January 3, 2008

CES 2008 Rumor: Microsoft To Announce Partnership With Toshiba In Releasing HD DVD-Equipped XBox 360

Microsoft's Bill Gates has hinted that there'll be a Xbox 360-related announcement at CES 2008 on the heels of revelations that the Sony PSP will soon be integrated with online telephone service Skype. Reported by the Seattle Times writer Brian Dudley who speculates that the announcement could be a new Xbox 360 SKU with integrated HD DVD playback. Currently the Xbox 360 supports HD DVD, but only with a separately purchased HD DVD player. The rumor further goes on to include a possible partnership with Toshiba in developing a "digital video recorder with a hard-drive, high-definition HD-DVD drive and Xbox gaming capabilities".

The Xbox 360 is allied against the Blu-ray camp and Dudley also states that such a partnership could help the gaming console successfully penetrate the lucrative Japanese market. Further rumors from gadget mag Stuff include the possibility of an Xbox 360 Ultimate system to be released in August 2008 that would include "built-in wi-fi, hi-def audio output, 1080p HDMI support, cooler 65nm hardware architecture and a near-silent fan" putting it on par to compete with the functionality of the Playstation 3. Stuff says that the new Xbox 360 Ultimate will also include the built-in HD DVD drive and a huge 320 GB hard drive for storing content from the Microsoft's IPTV service which will apparently be finalized at CES 2008.

This doesn't really sound like an earth-shattering announcement as the Playstation 3 already includes the majority of these features, with the exception of a Blu-ray player replacing the HD DVD playback of the Xbox. The real earth-shattering announcement will probably the price Microsoft intends to charge for the new Ultimate Xbox.

Via CVG, Stuff