XBox 360 HD-DVD versions and add-ons

I have mentioned here and on my other sites over the last year that the XBox 360 is to get a HD-DVD drive…

Well it seems that Bill Gates, speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas 2006, has announced that an HD-DVD drive will be released later this year. Apparently it is to be an external peripheral but I'd bet my last shirt that at the same time they will release an premium 'Xbox 360HD' model with an high HD-DVD as standard to compete with Sony's upcoming Blu-Ray equipped PlayStation 3. I'd also give good odds that NEC get the deal to supply the units.

Given that some of the games are written to look their absolute best on a high definition television, plus SKY's first airing on HD shows in June, plus the film studios plans to replace DVD with backwards compatible HD-DVD's, well…

I can't see if happening for games, not for a few years at least, but it's a no-brainer for the XBox to double as a HD player until the market it ready for such games. Certainly the EA and the other studios are drooling over the idea of the graphic eye candy a 25Gb game can offer.

Personally I've watched games move from tape cassettes to 5¼" floppies to 3½", through CD-ROM to the first DVD-ROM games. Out of interest, the first DVD-ROM only game was a rather addictive platform game called 'Claw' and featured as a bundle with early Creative Labs DVD's. True, even now most (PC) games are supplied on a couple of CD-ROM's, though this is finally starting to change, but it can only be a matter of time before the first HD-DVD only must-have appears. I need to catch up with my game trade journals, but I have a sneaking suspicion one of Microsoft's own studios will announce just such a game to coincide with the release and furthermore I believe both will be formally announced and previewed at E3 this June.

If you want to know more about HD televisions and players, I've started an informational site about them here: HDTV Choices Explained. Generally speaking the next few years will see everything go digital, but there's a whole nest of options. I'll be explaining what you need to look for, and why.