Microsoft to get high…definition

Some news coming to you from the Tokyo Game Show (I’m there in spirit). It seems that Microsoft has decided to jump with both feet onto the HD boat (I hear it’s a really nice boat). The external HD DVD player that we’d been hearing about will ship in Japan on November 17th for ¥19,800 (~$168). We’ll probably be hearing US information in the next few days, but it seems pretty clear to me that the HD DVD player will probably be aimed at the $149-$200 price point in the states.

Meanwhile, MS has also said that the upcoming software update for the 360 will include a patch that allows for High Definition content at 1080p. Previously, Microsoft was supporting only 720p and 1080i resolutions. Not only will the patch allow games that are made at 1080p to display at 1080p, it will reputedly upscale existing content (movies and games) to 1080p as well. As far as I’m concerned, upscaling is pretty voodoo, but that may just be because I don’t understand it.