Universal chooses Blu-ray

Clearly seeing the writing on the wall, Universal said today it will drop its support for HD-DVD and instead produce its high-definition films on Blu-ray Disc.

"The path for widespread adoption of the next-generation platform has finally become clear," said Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Universal Pictures Digital Platforms, in a statement.

"The emergence of a single, high-definition format is cause for consumers, as well as the entire entertainment industry, to celebrate. While Universal values the close partnership we have shared with Toshiba, it is time to turn our focus to releasing new and catalog titles on Blu-ray," he said.

The announcement from Universal comes only hours after Toshiba said it would no longer produce HD-DVD players. As Toshiba was the only hardware manufacturer producing standalone HD-DVD players, its exit leaves little choice for the remaining members of the HD-DVD Promotional Group.

The only other major studio still contracted to support HD-DVD is Paramount, which is widely expected by industry insiders to make a similar pledge of allegiance to Blu-ray by the end of the week.

But while Paramount used to support both Blu-ray and HD-DVD, Universal has always been in the HD-DVD camp. That means it likely has much more work ahead of it to switch from HD-DVD and produce discs in the Blu-ray format for the very first time.

Via Crave CNET

It's official. HD-DVD is history

The HD format war is finally over! Toshiba has officially announced its exit from the HD-DVD business. This will begin with reduced shipment of relevant players, recorders and their PC drive equivalent, leading to a complete cessation by end March 2008. Nevertheless, it's encouraging that the company will continue to provide full product support and aftersales service for its HD-DVD products. In the meantime, we have sounded out its local Asian office and are awaiting word on its direction, including the yet-to-launch HD-EP30 HD-DVD player.

On the other front, LG will still be launching its BH200 dual-format player in March, while Samsung is pulling the plug for the BD-UP5000, at least in Singapore and other selected Asian markets. This latest development will probably result in stronger Blu-ray hardware and software adaptation in the coming months, but I'm just glad a Blu-ray edition of blockbuster Transformers may be well underway. Oh yeah, do keep it affordable please.

Hasbro reveals details about Nerf Wii blaster, even more Nerf overkill

Hasbro showed off its entire upcoming Nerf line at Toy Fair, including more about the fabled Nerf Wii blaster revealed last week. No longer just a photo and some passing speculation, the Nerf-branded Wii peripheral now has a name and even more useful details.

The Nerf Wii blaster is officially called the Switch Shot EX-3, and is part of the Nerf N-Strike line of blasters. The Switch Shot EX-3 functions both as a Wii remote Zapper-like gun peripheral and a Nerf dart blaster, thanks to a removable dart module that clicks into the remote slot. The lower half of the barrel stores two additional Nerf darts, and holds a Nerf N-Strike accessory rail.

While it doesn't come with any accessories, the Switch Shot's N-strike rail makes it compatible with the Nerf Recon blaster's red dot sight or the separately sold N-Strike tactical light. The Nerf Switch Shot EX-3 is scheduled to ship in fall 2008, and will retail for around US$13-$15. The blaster will also be shipped with the upcoming Nerf N-Strike game for the Wii, although Hasbro hasn't announced final pricing or packaging yet. EA and Hasbro are also developing a Nerf N-strike game for the Nintendo DS, though it's not yet known if it will ship with the Switch Shot blaster.

Hasbro also showed off the Nerf Vulcan EBF-25. While it doesn't double as a Wii accessory, the Vulcan stood out as one of the most extreme examples of Nerf warfare yet. The Vulcan is a tripod-mounted, motorized Nerf machine gun that uses an ammo belt and storage box to fire up to 25 Nerf darts without reloading. It runs on six D batteries, and also features an N-strike clip for using additional tactical lights, scopes or sights. The Vulcan already seems like a fearsome Nerf gun, but its motorized system and pivoting tripod practically beg for some enterprising toy modder to drill, cut, and solder on some servo motors and make their very own Nerf sentry turret. The Nerf Vulcan EBF-25 ships in fall 2008, with a retail price of US$40.

Via Crave CNET

Nerf Wii Blaster holds Wiimotes, launches darts

When it comes to plastic toy guns, two names tend to come to mind: Nerf and the Zapper.

Thanks to the new partnership between Electronic Arts and Hasbro, those two are about to collide. Kotaku and Shacknews have reported that EA Hasbro has revealed Nerf N-Strike for the Nintendo Wii and DS systems, along with a Wiimote-based Nerf blaster.

Wii Zapper clones aren't exactly new. Nyko's Perfect Shot offers a satisfyingly gun-shaped alternative to the Zapper, and CTA Digital's torrent of inexplicable gun grips give even more choices. Nerf's Wii blaster puts a new spin on the Zapper by making it double as a functional Nerf dart gun. The Wiimote can pop into the Nerf-themed gun grip to function as a game controller, or you can pop in a Nerf blaster module to fire foam darts at your friends and enemies.

The Nerf N-Strike games and blaster are scheduled to ship in fall 2008.

Via Crave CNET

A Blu-ray addon for Xbox 360?

Though Microsoft has been maintaining an Xbox 360 addon approach for the benefits of user choice, this may well be part of its foresight for a quick exit in the event that the format war goes either way. Take the S$299 external HD-DVD drive. The Redmond company could easily strike it off its inventory overnight without the burden of a costly console write-off. To further thicken the plot, it has never official denied the possibility of a Blu-ray equivalent, which is probably in the pipeline anyway with the current hostility against its partners' HD-DVD format.

Could it have been a drastically different picture if Microsoft had implemented full HD audio and video support for the addon drive? Think onboard Dolby TrueHD decoding for example. We reckon not only will the console have won the hearts of both gamers and home theater enthusiasts, this might even have given HD-DVD a much-needed boost similar to the advantage that PlayStation 3 has contributed for Blu-ray.

Have a different opinion? Air your sentiments via our talkback function.

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