During his Tokyo Game Show keynote speech, Microsoft’s Peter Moore announced that the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player will hit Japanese retail on 17 November. This is the first firm release date mentioned for the hugely anticipated HD movie playback device, and the estimated ¥19,800 retail price is our first official sighting of cost. In Japan the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player also comes packaged with an Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote.
Although this is very exciting news today, we must wait for Microsoft to announce similar details for countries other than Japan. Meanwhile, Microsoft has confirmed that there are no plans to release an Xbox 360 with an internal HD DVD – instead the device should be welcomed as an optional stylish upgrade. If you want to watch HD DVD movies in addition to playing the world’s most incredible games, that’s your call.
The launch of the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player in Japan also coincides with the addition of 1080p resolution support as part of the autumn software update. This free update enables games and movies to be viewed in high-definition 1080p. Future Xbox 360 games can now be developed to take advantage of 1080p, but this will be a creative decision left to the teams responsible. In terms of movie playback, the fall update also allows standard DVD playback to be up-scaled for 1080p.
We think both announcements show how Xbox 360 offers a constantly evolving entertainment experience, at the bleeding edge of high-definition breakthroughs. In fact, we’re honestly feeling quite smug about it.
