Microsoft Now Says Blu-ray Not a Possibility for 360
Following the news of the external HD DVD drive for the Xbox 360 and reports that Microsoft would consider Blu-ray if necessary, the company has now flip-flopped on Blu-ray, reaffirming their 100% committment to the HD DVD format.
Last week we reported that Microsoft would leave open the possibility that its next-gen console could one day support Blu-ray if that format ended up winning the war against HD DVD. This was based upon comments made by Microsoft's Corporate Vice President of Interactive Entertainment Business Peter Moore to Japanese website ITmedia during CES.
However, Moore's comments, which made the rounds not long after MS announced plans for an external HD DVD drive for the Xbox 360, were taken out of context, the company insists. To clear up any confusion, MS has issued a statement to the effect that they are 100 percent behind Toshiba's HD DVD format.
"Microsoft firmly stands behind the HD-DVD format as the best choice for our consumers. As we've said before, we're confident that HD-DVD will bring the excitement of high definition movies to the consumer faster and at a greater value. We believe that consumers have signaled what format they want to enjoy high definition DVD and we're going to follow them down that path. The question of whether Xbox 360 has the flexibility to adapt to consumers' needs is a different issue entirely. Xbox 360 is a future-proofed system -- one that allows us to add features as consumers demand them -- as evidenced by our offering of the HD DVD drive as an accessory," reads the official line.
The statement concludes, "Current reports indicating that we have a back-up plan, which includes Blu-Ray support are incorrect. At this point, we're fully committed to HD-DVD and have absolutely no plans to support other optical formats."
So, no MS may not officially have a back-up plan if HD DVD fails, but why did Moore say what he did regarding Blu-ray? Even though HD DVD is the focus for MS right now, it's likely that Moore's comments reflect the company's general thinking behind the scenes and we wouldn't be surprised to see an external Blu-ray player for 360 sometime in the future if that format does indeed prevail.
