Vastaus: Xbox 2
Meinaako Microsoft tyytyä normaalin DVD-asemaan? Vaikuttaa oudolta kun teräväpiirtoformaatit ovat kuitenkin tulossa.. toisaalta HD-asemien hinnat ovat vuoden lopulla vielä aika korkealla.
Näin kertoo Gamespot..
"RUMOR #3: The next-generation Xbox will use neither the Blu-ray nor the HD-DVD disc formats.
Source: Online tech-dope muckraker The Inquirer.
The official story: "Microsoft does not comment on speculation or rumors. (You see what I did there? I switched the order of 'rumors' and 'speculation.') "--Microsoft spokesperson.
What we heard: Although it jokingly says it received the tip from an anonymous source "in a soggy brown envelope anonymously delivered through our door by untraceable carrier pigeon," the Inquirer article does seriously suggest that rather than support either of the two new high-capacity formats, Microsoft will stick with plain ol' DVDs as its media medium. The reason? "To keep the costs of the system and its games down," according to The Inquirer's source. As thin as this theory is, it does have some weight to it. For one, Microsoft loses money on every Xbox sold, and it's been rumored to be taking drastic steps (that is, ditching the hard drive in favor of high-capacity flash cards) to keep the cost of its next-gen system down. Secondly, with a console generation life span of around four to five years, a high-capacity format drive may not be necessary. Currently, even the most graphic-intensive PC games currently on the market can fit on a 4.7GB DVD. Doom 3 came on just three CDs (approximately 2GB), while Far Cry came on five (approx. 3.25GB). The record belongs do Everquest II, which came on a whopping 10 CDs (approx. 6.5GB). However, games that size could simply come on two discs, like the best-selling Resident Evil 4. (Note: GameCube discs only hold 1.5GB per disc.) Then there's the question of the two new formats. Blu-ray is being heavily backed by Sony, so it would seem unlikely that Microsoft would help its archrival spread its chosen format. But if the company selected HD-DVD for the Xbox Next, it would be picking sides in a format war where there is no clear favorite. And everyone knows Bill Gates does not like to lose... "
EA on ilmoittanut jo aiemmin, että heiltä olisi tulossa tänä vuonna muitakin Xbox 2 -pelejä, joten ei tuossa ole sinänsä mitään epäiltävää.
