360 in the future.
yes right, and a film movie company has just delayed their HD-DVD movies. PC Format doesn't say which company but come on we all know why.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060420-6641.html
Chris Lewis, Microsoft's regional vice president for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and the head of the company's Xbox gaming business in Europe, was interviewed recently by the German site Spiegel Online. He discussed how Microsoft was doing with the Xbox 360, and what might lie ahead in the future.
Lewis predicts that by the end of June Microsoft will have sold between 4.5 and 5.5 million units of their next-gen console worldwide. While these numbers are decent, they pale in comparison to the over 100 million installed base of Sony's Playstation 2. If Microsoft is going to make progress in the battle for the next generation, they will have to try and get these numbers up before the PS3 debuts in November. Crucial to this struggle is the Japanese market, where Lewis admits the Xbox 360 has fizzled:
"It's a tough marketplace for us. It's critical for us to get out there with the right games. We're making steady progress, but it's tough."
When asked about the possible launch price of the Playstation 3—a price that a French Sony executive said might be about €600 before retracting this statement—Lewis carefully dodged the issue, saying that consumers should "wait and see" and that Microsoft was not too concerned when Sony launched or at what price point.
When the question of the PS3's Blu-ray capability came up, however, Lewis was more direct:
"Blu-ray right now reminds us of another technology from Sony: Betamax. A bit like VHS—we think that HD DVD is the format that consumers, film studios and publishers will embrace. As you're mentioning the cost of Blu-ray—we think it's about giving consumers choice, we think it's about not necessarily asking them to pay over the odds for a technology that, at the moment, is unproven."
Those of us who remember the VHS versus Beta battles remember that ultimately the choice came down to two issues: the storage capacity of the tape and the number of available titles. Ironically, Blu-ray already has an advantage in the former category and if it is adopted by more manufacturers it could wind up with the edge in the latter as well. However, the outcome is by no means certain, and it seems a bit early to be relegating one format to "Betamax" status. Lewis pointed out that Microsoft was working on an HD DVD add-on for the 360 that would, despite the lack of an HDMI interface in the 360, be able to watch any copy-protected HD DVD movies:
"All I can say to you is—there are interesting developments in the pipeline. We will make sure that the HD DVD-peripheral device will meet all the requirements for consumers to enjoy high-definition DVD playback."
Lewis ended the interview by talking about the positive news about Xbox Live: with the old system only 10 percent of customers used the service, while on the 360 more than 50 percent are connected. No doubt the free trial of Live that comes with the system bumps those numbers somewhat, but the figures are still impressive. He mentioned how exclusive content will be critical for Microsoft in the next-gen console wars, and pointed out how excited Peter "Populous" Molyneux was to be working with the company after the purchase of Lionhead Studios.
Personally, I think this last point is more important than whether or not Blu-ray is the next Betamax. If consumers find that the best games are available only on a certain platform, they will purchase that platform, regardless of what optical format it supports. After all, HD DVD just started shipping recently, Blu-ray still hasn't launched yet, and both formats will be expensive and have a paucity of titles for the foreseeable future. For a game machine, it's really all about the games. The fact that Microsoft seems to understand this bodes well for the success of the Xbox 360 in the future.
yes right, and a film movie company has just delayed their HD-DVD movies. PC Format doesn't say which company but come on we all know why.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060420-6641.html