X06: 360's High Def DVD Drive for 199 smackers

When it hits stores in North America, the Xbox 360 HD-DVD player should retail for $199.99. Gamers in the UK can expect the player to run them £129.99 ($245), while those in France and Germany can expect to pay 199.99 euros ($254) for the hardware. All these prices have been called "estimated retail prices" by Microsoft, which noted that the actual retail price may vary.

A movie-playing machine with no movies to play wouldn't make much sense, so Microsoft is also throwing in a copy of Peter Jackson's King Kong on HD-DVD, and an Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote, as well. That's the film version of the giant ape's adventure and not the Ubisoft game adaptation--Microsoft has previously said the HD-DVD will be used only for movies.

Microsoft could do whatever the hell they want with this.. I don't care. I don't have an HD-TV and I probably won't be getting one any time soon. I'm sure this will keep visual junkies happy though, $200 for a high def player is a nice deal, especially with King Kong thrown in for free. The player still looks crazy cool, by the way.