Xbox 360 Blu-ray Add-on as Soon as May ’08?
With the proposed demise of HD-DVD, the Xbox 360′s add-on is in a worrying place. Ignoring a high-definition disc format all together and concentrating on downloadable HD content might be the most preferable direction for Microsoft, but Smart House reports that a Blu-ray add-on could already be on the way.
In fact, what Smart House actually says is that a “Blu-ray Xbox 360″ is on the way, but we’ll put that down to a misconception. Even though their Microsoft insiders claim that there is one in the works, such a move is highly unlikely at this stage.
The publication goes on to reveal that Microsoft has already configured a standalone Blu-ray player, which subject to internal marketing and sales approval, could be on sale within three months. This is unsurprising since the company has been very open with the Xbox 360′s ability to pick either format.
Michael Ephraim the Managing Director of Sony Computer Entertainment said:
We would welcome Microsoft to the Blu-ray stable. In fact it is quite logical for them as the PS3 has been very succesful in driving consumers to Blu-ray. In fact we believe that it has done more to win the format war than traditional Blu-ray player.
When asked whether Sony would grant Microsoft a Blu-ray licence he said: “That is up to Sony Corporate but I see no reason why they would not do it”.
This is a point. With Blu-ray supposedly being victorious, would Sony be willing to remove the advantage the Playstation 3 has against the Xbox 360? Or do they see the potential blu-ray disc sales an Xbox 360 blu-ray add-on would afford as a too tempting to ignore?
