Somehow Sony managed to stop Blu-ray from pulling a "Beta-max"

How? We may never know, as such is the mysteries of the universe.

So...when can I get the Blu-ray player for my 360?

Haha. Pwnd?

@impreza: It's not a mystery of the universe, they made substantial bribes to the major movie companies. CNN recently ran a piece on it.

@Y2KGTP: Why would you want an add-on player. Unless the player was built in to the system like the ps3, standalone players are usually much better.

@impreza: 1 word: money. couple of hundred million bucks for Warner to switch over to Blu-Ray. Much in the same way HD-DVD paid $120million to Paramount to stay exclusive. In the end, Sony had deeper pockets.

@Y2KGTP: Ditto.

That puppy could skate a murder rap with that face.

I think this is all they can muster since anything more would cause a libel suit.

Companies are sue-happy.

@Y2KGTP:
When hell freezes over or when pigs fly.
Well, you catch my drift...

@Darrone: I did like the picture till I realized you can identify the little guy's sex by looking too closely.

@impreza:

clondike7 really nailed it. They paid off some studios with millions of dollars. That's how they won.

Building blu-ray into the PS3 was the key. If M$ had built HD DVD into the 360 (it came out too early of course, but hypothetically) this would have been a much tougher fight.

Seriously though, as per an earlier article, now that this is all over can toshiba *please* license the HD DVD trademark to sony so we don't have to spend the next 10 years buying discs with a name that totally doesn't describe anything about them? ugh. seriously, blu-ray? wtf were they even thinking.

@dead_red_eyes:
You do realise that the hd-dvd camp was no less subtle in their actions to promote their technology? Sony simply outbid them.

@dead_red_eyes: That's how the world works. Same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

@hanswurst0815: I'm pretty sure that's the tail, not the weenie.

i kinda feel sorry for HD-DVD, makes me want to get one of their useless players...

i think the reason Blu-Ray has won, is the name, just far far cooler isnt it?

@vertibraker:

What is your reasoning on this? There's no technical reason an add-on drive has to be of lesser quality.

The HD-DVD / Blu-Ray format war makes the PC vs. Mac and Boeing vs. Airbus battles seem like a Japanese Tea Ceremony

Name wise, the distinction between Blu-ray and DVD is much clearer than HD-DVD to DVD. Especially older people, and the ignorant, will have more trouble keeping hd-dvd and regular dvd's apart.

My attempt at sarcastic humor has ended in fail, of epic proportions.

If we really are forced to live with blu-ray, my only hope is that they improve read/load times. It reminds me of 1x CD-ROMs. le-sigh.

@oldmanstan: blu-ray does'nt describe the format at all? Hmm, I wonder why it uses a blue ray laser to read the disc? You truly are a dumbshit.

@Franklin Comes Alive!: Are you actually serious? The HD-DVD player for the 360 was bad. Do you actually expect them to put more effort with a blu-ray add on? Would you actually buy everything external for your own personal computer? Please think about the answer before you actually ask something.

@oldmanstan: You mean like the Ford Taurus (is it a sedan, is it a bull?) or the Walk-man (is it a man that you walk?) or a....well you may or may not get the drift.

Perhaps we should follow your lead and name all future products like this:

Ford 4 door sedan 2008 V6 with sport trim.

@Chameleon8474: Blu-ray has nothing to do with the format! nothing on that disc has a blue ray. The player has a blue ray laser, but that really doesn't say anything to a consumer. Every physical media has some hint at what the media is (tape, compact disc, record, HD dvd), but blu ray doesnt tell me jack, unless i ask what its read with, and THEN follow that up with, what the hell is a blue laser and why does that matter? What color are my lasers now? Can i just put a little food dye on there and make it blue? Why are you walking away from me?

@Franklin Comes Alive!: The reason is not the drive itself, but the 360 hardware. It was ranked one of the lowest in HD video quality when compared to the other stand alone HD-DVD players.

The same is the case with the 360's ability to function as an up-converting dvd player. The quality of the image pales in comparison to stand-alone dvd players (and, sadly, the PS3). These of course are done with professional image tests. The PS3 seems now to have been primarily a push for this format, as it handles blu-ray beautifully. Microsoft didnt care that much with movie playback, so thats the quality of the image didnt get the attention that Sony put into theirs. They still have games, though, and an online system unlike any other.

Microsoft might release a blu-ray player, but i find it highly unlikely at this point. They would have to add the capability to handle Java in their system, and something tells me they wont do that.

At least they can still sell VC-1 authoring software to studios for blu-ray recodes.

Those of you who endlessly cry "payout" are idiots. HD DVD hasn't won ANYWHERE in the entire WORLD. Stop your whining. You lost, get over it.

@Nathan Drake:
@innout3x3:

Both of you are telling me something that I already know. Why are you doing this?

@Darrone: What does it matter??

Sony could have called it shitdiscs, and if it was the only high def movie format around, people would ask for shitdiscs of 300.

Its that simple.

@tutelary:

Idiots? We were merely pointing out the fact that studios were paid to stay exclusive with one format, something that almost every one of us at Giz knows. How in the fuck does that make us HD-DVD fanboys? How about stop your stupid trolling?

I think Amazon should reduce their entire HD-DVD offering to $4.99 esh. I will buy them all.

@Kendra: Is that a nice way of saying they're pussies?

@dead_red_eyes:
It seemed you had forgotten how everything during this format war went down, so we're just reminding you.

@ferment78:

So you didn't like the HD-DVD player for the 360, therefore all possible add-on drives for any system are bad? Nice logic.

@ferment78:

Sorry, meant to respond to this post: @vertibraker

@ferment78: Sarcasm detected, and agreed. If the best thing about HD-DVD is its name (which in the comparison here, is arguably true), then its no wonder it lost.

Here is what I don't get about all the people who claim that Blu-Ray is confusing because it does not contain "DVD" in the name. They didn't call DVD players "Digital-VHS" but people still understood the concept (although D-VHS did eventually come out and some people predicted it spelled doom for DVDs based on name alone . . . sound familiar?) Blu-Ray requires a completely different player, so distinguishing the name only enhances this material difference.

With regard to the people who think they need to buy a new "Blu-Ray TV", did these people also think they needed to replace their stereo receivers in order to add a CD component (although the Blu-Ray issue is closer to reality, because as Jesus said earlier, why get a Blu-Ray player if you don't have an HDTV).

Regardless, I don't fault the consumer for being confused, but I think it's too early to criticize the format based on the confusion. The public will adapt, within four months everyone will know what Blu-Ray is and a new generation of kids will be born thinking DVDs are things you read about in history class.

Let's be fair and remember HD-DVD large payout for Transformers exclusivity

@dead_red_eyes: I'm pretty sure I recall that the HD-DVD coalition also make payment deals. Those deals, however, are likely contingent on the format taking hold, and now that it is not, the last studios (i.e., those that were paid) can (or are close to being able to) defect without breaching contract

@Franklin Comes Alive!: Didn't you read. Are you actually saying an add-on is just as good as a stand alone player? Come on. I really didnt think you were serious about that question. You must really like your add on tv tuner over an actual tv. Or how about your external dvd drives that attaches to your laptop. Go add some training wheels while you are at it.

Instead of the sad puppy pics for HD-DVD stories, can you start using a pic of Glass Joe from Punch Out?

You know, that final animation of him where, after taking suitable punishment, he is just standing there with his jaw going up and down waiting for that knock-out punch.

@dea136: Perhaps it was all that Transformers hype that killed HD-DVD. They should have done Office Space instead. Imagine the fax/copy machine smash scene in glorious HD!!

Now that everyone is stepping on HD-DVD broken back, Microsoft could work on putting an internal Blu-ray drive and also make sure the next xbox doesn't explode

@ferment78: It seems to be the only HD-DVD that sells...i wonder if they feel their 'investment' paid off...

@dea136: That's a good one.

@vertibraker: "Add on tuner" Yeah.. It's called a cable box or satellite receiver. Sorry. I was just pointing out the bad use of analogy.

@Husar: wait about 6 months and you'll get your wish.

I saw somewhere that MS would go to blu-ray for the 360 if the market dictated, but they are investing a lot into HD DVD, so who knows.

What a cute widdle puppy!
"Hey there little guy"
"Whoa, you aint so little...Why are you looking at my leg like that?!?"

@ripfire4: Im surprised you didnt catch the sarcasm of my comments. I was referring to the Pinnacle add on tv tuner for laptops. But you proved my point exactly. You prefer the stand alone