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PS3 Might Have To Watch its Back
October 22, 2007

Sure, this is could be pure speculation from a little known Australian consumer electronics publication. But wow, is it juicy! Citing HD DVD insiders at Toshiba, Microsoft is developing an Xbox 360 console with a built-in HD DVD drive, according to this story in Smarthouse.
 This definitely flies in the face of Microsoft's past insistence about the importance of keeping its Xbox system and HD DVD drive separate. A major selling point for the Xbox 360 since launch has been the price, where sans built-in high-definition player, systems sell for under $400. 
Yet now we have a $399 Playstation 3, complete with Blu-ray player, launching in stores next month. The Smarthouse story says that Microsoft starting to feel the heat from PS3 in its decision to launch a re-tooled Xbox 360.
The external Xbox 360 HD DVD drive has sold 210,000 units through September, according to the NPD Group. That is clearly dwarfed by the millions in PS3 sales. But to its credit, the Xbox HD DVD drive still tops any individual Blu-ray player.
No luck yet getting someone at Xbox to comment. But this should be a fun one to keep following.

Posted by Susanne Ault on October 22, 2007 | Comments (0)