Feb 18
RUMOR: Microsoft has been developing a Blu-ray add-on to launch May ‘08 (UPDATE!)
(Unsexy Update: Apparently, Microsoft still believes in its little engine that could, the HD DVD player. Gamerscore Blog recently had this to say about rumors circulating that HD DVD was officially dead:
We do not believe the recent reports about HD DVD will have any material impact on the Xbox 360 platform or our position in the marketplace. As we’ve long stated, we believe it is games that sell consoles and Xbox 360 continues to have the largest next-gen games library with the most exclusives and best selling games in the industry. We will wait until we hear from Toshiba before announcing any specific plans around the Xbox 360 HD DVD player. HD DVD is one of the several ways we offer a high definition experience to consumers and we will continue to give consumers the choice to enjoy digital distribution of high definition movies and TV shows directly to their living room along with playback of the DVD movies they already own.
Ah, well, I guess we won’t be seeing a Blu-Ray add on anytime remotely soon. -backflip)
You guys have heard that Netflix, Wal-Mart, and most recently Toshiba, who is the main backer of HD-DVD, are completely dropping the format, right?
Well, it looks like Microsoft is ready to put the final nail in the coffin by releasing a Blu-ray add-on for the 360 as soon as May ‘08. According to Smarthouse.au, Microsoft has pretty much finished developing the thing and it can be released to stores within around 3 months.
I just want to say that this is totally unconfirmed and from what I can tell, a completely unknown source, but it’s something I was discussing with backflip earlier today and it definitely sounds plausible to me.
Categories: Blu-ray, Format War, HD-DVD, Hardware, Leak, Movies, Rape, Retail, Towel, Xbox 3608 Comments so far
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Sounds plausible. I wouldn’t be surprised, but then I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Microsoft just stick their head in the sand and not do anything.
Eh, I think they want to start making money with BR asap.
It doesn’t surprise me too much, because Microsoft has said from early on that they could easily make a Blu-Ray drive and that they hadn’t ruled it out.
Eh, I’m thinking of picking up a PS3 anyway.
Microsoft would be shooting themselves in the foot if they didn’t rush out a BR drive for the 360. Saying that, I hope it’s not too rushed, like the 360 was.
It’s a shame this gen of consoles came out when they did, MS has a lot to answer for. Their early entry with the 360 brought forward the PS3 and now the latest version due for release uses half the power of the original. I do wonder if things had been delayed a year we’d see the original spec’d PS3 with 2 cell chips or one running at a higher clock speed. I guess we’ll only know when we’re told……