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Are you one of the unfortunates stuck with a now useless HD-DVD player? Did you purchase it at Best Buy before February 23rd? If you answered yes to both of these questions, you can return that old door stop to Best Buy and get a $50 gift card in return. According to CNN it is estimated that upwards of $10 million in US Gift cards. HD-DVD owners will be found through Best Buy's Reward Zone program, service plans and online orders. The gift cards will automatically be mailed out to qualifying folks at the beginning of may. If you are not a Reward Zone member you can bring in your BB receipt or credit card info. They will also be offering an online trade-in center where customers can unload their unwanted players beginning March 21. More »
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In light of yesterday's announcement that Warner Bros. will be going exclusively Blu-Ray, the HD DVD Promotion Group has canceled it's press conference for this year's CES. The news came in an email sent around to CES attendees yesterday. More »
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The HD DVD/Blu-ray format war is getting ugly on the business side of things, but what does the average consumer really think? After taking a look at the battle scenes, CNET UK seems to think that perhaps neither format will win since both have been successful at covering different spaces in the marketing sphere. Playstation might be backing up Blu-ray big time, but it doesn't mean that HD-DVD hasn't outperformed on other systems: More »
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Listen to this: Sony exec says discs still have some gas left. Good! Because last we heard, company brass said we wouldn't be using them for our PS4s, but w/e. Sony UK's Ray Maguire says there are "many" years left for the format as games get bigger in size. Maguire enlightens: More »
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You say Blu-Ray? I say HD-DVD. Peter Moore says, in a few years let's call the whole thing off. Not exactly, but the Microsoft exec did talk about the eventual laughability of disc distribution in an article at GameSpot. Moore said, "Let's be fair. Whether it's five, 10, 15, 20 years from now, the concept of driving to the store to buy a plastic disc with data on it and driving back and popping it in the drive will be ridiculous. We'll tell our grandchildren that and they'll laugh at us." Maybe the format wars aren't such a big deal after all (well in five, 10, 15 or 20 years maybe they won't be)? More »
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Call it one step ahead or a little bit of damage control, I don't care. But Xbox Circle reports that Peter Moore said he could see a Blu-ray external player for the Xbox 360 if Blu-ray ends up winning the "format wars." These are format wars that I don't even think should be happening, but Microsoft is already building a bunker in case things go bad. Smart on the company's part, by readying an HD-DVD drive and being prepared to ready a Blu-ray player, Microsoft is either thinking ahead or preparing to try to cut Sony off at every possible corner. This could get dirty, like catfight, squealing, mudwrestling dirty. I'm into it. More »
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Almost everyone who follows gaming knows that Sony's PlayStation 3 will support Blu-ray and Microsoft announced plans to release an HD-DVD drive for the Xbox 360 at last week's CES. The New York Times has an article that does more than hint that the future of the next-generation DVD format might rest in the hands of gamers. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=147545&view=rss&microfeed=true Hella sites, including Games Industry report that Hewlett Packard one-time exclusive supporter of Blu-Ray has decided to also support HD-DVD as the next generation of disc format draws near. HP general manager Maureen Webber had this to say: "By joining the HD-DVD Promotions Group and continuing work with the Blu-Ray Disc Association, HP will be in a better position to assess true development costs and, ultimately, provide the best and most affordable solution for consumers." More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=143943&view=rss&microfeed=true Gamespot had it as a rumor they said was probably true, and Games Industry is reporting it as fact, but was Xbox Japan's chief Yoshihiro Maruyama right when he told Famitsu Xbox that the HD-DVD drive in the Xbox 360 wouldn't be used for gaming? More and more it's looking true. I guess this Blu-Ray versus HD-DVD stuff is more about watching movies than playing games. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=134432&view=rss&microfeed=true Microsoft and Intel have announced decisions to support HD-DVD as their next-generation DVD format. With Sony announcing their support for Blu-Ray, and Microsoft and Intel's previous neutrality, there was a glimmer of hope that an agreement could've been reached that would put HD-DVD and Blu Ray discs beside one another. More »
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