360 to be cheapest HD-DVD player

Wednesday 9 August 2006
The new Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive will be the cheapest HD-DVD player on the market when it's released later this year, according to Microsoft's director of global marketing, Albert Penello.

A recent blog entry by Microsoft employee Larry Hryb (aka Major Nelson), interviewed Penello who, when quizzed about the price of the add-on, said: "We're still thinking about it. Here's what I can tell you for sure, it's going to be the cheapest HD-DVD player you can buy, without a doubt, when it comes out."

While this is all very exciting, what wasn't made clear was if the "cheapest player on the market" claim made by the Microsoft man was referring to just the cost of the drive on its own, or the combined price of the drive and 360.

Currently, the lowest price you can pick up an HD-DVD player for is about %26pound;400 - we'll have to wait for further announcements to see if the combined cost of an Xbox 360 and HD-DVD add-on will be less than that.