According to a seattlepi Xbox insider, MS only opposed Blu-ray because Sony supported it and they hedged their bets by making the HD DVD add on. He believes if Sony cooperate, MS could have an external Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360 very quickly, however he thinks it will be difficult as Sony wants to control their technology. He concluded that over the next few months Microsoft will come out with a Blu-Ray player, or they will file suit to force Sony to share their technology.

"Spooling bits to the hard drive at first boot is an intentional thing when the game knows that a HD is always in the system. Xbox 1 did it. The reason is to decrease the load time for some of the game content. That's the main advantage of having a HD in every console, and a gameplay optimization that all devs use. Regardless of how long that takes at first boot. If you all go back and read Xbox 1 blogs, you'll see the same types of comments against Xbox 1 too. They don't need the space per se, they have it to use and would be foolish not to. Hard disk spool time is so much less than optical disc drive spool time, resulting in better games."

"On to HD-DVD v Blu-ray. MS opposed Blue Ray because Sony supported it, plain and simple. I was in the room when the decision was made. But they hedged their bets by making the Media player a plug in. They could very quickly have a Blue Ray external plug in just like the HD, if Sony will cooperate."

"Therein lays the rub. MS, one of the worst co's to get info out of to make products compatible, needs Sony to help a competitor do just that - compete with a compatible product that depends on the competitor's intellectual protocol. Sony knows that they cannot justify charging MS a fee that is larger than any other customer. Sony wants to make Blu-Ray ubiquitous so they have shaved down fees as much as possible. So MS must get the same deal as everyone else."

"But Sony wants to control this technology in the gaming space, and prevent success by a competitor in the expansive entertainment markets of this space. Where much of the cash flow for these kinds of products will lie in the coming years from also using gaming consoles as home entertainment media extenders, central to the digital entertainment lifestyle."

"What would you do now if you were Sony? The same thing MS has done over the years. Make the technology intentionally incompatible, withhold information, withhold support for design input to make it compatible, etc."

"We'll see over the next few months. Either MS will come out with a Blu-Ray player, or they will file suit to force Sony to share, in much the same way many others sue MS for the same reasons on Windows compatibility. It will be interesting to watch this unfold."

"Once again, users are caught watching the battle from the sidelines. Unless you make sure you vote with your dollars and put an end to this nonsense by insisting on unified standards across vendors. Kinda like the Blu-Ray fight..."">Xboxfounder has chimed in the comments on Digital Joystick on the developments of HD-DVD/Blu-ray for game systems.

The Chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Association in the US has commented that the Blu-ray camp is happy that the format war is officially over, now the focus is for member companies to promote the format as the best way to bring premier high quality definition content into consumers' lives.

The Blu-ray Disc Association has made an official statement regarding Toshiba's announcement that they would no longer be supporting the HD DVD format. Andy Parsons, Chairman, Blu-ray Disc Association U.S. Promotions Committee commented, "We in the Blu-ray Disc Association are very happy that this long format war is officially over. Now the task ahead for our member companies is to promote the Blu-ray Disc format as the best way to bring premier quality high definition content into consumers' lives."

As the main supporter of the HD DVD format, Toshiba's announcement that they no longer would be supporting the format effectively ends the format war and Blu-ray has been proclaimed the victor. As the only high definition format viable for consumer adoption, the BDA's focus will now be shifted towards ensuring consumers understand the advantages of Blu-ray and the superior movie experience it offers.

According to reports, the Blu-Ray Disc Association has released a statement which praises Wal-Mart's decision to go Blu-ray exclusive. The statement denotes that this move denotes that Blu-ray has emerged as the desired format of choice for high definition home entertainment.

According to Blu-Ray.com, the Blu-ray Disc Association released a statement, praising Wal-Mart On Blu-ray Exclusivity.

"Retailers have a tremendous impact on consumer preferences, and as the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart's reach and leadership are unparalleled. Their decision to support only Blu-ray, particularly in light of the string of similar announcements from the content and retail communities over the last six weeks, seems to us to be a very clear statement that Blu-ray Disc has emerged as the format of choice for high definition home entertainment," said the BDA US Promotions Committee chairman Andy Parson.

The Wal-Mart’s announcement marks the end of a two-year war between Blu Ray and HD DVD for the dominance in the high definition entertainment market.

In addition, as the war is over, it is interesting to see if Microsoft, one of the main HD DVD promoters, will replace the external HD DVD unit for its Xbox 360 with a Blu Ray drive.

During CES, when asked about this issue, a Microsoft official did not ruled out the possibility of unveiling a Blu Ray drive.

"It should be consumer choice; and if that's the way they vote, that's something we'll have to consider," Albert Penello, group marketing manager for Xbox hardware said when asked whether Microsoft would support a Blu-ray DVD accessory in the event that HD-DVD failed.

PRESS RELEASE: Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Brawl Tournaments Storm the Country

Nintendo and Best Buy Team Up to Crown a National Champion

Attention all Smash fans: Put up your dukes! Just before the launch of the much-anticipated Super Smash Bros.(R) Brawl, Mario(TM) and friends are hosting four regional Wii(TM) tournaments. The competitions will visit Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston and finally New York for a Midnight Madness Launch event at the Best Buy store at 622 Broadway in New York. All of the 256 participants at each location will receive a $10 Best Buy gift card. One lucky grand prize winner will receive a custom-designed, crystal-covered Wii, a home theater system from Best Buy and other prizes.

"Super Smash Bros. is one of the world's most popular game franchises
because it draws in characters from across the Nintendo universe and beyond for some all-out fighting fun," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of sales & marketing. "Super Smash Bros. Brawl has extreme appeal among our core audience, but these tournaments are a great way to get new fans involved as well -- before the game is even available in
stores."

Each regional tournament will provide the first 256 people in attendance the chance to "brawl" one-on-one with other contestants in asingle-elimination tournament to determine a winner in each market. Regional winners will face off in a final multiplayer "brawl" at the New York City tournament.

The grand prize winner will receive a crystal-coated Wii with a design from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, a home theater system from Best Buy and a copy of the game. The second-place finisher will receive one Wii system and Wii Remote, one copy of Super Smash Bros. Brawl and a $1,000 Best Buy gift card. The third-place finisher will receive a Wii and Wii Remote, a copy of the game and a $500 Best Buy gift card. The fourth-place finisher will receive a Wii, an extra Wii Remote, a copy of the game and a $250 Best Buy gift card. For more information about the tournaments, visit Nintendo.com.

The tournaments will take place at the following times and locations:

Feb. 16
Doors open at 3 p.m.
Orpheum Theater
842 S. Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90014

Feb. 23
Doors open at 2 p.m.
Ten15 Folsom
1015 Folsom St.
San Francisco, CA 94103

March 1
Doors open at 3 p.m.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Olden Hall
100 Institute Road
Worcester, MA 01609

March 8
Doors open at 5 p.m.
Best Buy (NOHO)
622 Broadway
New York, NY 10012

Super Smash Bros. Brawl features dozens of Nintendo characters, from Mario to Link(TM) to Pikachu(R), as well as new characters like Solid Snake, a gritty soldier from Konami's hugely popular Metal Gear series, and Sonic The Hedgehog. The combat-filled game lets characters of all kinds brawl until only one is left standing. Its predecessor, Super Smash Bros.(R) Melee, was the best-selling game of all time for Nintendo GameCube(TM). Super Smash Bros. Brawl has more characters, more features and more action-packed fun. What's
more, Super Smash Bros. Brawl uses Nintendo(R) Wi-Fi Connection, which allows up to four players to simultaneously brawl no matter where they are based. For a complete list of characters and features, visit http://www.SmashBros.com.

The NPD group has spoken out and said that articles which posted figures of Blu-ray trouncing HD-DVD did not take into account several intriguing variables. Firstly both Blu-ray disc players and software were being given away for free with the purchase of 1080p TVs. Second instant rebate promotions that reduced Toshiba's players' MSRPs to $199 and $249 had actually ended sending the price up to $299 and $399 in the same week. They go onto to hint that Toshiba's retail price drop on Jan. 13th to $149 / $199, is working well for Toshiba. NPD concluded "Toshiba's HD DVD players represent a significant value to the consumer and the marketing campaign that just began is proving effective."

The NPD Group attempted to quiet the storm of online scuttlebutt with the following statement:

"As you may have seen, there are attempts being made to portray NPD's weekly sales tracking figures for next generation DVD as a trend. We want to remind you and make clear that it is not accurate to make long term assumptions based on one week of sales -- a cautionary point that NPD has made as well.

"The facts are that during the week that is being singled out, both Blu-ray disc players and software were being given away for free with the purchase of 1080p TVs. It is also important to note that the instant rebate promotions that had previously netted Toshiba's players' MSRPs to $199 and $249 had actually ended on Jan. 5th -- causing an increase in HD DVD's MSRP back to $299 and $399 during that same week. Since Toshiba's retail price move on Jan. 13th to $149 / $199 -- Toshiba is seeing very positive sales trends at retail. This reinforces the fact that price is a significant driver of sales.

"Toshiba's HD DVD players represent a significant value to the consumer and the marketing campaign that just began is proving effective."

Sony have developed the world's smallest Blu-ray reader/writer module, which will allow slimmer drive bays. The new unit is only 3mm thick and Sony say it should end up in 9.5mm laptop drives sometime this year. Cost savings have come from a simpler manufacturing process that will yield dividends in mass production.

Developed jointly with Nichia of Japan, the new laser unit is just 3mm thick and should help manufacturers miniaturise the hardware in their Blu-ray drives. Sony says it imagines the device ending up in 9.5mm laptop drives sometime this year.

Cost savings come from a simpler manufacturing process that will yield dividends in mass production, while other features include the ability to handle dual-layer BDs and disks with organic dye in the recording layers. Organic disks can be churned out from existing DVD production lines, so it's a win-win situation here.

Anaylsts reported on Tuesday that Electronic Arts is cutting prices across a range of high profile sports games including NBA Live 08 and Madden 08. While this is good news for the consumers, the analysts said that this is a bad sign from EA's perspective as it goes into the holiday season.

Analysts said Tuesday that video game maker Electronic Arts Inc. is cutting prices on sports games, which the analysts said is a bad sign going into the holiday season.

The games affected include important sports titles such as "NBA Live 08," "Madden NFL 08" and "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08."

Pacific Crest analyst Evan Wilson said 14 games were affected, most of them sports games for Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 2 system. Wilson said sales of the PlayStation 2 held up longer than he expected but are now declining.

The chairman of the Blu-ray disc association has slammed HD-DVD's announcement of a triple layered 51GB HD-DVD as nothing more than a publicity stunt. He commented that the HD-DVD camp is in a reactive mood, and that a tripe player disc should reach 45GB and not 51GB (obviously that is 1GB more than double-sided Blu-ray). Secondly, he stated that BD 50GB production has been going on for a while and he has heard nothing from the HD DVD production lines.

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"I'm not surprised at all," he told us. "But we believe they are very much in a reactive mood. Based on their format one would expect that a triple layer disc is three times a HD DVD single layer adding up to 45 GB. Now suddenly they change it to 51GB for promotional reasons.


Simonis also said that the BDA is dubious as to whether existing HD DVD players will be able to read these new 3-layer discs which have 2GB per layer more than the original format.

"You better ask them," he said, "I question it, however, very much."

Tech.co.uk asked Simonis whether the 51GB HD DVD disc proposal is a threat to the Blu-ray format which has a maximum dual-layer capacity of 50GB.

"BD 50GB production is running already for some time on high volume with a two layer concept. There are currently lots of companies producing BD products compatible with 50GB capacity. No news yet from the HD DVD production lines."

Journalist Bob Molinaro has pointed the finger at video games for desensitizing a whole generations reaction to NFL injuries in light of the recent paralysis Kevin Everett suffered following a huge hit. Molinaro argues games such as Madden 08 and NFL Blitz picture cartoon like violence in the NFL with fully blown blood and gore features which make people forget that football is very much real and the injuries that can result are real too. He implies that video games are encouraging extra big hits for amusement and that no one stops to think of the price the athletes will pay in the future because of our expecations from the virtual world.

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This makes me wonder if the catastrophic injury to Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett will make any real impression on the desensitized adolescents and adults raised with the cartoon violence of "Madden '08" or "NFL Blitz," or the absurd blood-and-guts scenarios associated with other Xbox games.

On a human level, there may be no more important or heartbreaking development in the NFL this season than the spinal-cord injury suffered by Everett on Sunday. Yet, I suspect it won't resonate as it should.

The NFL, after all, has a well-programmed audience. The league's crass packaging of its product anesthetizes us to the violence. The men inside those jerseys sacrificing bones and ligaments and risking paralysis aren't really people; they're interchangeable laundry.

Nobody stops to ask what price the athletes pay for our amusement until years later, when former players are hobbling like tables with one leg shorter than the others. Or they suffer brain damage brought about by the very collisions that vicariously thrill us as we sit in our family rooms.

I wonder if any of this hits home with the very large and growing demographic that comes to football through the make-believe violence of video games. In that world, jacked-up players always bounce back, returning as good as new when the game is switched on.

This week, more than many, we're reminded that in real-time, real-life football, the violence and its consequences are all too real.

Frank Simonis, the Chairman of the Blu-ray disc association has revealaed expectations that the high definition format war between HD DVD and Blu-ray could be over in 18 months time. Simonis claims that publishers are jumping onto the Blu-ray bandwagon and there can be no better time to join them.

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Frank Simonis, also the senior director of communications at Philips, said that while he refuses to predict victory for Blu-ray, the consumers will decide and exciting things will happen in the next year and a half.

"Due to the fact that we have some hard competition which sometimes makes strange moves, it's very unpredictable. But I think in the next 18 months it will be very exciting to see what's going on.

"Especially with more products coming to market, the price erosion that will for sure happen because competition between the different players will automatically fuel that part of the business. And of course the broader support that we get from the software industry will excite the consumer very heavily."

"In the US you see that 70 per cent of the titles sold are Blu-ray and this is no different everywhere else. Publishers are moving to Blu-ray and now is definitely the time to join.

"The consumer should make the choice, but for me it's Blu-ray all the way."

The chairman of the Blu-ray camp has slammed a thought from Bill Gates that high definition content generally isn't really something that people want, insisting that Blu-ray does actually have a bright future ahead of it. He states that Microsoft's claims that no one wants HD content is just a marketing spin and wishes people the best of luck in trying to download a 25GB movie over the internet.

Quote:
"Microsoft is very bad at making predictions and I think that you can only judge that if the consumer truly has a choice in making use of that application. For standard definition the concept is now slowly coming alive. But high definition is six times more information in the video alone. That's not including the HD 7.1 audio.

"So to download a movie of 25GB over the internet I wish the consumer a lot of success today and hopefully the day after you might have all the content in one form. But with Blu-ray you can buy it all in one go and it's top quality at an affordable price."

Some new statistics have been thrown out by the Blu-ray camp at IFA 2007. It is claimed that Blu-ray holds 90% of the market share in Japan, and elsewhere in Europe Blu-ray sales are toppling HD-DVD in a ratio of 3:1 while in the US over 66% of high-def disc sales are attributed to Blu-ray.

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Announcements
- Hitachi will be making a major Blu-ray announcement tomorrow
- Acer is now a member of BDA
- China's HuaLu Group has joined BDA (major disc manufacturer)

Butt Kickings
- Blu-ray holds 90% market share in Japan for both movies and hardware
- In US Blu-ray has 63% standalone unit market share and over 66% of hi-def disc sales
- 70% of hi-def sales in Europe are Blu-ray with 3:1 ratio over HD DVD

Other Notables
- Sleeping Beauty will be Disney's first "platinum" (classic) movie on Blu-ray.
- Warner Home Entertainment will release as many titles in Q4 of 07 as Q1-Q3 combined. Including Kubrick.
- Spiderman 3 will be released on Blu-ray. I know! Also, Vaio owners who register online will get a free copy.

Speaking at a press conference at IFA 2007, Panasonic's European president roared that he is certain that Blu-ray will become the dominating high definition format. Prior to that the respective figure went on to discuss the new ethos of Panasonic, specifically how people will be essentially 'living in high definition' across all homes as the aim is to make all appliances networked, not strictly limited to consumer electronics.

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Panasonic has made clear its stance in the high-definition war. "Blu-Ray will succeed to become the predominant high-definition format, be certain," Joachim Reinhart, chief operating officer and president of Panasonic Europe, told journalists at a press conference at IFA 2007 in Berlin this afternoon.

Earlier Reinhart had explained the new ethos within the company - how people are going to "live in high definition", with everything in their home. He's not just talking about consumer electronics, but white goods and other appliances too - all connected up to a wireless network.

The main component of such a home network will be a full high-definition TV, and Panasonic today added five to its Viera range.

The full Viera line-up of full-HD plasma and LCD TVs now includes 65-inch (PZ/PY700 series), 58-inch (PZ/PY700 series), 50-inch (PZ/PY70 series) and 42-inch (PZ/PY70 series) plasma TVs, and a 37-inch (LZD/LZ70 series) LCD TV.

Sony has debuted a new PC machine which is the first all one PC which supports Blu-ray. The new machine will be available as of October, with two moders being offered priced at $1900 and $2900 respectively, the latter gets you a BD-R optical drive. At the heart of each model is a 22 inch widescreen display, an Intel Core DUO 2 processor, 2GB of RAM and a 'roomy' hard drive.

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Both models are centered around the 22-inch diagonal WSXGA+ widescreen display, with Sony's XBRITE-HiColor LCD technology. The LT model has a mounting capability that allows users to attach a VESA-compatible mount (sold separately) to the unit and hang it on the wall of a bedroom, kitchen, office or desk. Because of this, the PC also includes built-in 802.11n networking, freeing a wall-mounted unit from the need for Ethernet cables.

The LT HD PC/TV also treats television as a separate function from the TV, allowing users to turn the "TV" on and off while the PC itself runs in the background. A CableCard is required to receive high-definition satellite channels. A 1.2-Mpixel camera and a microphone with echo cancellation allows videoconferencing.

Buffalo Japan is to sell a new drive which will eliminate to make a decision to go with either Blu-ray or HD-DVD. The drive is an external USB solution which can playback HD formats or Blu-ray discs all for the low price of around $406.

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There is no HD DVD burning capability built-in, but the drive can burn both normal CDs and DVDs. Those not wanting an external USB drive can opt for an internal unit. No firm pricing is known for the external drive, but word has it the internal version will sell for 47,000 Yen, which would be about $406, which is way less than the $1000 I-O Data wants for their Blu-ray only USB drive. The USB version would cost a bit more, but the pricing would likely be close. The big rub here is that there is no word on if the drive will be shipped to America.

Blu Ray Technologies has responded to the announcement that Paramound and Dreamworks accepted $150 million dollars to exclusively back the HD-DVD format. Erick Hansen from BRT has called it a mark of desparation from the HD-DVD group who are struggling in the format wars as supported by retailer and consumer prefernces at this early stage.

PRESS RELEASE: Blue Ray Technologies Responds Strongly to Controversial Paramount/HD-DVD Deal

The founder of the first and only indie Blu-ray factory in the U.S, Erick Hansen of Blue Ray Technologies, spoke out strongly about the reported $150 million in incentives Toshiba and the HD-DVD cadre gave to Paramount and DreamWorks Animation to shun Blu-ray discs.

"Toshiba and HD-DVD offered this deal because they are desperate. The public has chosen Blu-ray discs with their pocket books, buying BDs 2-to-1 over HD-DVDs this year," Hansen said.

"For retailers, it's like being forced to stock VHS tapes after the public chose DVDs," he added. "For the consumer it creates more confusion that hurts the industry-wide move to hi-def." Hanson noted DVD retail leaders Blockbuster and Target stores will only stock Blu-Ray on their shelves.

Studios including Sony, Disney, Fox and MGM are Blu-ray only. Warner Bros. remains dual format. Universal, and now Paramount, release videos in the HD-DVD format.

Hanson said he was far from alone in his opinion, citing two articles this week in the New York Times and dozens of other publications where the president of Disney Home Entertainment Bob Chapek stated "There is no longer any doubt that Blu-ray is the clear successor to standard DVDs," Chapek is widely quoted as saying. "(The Paramount deal) is not in the best interest of consumers."

"What has Paramount gained by accepting the money?," asked Hansen "If multi-billion dollar director Steven Spielberg and billion dollar director Michael Bay like Blu-ray, the deal is a double-edged sword. "Transformers II" and "Indiana Jones 4" are both billion dollar babies on their own. So why risk the ire of their most valued directors? If these two spoke up so quickly, you can be sure that there are a dozen others who will follow suit if they have the clout on a film."

Spielberg's films are specifically excluded from the Paramount-DreamWorks Animation deal, they will continue to be released in both formats, according to Paramount. Bay released a statement on his website over his displeasure of distribution of "Transformers" I and II to HD-DVD only.

"I would like to see others take a stand, this is only slowing the inevitable and hurting consumers and the business," Hansen said.
"This seems like a move of desperation," said Andy Parsons, a member of the Blu-ray Disc Association, which represents companies like Panasonic, Samsung and Sony.

The New York Times and other media said Paramount and DreamWorks Animation together will receive about $150 million in financial incentives for their commitment to HD DVD, quoting two executives from Paramount parent Viacom, with knowledge of the deal but who asked not to be identified (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/21/technology/21disney.html?_r=1&em&ex=1187841600&en=5ddd87161117ed10&ei=5087%0A&oref=slogin).

The incentives will come in a combination of cash and promotional guarantees. Toshiba will use the release of "Shrek the Third" as part of an HD DVD marketing campaign.

"It's not that I'm surprised they took the deal," Hansen concluded. "But it's like paying them not to grow crops. How is the film industry going to segue into the next-gen world if it accepts a relative pittance to stunt its growth?"

Hansen is founder of Blue Ray Technologies (www.blueraytechnologies.com) which has built the first U.S. indie Blu-ray plant in Spokane, WA. The $12 million plant also has HD-DVD capacity, but Hansen has chosen to support Blu-ray for reasons of quality, capacity, and market penetration.

Michael Bay has now had a change of heart and has posted that he thinks that Paramount's move to exclusively support the HD-DVD format is a good one. He puts yesterday's rant down to having dinner with three blu-ray owners who were annoyed about Transformers not being available on Blu-ray. After careful thought, Bay likes the idea of HD-DVD players coming down to the $200 and remarks he is back on from Transformers 2.

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"Last night at dinner I was having dinner with three blu-ray owners, they were pissed about no Transformers Blu-ray and I drank the kool aid hook line and sinker. So at 1:30 in the morning I posted - nothing good ever comes out of early am posts mind you - I over reacted. I heard where Paramount is coming from and the future of HD and players that will be close to the $200 mark which is the magic number. I like what I heard.

As a director, I'm all about people seeing films in the best quality possible, and I saw and heard firsthand people upset about a corporate decision.

So today I saw 300 on HD, it rocks!

So I think I might be back on to do Transformers 2!"

Michael Bary, an American film director who has had great success with the likes of Transformer, Armageddon, The Rock and Pearl Harbor has slammed Paramount's decision to go HD-DVD exclusive. In a blog post titled 'Paramount pisses me off', he commented that he wants people to see his films in the best formats possible and thinkgs its wrong to deny people who have Blu-ray.

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So by now you've heard that Paramount has dropped support for Blu-ray right? Good, so has a notable Hollywood director. Michael Bay -- the man behind "Transformers," "Bad Boys," "Pear Harbor," etc. -- just threw down with Paramount in his personal blog. In a forum post titled "Paramount pisses me off!", he states, "I want people to see my movies in the best formats possible. For them to deny people who have Blu-ray sucks! They were progressive by having two formats. No Transformers 2 for me!" That's right Mike, aim your PS3 right at their coffers!

Two Viacom executives have confirmed that Paramount received a massive pay off of $150 million in order to drop the Blu-ray format and exclusively support HD-DVD for a period of 18 months. However, the deal does not include films which have been directed by Steven Spielberg.

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The NY Times has confirmed via two Viacom executives, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, that Paramount has received a $150M pay-off to support HD DVD exclusively for a period of 18 months. The $150M is comprised of cash and future marketing deals. Also re-confirmed is that the deal includes no films directed by Steven Spielberg.