Microsoft stands behind HD DVD for Xbox 360
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Microsoft told BetaNews that it will continue to push its HD DVD drive for the Xbox 360, but did not rule out shipping a Blu-ray drive as well.
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Despite rumors to the contrary, Microsoft did not unveil an Xbox console with HD DVD capabilities built-in at CES, and has no plans to do so in the future, according to an executive in Microsoft's entertainment business.
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TOKYO -- Microsoft Corp. is introducing an external high-definition DVD player for the Xbox 360 video game console to match the Blu-ray disc functions of Sony Corp.'s upcoming PlayStation 3. The software maker also said yesterday that it will launch the Xbox 360 in India this week and in Africa next week.
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Microsoft shrugged off HD DVD's demise on Tuesday, declining to say if or when it would support Blu-ray Disc for the Xbox.
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With the news early Tuesday that Toshiba is ending the next generation optical disc war by pulling the plug on HD DVD, the manufacturer said it has no plans to support or manufacture Blu-ray players. Likewise, Microsoft said it has no plans to announce.
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Two California residents have filed a lawsuit against Microsoft over claims that its Xbox 360 game console scratches video game discs. It's the second such suit in recent weeks.
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And Peter Jackson planning more Halo games Microsoft will ship the eagerly awaited external HD DVD drive for its Xbox 360 console into the US mid-November, the software giant has announced. The drive will set console owners back $200 and bundle the 2005 King Kong remake.â¦
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft said Wednesday it will replace discs of its Halo 3 Xbox 360 game that were already scratched when users purchased them. On its Xbox 360 Web site, Microsoft said an Xbox Disc Replacement Program will replace Halo 3 Limited Edition Game Discs and Essentials Discs at no charge through Feb. 1, 2008, but only for Xbox 360 console owners in countries where Xbox is sold at authorized retail locations. Microsoft released the highly anticipated Halo 3 Xbox 360 game on Tuesday at midnight, but some users found that their game discs were already scratched upon purchase. Some attributed the scratches to the company's packaging of the discs, which did not keep them in place. Users did not report any performance issues with the scratched discs. To get a new disc to replace one that was scratched, people who purchased Halo 3 and meet the program requirements can fill out and print a program form and send it to Microsoft. They should receive a replacement disc in about two weeks, according to the Web site. Halo 3 is the latest installment in the critically praised and enormously popular first-person shooter series developed by Bungie Studios. Microsoft said it had more than 1 million preorders of Halo 3 before its release this week, and fans lined up Monday outside of a New York Best Buy retail outlet for the game's launch hours before the game went on sale.
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Toshiba&#39;s announcement to end production of HD DVD players and recorders will not affect the Xbox 360, even though Microsoft offers an optional stand-alone HD DVD drive for the game console, Microsoft said in a statement Tuesday.&quot;We do not believe&#160;Toshiba&#39;s announcement about HD DVD&#160;will have any material impact on the Xbox 360 platform or our position in the marketplace,&quot; Microsoft said. The gaming function of the console is its main attraction, the company added.The company&#160;did not say whether or not it will stop manufacturing the HD DVD drive&#160;for the Xbox 360.Earlier Tuesday, Toshiba formally announced an end to its support of HD DVD, a high-definition optical disc format meant to replace DVDs. Toshiba was the developer and main backer of HD DVD, and its capitulation handed victory to rival format Blu-ray Disc, which has been championed by Sony.Toshiba said its decision came after careful analysis of the long-term impact of continuing the format war, and said a swift decision was called for to help the high-definition market develop.For game consoles, high-definition discs are growing in importance. Sony put Blu-ray Disc drives in the PlayStation 3 as a way to spread popularity of the high-definition discs. PlayStation 3 owners can play HD movies on the drives as well as advanced games. Blu-ray discs can hold far more data than conventional DVDs, and give players high definition graphics on games.At a recent game show in Taipei, Sony showed off a display of over 100 game titles created using Blu-ray Disc. A nearby Xbox 360 booth displayed the HD DVD logo and showed movies and just a few games made for the format.Recent&#160;changes in the market prompted Toshiba&#39;s decision&#160;to phase out HD DVD. Early this year, Warner Bros. said it would stop issuing movies on HD DVD in the coming months and rely exclusively on Blu-ray Disc. The Hollywood studio was one of three major studios remaining in the HD DVD camp, and its defection created widespread belief that the battle between HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc was now over.More recently, major U.S. retail chain Wal-Mart announced it would phase out the sale of HD DVD products, moving to exclusivity with Blu-ray Disc. Electronics retailer Best Buy also said it would back Blu-ray Disc, but it did not say it would stop offering HD DVD.&#160;
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Microsoft Corp. said on  Wednesday it would launch an HD DVD player for its Xbox 360  game console on November 22 in Japan for 20,790 yen ($177),  matching rival Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 in high-definition  DVD functions.
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Microsoft Corp  is offering to replace damaged discs of its just-launched "Halo 3" game for the Xbox amid reports that special limited-edition packaging is scratching them.
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Microsoft refuses to comment on alleged addition of heatsinks to repaired Xbox 360 units in Europe and other hardware flaws.
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Microsoft won't say if it will support Blu-ray for the Xbox; continues selling HD DVD external add-on.
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By Martyn Williams, IDG News Service and Paul Kallender, IDG News Service. The group supporting the HD-DVD optical disc format for high-definition video has received a boost in its battle against the rival
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To the HD disc format what IE is to the web? Microsoft yesterday launched software that emulates on a PC HD DVDs played on its Xbox 360 add-in drive. It's a move that could give the software giant de facto control of the next-gen optical disc format.â¦
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Microsoft Corp does not expect sales of its Xbox 360 game console to suffer if Toshiba Corp discontinues HD DVD technology, Microsoft said in a statement on Monday.
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Toshiba Corp (6502.T) said on Sunday  its HD DVD high-definition video format is not dead despite  being dealt a big setback by Warner Bros studio's decision to  exclusively back Sony Corp's (6758.T) rival Blu-ray technology.