Xbox 360 to Support 1080p

[Morfiend]

Is that a Sony exec crying I hear? I think so.

Xbox360 is very quickly winning the war on Sony, who hasnt even released the PS3 yet. Just one more reason why I dont need to buy a PS3. Add the fact that Assassins Creed is going to be released for both systems now. I am very glad I got a Xbox 360.

Click me to learn more.

A press release from start of TGS states that a software update this year will enable 1080p output on your Xbox 360!

You will finally be able to experience all 60 frames per second of visuals that your 1080p HDTV can provide. Unfortunately there has been no HDMI cable yet announced so this is only over component and VGA. Even better, users can expect 1080p upscaling immediately on current games and DVDs while native 1080p on compatible HD DVD titles.

We were under the impression that HD-DVD had a 1080i limit on it's out put, but I guess we will have to wait while more information unfolds. Microsoft has yet to announce if any new game titles will be produced in 1080p natively, but we thinks that is inevitable. Too bad I just bought a new HDTV with 1080i.

The real questions is, what edge does Sony now have since MS can also produce 1080p? Kinda takes away their thunder yet again. Poor Sony.

[Yegolev]

Meh, if I was going to buy a PS3 it would be for the software library.  My TV will only do 1080i anyway.  STILL... yes, one more foot in Sony's balls.

I am going to guess you would need the optional HD-DVD drive for these games?

I was just thinking last night that almost every console game I am playing is PS2-only.  It really is the assiest-looking console, but it's the software that keeps it booting up.

[HaemishM]

The X-Box HD-DVD drive isn't going to be used for games, only movies, at least according to the last thing I heard about that subject.

[Sky]

There will be as many 1080p for 360 as there are 720p for Xbox. Like three. Just there to try and blacken Sony's eye.

Totally seperate issue from the HD-DVD player, which will just be for movies. 360 will be disc swapping before you know it :)

Both consoles look good to me, but when I consider the games on my wishlist... Gothic 3, BF 2142, Spore...

[Yegolev]

360 will be disc swapping before you know it :)

I have a couple multi-DVD games on my shelf now, so I'm kinda surprised one doesn't exist for the 360 already.  Then again, they are RPGs, so maybe I should not be surprised.

[schild]

The 1080p thing was probably to lay some smack down with Halo 3. Though I'd prefer it be launched for use with Viva Pinata.

[Fabricated]

Xbox360 is very quickly winning the war on Sony, and they havent even released the PS3 yet.

A nickel to the person who gets why this sentence is retarded.

[schild]

Xbox360 is very quickly winning the war on Sony, and they havent even released the PS3 yet.

A nickel to the person who gets why this sentence is retarded.

MISSING AN APOSTROPHE. ALSO KNOWN AS THE Y CHROMOSOME OF ANY SENTENCE.

[Morfiend]

I am going to guess you would need the optional HD-DVD drive for these games?

They said it is purely software.

[Morfiend]

Xbox360 is very quickly winning the war on Sony, who hasnt even released the PS3 yet.

Better?

[Trippy]

I am going to guess you would need the optional HD-DVD drive for these games?

The HD-DVD drive is for movies only.

[Velorath]

There will be as many 1080p for 360 as there are 720p for Xbox. Like three. Just there to try and blacken Sony's eye.

From what I've seen so far there aren't going to be a lot of 1080p games on the PS3 either.

[Margalis]

Xbox360 is very quickly winning the war on Sony, who hasnt even released the PS3 yet.

Better?

Sony isn't a who. War on should be with. And Xbox360 should not compare to Sony, one is a product and the other a company.

How about:

Microsoft is very quickly winning the war with Sony which hasn't even released the PS3 yet.

[Lt.Dan]

Microsoft is very quickly winning the war with Sony which hasn't even released the PS3 yet.

Microsoft is very quickly winning the war with Sony, which hasn't even released the PS3 yet.

Subjunctive clause?

[Margalis]

I've never been good with commas.

[Ironwood]

There are Grammar Snakes on this Plane.

Jesus, this is just a board guys.  Calm down.

[Miasma]

I think Fabricated meant that it's silly to say one system is outselling the other when one can't be purchased yet, I don't think it had anything to do with grammar.  If so I want my nickel.

[Riggswolfe]

I suspect Miasma is right about Fabricated's statement. However, I also think Fabricated was wrong. Microsoft is winning the war. If nothing else, perception is quickly turning against Sony and they are now facing an uphill battle when they do get around to releasing their console.

[Lt.Dan]

I've never been good with commas.

Me neither.  You'd done such a good job with the rest I assumed you knew what you were doing :)

But yeah, XBox360 is winning and Sony are not.

[Venkman]

I suspect Miasma is right about Fabricated's statement. However, I also think Fabricated was wrong. Microsoft is winning the war. If nothing else, perception is quickly turning against Sony and they are now facing an uphill battle when they do get around to releasing their console.

Sony tied too many things into the core hardware, and have been so slow to announce their plans for anything they end up looking like me-too followers.

Most importantly, this generation is not about horsepower. It's not even just about games. It's about the service (Xbox Live Arcade, Nintendo/Sony Virtual Console/long tail) and interface (media formats, Wii's controller). Sony appears to be the least innovative in what has become the more important comparisons: They were the last to announce a virtual console. They strapped in some sort of accelerator/tilt device into the Dual Shock controller. They stuck to their guns on Blu Ray too much when very few people care after this media war just yet. And it's nice to push the envelope on HD, but most people in their largest market (US) don't have em yet. Finally, that price point. It's too high. There's no arguing that really, and worse part is, some analysts think they need to hit $750 to break even.

My bet is on Nintendo. They'll come from left field and grow the base of console users while Sony and MS cannabalize eachother in some areas, and MS pulls out ahead on the draw-the-wife/Mom-in-through-casual-games XBLA. And that's not being sexist. Casual online games are dominated by 35+ women players.

[schild]

Wouldn't put my money on Nintendo.

People are afraid of competing with Nintendo. And on a Nintendo, Nintendo is your biggest competitor. I'll stick with the 360. The Wii is going to be VERY STRONG out of the gates, but I've heard too many inside reports about that goddamn controller being a tiring non-precise pain in the  ass.

[NiX]

I'll wait on the whole controller sensitivity thing. A lot of reports say if you're too close to the sensor the controller can be touchy as hell. The only thing that worries me is that, much like the DS, developers are going to be forced to cram the Wiimotes use into every game they develop. There are a lot of games that would be fine on the Wii using the normal controls. Here's hoping.

[Tannhauser]

I'll stick to my 360.  Gears of War and Halo 3 coming out (and Mass Effect Woo!) and good games already released like Oblivion show that it's the champ. 

PS3 will do well, but I think it will come up slightly short of the 360.  Japan will eat it up of course.

All the games I care about are coming out on the 360. 

Now to get the HD-DVD...

[Cyrrex]

Clearly this is a good thing good thing for the 360, but am I wrong to believe that this is really more of an upscaling of the resolution rather than a TRUE 1080p?  If so, then this is nothing at all like what the PS3's Blu-Ray is going to do...it would be analogous to a plain vanilla upscaled DVD player versus a true HD-DVD.  It simply isn't the same thing.  Only a couple of months ago they did something similar with the 360, where a patch made it into an upscaled DVD player as well...a nice difference, but nothing major.

After all, they aren't actually going to start requiring the software to conform to 1080p (unlike how they DO require 720p) are they?

Also:  Very few people own televisions capable of displaying 1080p.

Someone please correct me if I got any of the above wrong.  I'm actually a little surprised that no one mentioned that they now have a release date in Japan for the HD-DVD add-on...something like the 17th of November at a price around £89.  That is far more interesting news to me.

[schild]

When you plug the VGA cable into the 360, you can pick exact resolutions from 640x480 all the way up to 1080i (1920x1080). Upscaling from 1080i to 1080p is nothing compared to 480p to 720p and 1080p. The difference will be nearly marginal.

As such, this is a big win for Microsoft. Now, here's the other kick to the jimmy.

The shitty version of the PS3 with the 20gig hard drive just dropped $100 (depending on what source you read, some said 75, some said like ~80, others said 100) and had HDMI added, so the big huff and puff about the systems is gone. You'll be able to drop $400-450 at PS3 launch and get a PS3 with HDMI (just with a small hard drive, woopty fucking doo).

Basically, I've no excuse on avoiding the PS3 now.

[Big Gulp]

Basically, I've no excuse on avoiding the PS3 now.

Except that it doesn't really look like it's got any games (or any worth owning at any rate) that the 360 doesn't have, so why plunk down $450 when you've already got your bases covered?

[Miasma]

Wouldn't put my money on Nintendo.

People are afraid of competing with Nintendo. And on a Nintendo, Nintendo is your biggest competitor. I'll stick with the 360. The Wii is going to be VERY STRONG out of the gates, but I've heard too many inside reports about that goddamn controller being a tiring non-precise pain in the  ass.

I also think the controller could wreck everything if it is frustrating to use.  If this thing winds up being a barrier to playing games the reviews and word of mouth will bring their initially good sales to a screeching halt.  I have flashbacks of trying to use lightguns and being pissed off when it wouldn't work one in five times.  I've pre-ordered the Wii, Zelda and the new Dragon Quest.  If I get to a point in Zelda where I can't jump to a ledge or beat a boss because of the controller I'll probably never buy another Wii game again.  I will also become fervently anti-Nintendo and try to convert people.

[Yegolev]

I am kinda worried about the Wiimote too, despite my raging man-love for Miyamoto and Nintendo in general.  The reason is more or less the same as Schild's: I'm afraid I'll be worn out after two or three hours of hard gaming.  I already get hand-cramps playing other games, though, so maybe I'm just being a pussy and the excercise will do me some good.  However, I'm mentally prepared for the Wii to completely be a "casual" game machine, something more suited to Mario Party than a "real" game.  I'm fine with that, and I'm actually excited about the Weather Channel and Memo Board on Wii... but, you know, I'm fast becoming an old fart I guess.  Getting excited about naptime, too.

I have given this advice to various people about various things, Wii included: you are not their target audience.  In this case, Nintendo is going for the people who might play Brain Age for twenty minutes, not someone who might play an entire game in the span of a weekend.  I'm actually considering a PS3 for my hardcore needs, depending on if there is a price-cut in my region, but really it seems the 360 has the upper hand here.

[murdoc]

For me, the Wii is a going to be pretty much a strictly multiplayer game machine. Drunken Mario Party is already fun, drunken Mario Party with wiimote sounds like a blast. If it's got a good multiplayer, I'll consider it.

I don't see me standing in my basement, pretending to throw a ball in Madden 07 or waving my arms around to shoot and slice something in Zelda. I play my console when I want to relax on a couch. If I want/need exercise, I'll go outside.

[Trippy]

When you plug the VGA cable into the 360, you can pick exact resolutions from 640x480 all the way up to 1080i (1920x1080). Upscaling from 1080i to 1080p is nothing compared to 480p to 720p and 1080p. The difference will be nearly marginal.

Deinterlacing video is a harder problem than upscaling video.

[HaemishM]

Have they confirmed that price drop for the US core system of the PS3? All I'm seeing is Japanese price drops to comparable to $425 with the HDMI added worldwide.

It's still too expensive, just like the 360, IMO, but it's better. I still think that Sony will be losing their ass on each console sale.

[Yegolev]

Have they confirmed that price drop for the US core system of the PS3?

Not based on my site-skimming.  Japan-only.

[Morfiend]

but am I wrong to believe that this is really more of an upscaling of the resolution rather than a TRUE 1080p?  If so, then this is nothing at all like what the PS3's Blu-Ray is going to do.

As far as I can tell, no its not ture 1080p, it will be upscaled. But, IMO this is more of Sony saying "Well, yes ours is more expensive, but LOOK ours does 1080p" and this is Microsoft saying "We can do 1080p too, and we are cheaper".

My TV does support 1080p, so when they implement this, ill let you all know if I can tell any difference. I think Hat has the same TV I do, so maybe he can report on it also. Then again, Im not sure if Hat has a 360.

[MrHat]

No 360.  No PS3.  No Wii.

MrHat is a sad sad man.

A sad man with a 60" SXRD.

Edit:  If the low end PS3 has HDMI capability, doesn't it cost less @ $499 than the 360 with an HD DVD player add on?

[Trippy]

Edit:  If the low end PS3 has HDMI capability, doesn't it cost less @ $499 than the 360 with an HD DVD player add on?

Microsoft is pricing the HD-DVD drive at around $200 (only announced price so far is 19,800 Yen in Japan) so that means the Xbox 360 Core system plus HD-DVD drive will be about the same price as the low end PS3 except that the PS3 will have a 20 GB hard drive.