Shock Japanese report: Xbox 360 to ship with HD DVD in 2006?
Dec 14, 2005 @ 11:19 pm
Filed under News · 
Deutsch
A report from respected Japanese news source Mainichi Interactive claiming that the Xbox 360 will include an HD DVD drive in 2006 has outraged Japanese gamers.
Japanese gamer Takatoshi Yokoo is not impressed.
Japanese Xbox forums have been swamped with comments from Xbox 360 buyers claiming they’ve been duped, and that Microsoft’s announcement of HD DVD’s inclusion just five days after the console’s Japanese release essentially amounts to fraud.
A full translation of the Mainichi Interactive article is given below:
Xbox 360: next-generation HD DVD enabled model to be released
On the 14th [of December], Microsoft US has decided to release the Xbox 360 with a HD DVD (HD) drive. The Xbox 360 was released in Japan on the 10th [of December]. Rival Sony will include a Blu-ray drive in its Playstation 3 (PS3) console to be released next spring, making it likely that a next-generation DVD format war will take place in the game console industry.
Currently, the [Xbox] 360 employs a standard DVD drive. However, in order to compete with the PS3 and run higher quality game software with larger capacity, a next-generation DVD drive is deemed essential [by Microsoft]. Microsoft will employ the HD standard [in the Xbox 360], for which it has already announced its support.
According to Enterbrain publishers (headquartered in Tokyo), the [Xbox] 360 sold 62,135 units in the two days after its release: a figure [even] lower than the soundly-defeated original Xbox, which sold 120,000 units. It [the Xbox 360's low sales figures] appears to have been caused by popular [game] software releases being delayed until the end of the year [2005].
Original article by Takako Taniguchi, Mainichi Newspaper 15 December 2005 – 3.00AM
Translation by Takatoshi Yokoo and Nicole Stiles, Xb360Info.com staff
Source: Mainichi Interactive
Microsoft has now issued a denial of the information contained in the Mainichi Interactive report.
Related:
- Xbox 360 games will never be released on HD DVD: Maruyama
- Will the Xbox 360 ship with an HD DVD drive?
This “announcement” from Microsoft seems scarcely credible: just days after releasing the Xbox 360 in its toughest market, Microsoft then blithely breaks the news that future versions of the console will include next-generation DVD support.
Indeed, Japanese Xbox forums are now awash with posters claiming they’ve been duped, and accusing Microsoft of actions tantamount to fraud. Many Japanese gamers have now concluded that Microsoft isn’t concerned with looking after its staunch Xbox supporters, and have lost faith in the software giant.
This has all the makings of a public relations nightmare for Microsoft. In the competitive and brand-loyal Japanese market, a company’s perceived integrity is crucial to its success – much more so than in the Western world. Losing the trust of the Japanese over the inclusion of HD DVD in the next-gen console would be a nail in the coffin of the Xbox 360.
Microsoft must act fast to avoid having its reputation destroyed in Japan, regardless of whether the reports of HD DVD’s inclusion are true or not. Expect an official comment from Microsoft very soon.
By Nicole Stiles, Xb360Info.com writer
Dec 15, 2005 @ 9:04 pm
Y-JA Said,
I think there is a big cultural difference between Japan and US. Japanese Xbox forums are in a whirl at the moment and US people seems not to care ab [...] more
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