Xbox360 Blu-ray drive rumour fake

Microsoft executive Peter Moore has allegedly called Blu-ray "the most cutting edge technology out there" and announced that an external Blu-ray drive for the Xbox360 might hit shops before Christmas. This ridiculous rumour originates from a Hi-Fi forum and was propelled into the mainstream news by MaxConsole.

The thread - written by a user with a post count of one - includes an "article" to back up the outrageous claim. Its author is supposedly an Associated Press technology writer. However, the paragraphs are riddled with spelling mistakes and unclear, if not bad English.

The imposter also links to a number of articles which are all unrelated to the claim, other than a 1UP article dated October about Moore discussing the theoretical possibility of such a Blu-ray drive add-on in order "to adapt to whichever standard wins out in the end." Moore clearly reaffirms, though, that "HD-DVD is Microsoft's preferred DVD format."



It is so easy to spot a fake like this one. I am just extremely surprised that a site like MaxConsole would publish this crap, seemingly without the slightest cerebral activity wasted on checking the content.

They only just posted a story about Nintendo headhunting Kutaragi, linking to a German article that stated the very opposite. And last autumn, they were happy to publish Wii specs without a healthy dose of scepticism, along with a subsequent rebuttal from the anonymous source when a whole number of news sites pointed out that the specs could not be real. This would draw the validity of other rumours into question, too.

As far as this story and the one about Kutaragi are concerned, MaxConsole is currently engaging in nothing more than ´copy and paste journalism´.

Source: eCoustics forum
Thanks to: MaxConsole

More third party support for Wii

Nintendo editor Matt Casamassina has hinted at some additional third party support for Wii. On IGN´s Wii-k in Review, dated last Friday, he pours some water on the rumour mill.

We were talking to some publishers today during lunch. And they were saying, you know, we have got some really original new IPs for Wii that we cannot talk about. But we are definitely pushing Wii. We are really into Wii. (...)

There used to be this fighting franchise, it came to GameCube. It will be coming to Wii but it won´t be a fighting game anymore. Now it is going to be some kind of crazy-ass adventure game.

The quotes are at 21:55 and 29:55 into the podcast, respectively. The fighting game mentioned in the latter is also said to have been a third party title and reasonably successful on the platform. Guesses may include ´Viewtiful Joe´, ´Soul Calibur´ and, my personal favourite, ´Bloody Roar: Primal Fury´.

EDIT In, fact, I can add a little rumour myself. Expect Rockstar´s ´Table Tennis´ to come out on the Wii. I have been told that it is likely to be the second Rockstar title (after ´Manhunt 2´) heading to Wii.

EDIT Corrected the above. I forgot about ´Manhunt 2´, sorry for the confusion.

EDIT It seems that Matt was referring to ´Soul Calibur´. 1UP has blown the lid off the Wii exclusive ´Soul Calibur Legends´, a third person action adventure.

Source: IGN

PS4 launching 2008, report claims

The PlayStation4 is less than 18 months away, according to Australian site Smarthouse (registration required).

The site, which claims to be a "a highly successful trade only web site for resellers, solution providers and integrators selling lifestyle technology into the digital home market", writes:

A new Playstation 4 could be less than 18 months away according to a Sony insider. The device will include the same chipset as the current PS3 but where it will differ from the current model is in the drive bay and in the attachment area. It will also include an extensive software suite for the managing of content being streamed to a TV or Hi Fi source.

In addition Sony is working on improving the output experience so that the device can become a true home entertainment centre eliminating the need for a media centre. "We have even looked at a Sony home server based on Playstation technology. This would allow consumers to connect home automation devices to the Sony server while also delivering online gaming and access to an extensive movie and music library" said one Sony source.

Little more information is provided.



Most news sites have been highly sceptical of this rumour, like SPOnG who were told by Sony: "Obviously, this is garbage."

GamePro appears to slightly more convinced, though, noting some of the potential improvements:

This rumored "PS4" may act as the template behind a completely internet-driven gaming experience, and may successfully kill two of Sony's birds with one stone.

First, it would cut out the middleman by allowing Sony to distribute their games directly to consumers at a lower price, and second, it would eliminate Sony's other bane: the highly lucrative used games market.

Normally, a console is expected to have an active life of at least five years. Concerning the PS3, Sony exec Phil Harrison was confident enough only two months ago.

The fact that we could also adopt the pre-eminent next-generation movie format into PS3 was an added bonus, not an added cost. (...) Those are the decisions that are going to propel PlayStation 3 to be a platform that lasts for ten years, like we've seen with PS1 and PS2.

Any new PlayStation could not possibly change the combination of Cell and RSX chip, nor the Blu-ray drive (even though the changes in the ´drive bay´ are specifically mentioned). After all, why ditch something that took years and millions of dollars to develop? And if none of these factors will change, why call it a PlayStation4?

It is quite possible that Sony will bring another PS3 SKU to market soon. But I cannot imagine that version to be significantly different (or, consequently, any cheaper) than the existing models.

Source: Smarthouse (registration required)
Thanks to: SPOnG, GamePro, CVG