Taiwanese digital newspaper, Digitimes, claims the Xbox 360 HD-DVD addon released this Holiday will be sold for USD $200.00. Not confirmed by Microsoft yet...
The USD $200.00 price may not be confirmed, but it's not too far off from many market predictions on the cost of the drive. Compared to a competing external Blu-Ray drive which will be pushing USD $1,000 the deal is fairly good.
The Catch? The price is low because half the required components are part of an Xbox 360. However, given the cost of the core Xbox 360 (USD $299) + HD-DVD's predicted price (USD $200) you can build a fully functional HD-DVD player for USD $500.00.
Using froogle.google.com with search keywords "HD-DVD player" I found a few players for USD $166, but most players fell between USD $500.00 to USD $800.00. So an Xbox 360 system isn't too far off from that price with the added bonus of HD game playing!
This same search on froogle.google.com with search keywords "Blu-Ray player" turned up many entries which ranged from USD $999.99 to $3,495.00. So, even the PS3 will be the cheaper Blu-Ray solution and it can play games.
For those looking for high-definition DVDs but want to keep it under a grand: Wait for the Holidays because an Xbox 360 core system with an HD-DVD addon might be the easiest barrier into this market. Oh, and pickup Call of Duty 2 as well - it rocks.
Thanks to TANK for this information update
The USD $200.00 price may not be confirmed, but it's not too far off from many market predictions on the cost of the drive. Compared to a competing external Blu-Ray drive which will be pushing USD $1,000 the deal is fairly good.
The Catch? The price is low because half the required components are part of an Xbox 360. However, given the cost of the core Xbox 360 (USD $299) + HD-DVD's predicted price (USD $200) you can build a fully functional HD-DVD player for USD $500.00.
Using froogle.google.com with search keywords "HD-DVD player" I found a few players for USD $166, but most players fell between USD $500.00 to USD $800.00. So an Xbox 360 system isn't too far off from that price with the added bonus of HD game playing!
This same search on froogle.google.com with search keywords "Blu-Ray player" turned up many entries which ranged from USD $999.99 to $3,495.00. So, even the PS3 will be the cheaper Blu-Ray solution and it can play games.
For those looking for high-definition DVDs but want to keep it under a grand: Wait for the Holidays because an Xbox 360 core system with an HD-DVD addon might be the easiest barrier into this market. Oh, and pickup Call of Duty 2 as well - it rocks.
Thanks to TANK for this information update
