Aussies get 360 HD DVD March 29 for $249 AUD

by Ross Miller { Feb 2nd 2007 at 6:20PM }

In a short but sweet news post, Xbox Zone revealed new details on the Xbox 360 HD DVD drive it discovered from Xbox Australia. The most pertinent news is that Oz will get its chance to pick up the add-on peripheral on March 29 for $249 AUD, which translates to approximately the $200 price tag for the US edition.

The initial shipments of the drive will come with a Universal Remote Control (we presume he means the official Microsoft one) and a copy of King Kong on HD DVD. We're not going to pretend we can gauge the next-gen format market in Australia right now, so anyone hailing from the Land Down Under is more than welcome to contribute observations.

Tags: australia, hard ware, HardWare, hd dvd, HdDvd, king kong, KingKong, microsoft, oz, peter jackson, PeterJackson, xbox 360, Xbox360

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Blink @ Feb 2nd 2007 6:34PM

So, for the uninformed, would an Australia HDDVD player for the 360 work with my USA console? I don't know if they're PAL, NTSC, or none of the above, and even so, if that would work between countries.

AusToad @ Feb 2nd 2007 6:36PM

Well, pretty much the Wii is pwning everything, but the 360 is still doing pretty well. The PS3, of course, hasn't been released yet, so if anyone wants a good graphics system theyre more likely to pick up a 360.

Norm @ Feb 2nd 2007 6:41PM

The only aussies I know that are really more excited about the PS3 are Tekken players, but they don't even know if they are going to get Dark Ressurection when the PS3 does come out, so I guess you could say that PS/sony fans aren't exactly chock-a-block down under.

Norm @ Feb 2nd 2007 6:42PM

(from what I have gathered, in regards to the PS3)

Vince @ Feb 2nd 2007 6:53PM

Everytime I see that grotesque HD add-on I think of the handful of disappointed MS employees who wanted to put one in the 360 rolling their eyes.

chuck_notorious @ Feb 2nd 2007 7:37PM

It's good that it comes with *an* HD-DVD, because otherwise I think it would be nigh on impossible to actually buy one in Australia. As far as I can tell, there is no next-gen format market here. There are blu-ray players in some laptops but I've never seen a player for a tv or any next-gen content.

As PurpleSfinx pointed out, some people have HD screens and I think that market has done rather well over the last two years, especially since prices have fallen so much last year.

Thryon @ Feb 2nd 2007 7:47PM

@ Vince,

I am extremely glad that MS did not add the HD DVD to the Xbox 360 and increased the price by $200.

I have two consoles. I also have the HD DVD add-on connected to my console in my entertainment room, but the console upstairs connected to a regular TV has no need to an HD DVD unit, for it will never be used to watch movies. I would have hated to pay and extra $200 when I did not have to.

I know another dozen Xbox 360 owners who all indicated they liked the HD DVD unit, but would not have wanted to pay another $200 either as $499 was the limit of what they where willing to pay.

The mounds of PS3 available everywhere in my city; from Blockbusters, Rogers, HMVs, Superstore, Walmarts and EBGames, is evidence that people do not want to pay more than $499 for a gaming console.

It matters not if you add Blu-Ray or HD DVD, it is still a gaming console.

Azerael @ Feb 2nd 2007 8:18PM

I bought my Xbox360 to play games, and I'm grateful that Microsoft didn't install it in the console and jack up the price as my (and I imagine a good portion of the market's) interest in HD movies is zero.

jamcity @ Feb 2nd 2007 8:27PM

There is a very small HD Movie market here in Melbourne. Not sure about the other cities, but here, i have only seen the Samsung Bluray players on sale here and a handful of bluray discs on sale. HD-DVD is nowhere to be found at the moment as the guy I was speaking to down at JB Hifi firmly believes that Bluray has already won the war. I for one have a PS3, and will be getting this HD-DVD addon. I would be keen to find out though, if it can play imported discs.
As far as I know, this will be first HD-DVD player on the market in Australia, unless Toshiba release theirs before March 29.

spikeystitch @ Feb 2nd 2007 9:04PM

#10 - I have the HD-DVD player and I import titles all the time. At this moment, there is no region coding on HD-DVD's.

Gonzord @ Feb 2nd 2007 9:50PM

Actually at the moment Blu-Ray has a very strong presence in Australia. Some of the largest retailers have huge displays showing off Blu-Ray while HD-DVD is a no show. You can even buy Blu-Ray films and players, where as the only place i can find HD-DVD films is online.

BrotherEstapol @ Feb 2nd 2007 11:59PM

As it's been said, Blu-Ray has a presence here in Australia, where-as HD-DVD does not.
JB Hi-Fi being the only place I've seen (in Canberra) that has anything Blu-Ray for sale.

That said, it's not like they are flying out the door...the percent of people with HDTVs would be rather low down here I'd suspect.
I think the "war" is far from over here, and I believe that when this add-on, and the PS3 come out(Both in march coincidentally), and the major retail chains(Target, Kmart, BigW etc.) start stocking the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray discs, then we'll start to see who gets the upper hand.

Matariel @ Feb 3rd 2007 12:49AM

$250 for the HD-DVD drive is FAR better than the $1500-2000 Blu-Ray players are costing at the moment.
I just want to know how much HD-DVD discs will cost, with Blu-Ray discs costing anywhere between $25 for catalogue titles and $45 for new releases.

PurpleSfinx @ Feb 3rd 2007 3:43AM

I live in Australia and own a 360, and let me tell you that it will be pretty much the same as in the USA. Some people have HDTVs, some don't. Some people will buy it, most won't.

LethaL @ Feb 3rd 2007 6:30AM

"We're not going to pretend we can gauge the next-gen format market in Australia"

Outside the industry, very few people have any idea what blu-ray and HD-DVD are, and even less care.

The Wii is the fastest selling console in Australia ever, and the 360 isn't doing to bad either. Most hardcore Sony fans I know have actually given up on the PS3, after reading up about how badly it performed in other countries, the fact it won't come out here until March (maybe) and that it costs $1000.

Alexander @ Feb 3rd 2007 11:57AM

meh who cares

Matt @ Feb 3rd 2007 12:15PM

Decent price! Aussies never get a decent price...yay microsoft.

AzaMcWazza @ Feb 3rd 2007 3:37PM

Great news. I'm hoping Sony die a fast, painful death so when this baby hits the streets, and the more quiet 360 comes out later his year (Currently rumoured), I'm getting both to go alongside my main gaming machine - Wii.

I can't wait for HD movies but I aint going anywhere near Sony's BluRay.