Xbox 360 HD DVD player set for November Japan launch

Stan Beer
Wednesday, 20 September 2006 19:23

Your IT - Home IT

Microsoft plans to release a plug-in HD DVD player for its Xbox 360 console before the end of  November in Japan for considerably less than US$200.

• Announcements

At just over US$177 at today's exchange rates, the HD DVD player will be by far the cheapest high definition video player on the market and, together with Xbox 360 console, has removed the last remaining advantage of the Blu-ray equipped Sony PlayStation 3.

The PS3 will only be available in limited quantities in November, while Xbox 360 will have 10 million units in the market by the time the long awaited Sony console comes on the market.

Japan, however has proven to be a weak spot for Xbox 360, a market which is a Sony consoles stronghold.

Thus, it is no accident that Microsoft is making a big push with its HD DVD player in Japan, in an effort to kick start its languishing Xbox 360 sales while Sony struggles to get PS3 into the market in sufficient numbers.