MLB 2K8 too Big for DVD9

[swivel]

My latest GameInformer had a review on MLB 2K8 and I was interested to read that the 360 version would not fit on the entire disc. To remedy this, the team has taken off some of the extras, like bonus stadiums and unlockable teams and players, and made them a free download via MS Live. So, anyone who wants them can have them installed to their hard drive (assuming you have a hard drive).

I can't help but think that Microsoft should have put an HD-DVD drive in their system. Not just to win a format war that would have brought them billions in HDi licensing, but for the extra capacity that 1080 games need, and to have a Next-Gen console that was built for Hi-Def from the ground up. (HDMI, 1080p, etc...)

Thoughts, Morbid?

[Mr_Vindictive]

I've said since the beginning that Microsoft should have put the HD-DVD drives in the consoles at launch instead of selling a sub-par add-on drive. I feel that Microsoft wanted to keep the costs down on the console and just decided to go with a standard DVD drive. At first it seemed like Microsoft was right in doing so as they were selling consoles like crazy. Now though, we are seeing that the console is not quite future proof.

Call me crazy, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a 360 with a built in Blu-Ray player in the next few years. As Blu-Ray has become the industry standard for HD media, Microsoft will have to adapt.

[swivel]

Call me crazy, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a 360 with a built in Blu-Ray player in the next few years. As Blu-Ray has become the industry standard for HD media, Microsoft will have to adapt.

There have already been rumors of a 360 with a built-in Blu-Ray, but I think it is just as likely that they will release their next console Christmas of 2010. Which just doesn't make any sense. You lose money on the hardware at the beginning, and make it up at the end. And the games just keep improving as developers get more time with the hardware. The PS2 keeps selling 200,000+ a month, and they are very profitable at $99.

I think the original XBox could have had a form-factor change after the 360 came out, a price drop to $100, and they could be making money hand-over-fist. The problem lies in their root as a software company. Look at how software companies operate. They have to keep releasing revisions to their programs, and make money off the upgrades. That is NOT the sort of console I want to own. Where you pay extra for the HD, extra for the wireless adapter, extra for the online gameplay, extra for an avatar, etc... The console should be a delivery mechanism for other peoples software, and you make money off of the licensing (and eventually, the hardware). Microsoft just doesn't understand this model. Hell, Sony doesn't even have the system mastered. For the real genius in the group, look at Nintendo. Their hardware is profitable from day one, they make sure that THEIR software is the only kind that sales, and they cater to as many people as possible, instead of doing anything better than anyone else.