Xbox 360 Blu-ray drive rumoured yet again

Wow, it must have been months since the last time an external Blu-ray drive for Xbox 360 was rumoured! Fortunately X-bit labs has stepped in to reignite speculation and even comes citing ‘market sources’ to back up its claims.

The unconfirmed report suggests that Microsoft is considering releasing a Blu-ray drive for its console in the not too distant future. A joint venture between Samsung and Toshiba is believed to have already been contracted to manufacture these accessories. Microsoft only needs to decide when to release them.

It is expected that these drives will be priced so that an Xbox 360 + Blu-ray drive would stay competitive with the PS3. So that’s anything short of £200 then.

Now obviously you have to season this with your recommended daily allowance of internet salt, but as the saying goes, there’s no smoke without fire. Microsoft has said before that it would be willing to consider a Blu-ray accessory if the market wanted it.

Microsoft has also stated that it believes downloads are the future for entertainment media. It’s absolutely right too, but it’s still going to take a fair while for internet speeds to make that possible, especially when it comes to high definition movies. So in the meantime, a physical format is needed. HD DVD is dead and buried and Blu-ray remains the only option.

Sony stated very firmly yesterday that it wouldn’t budge on its PS3 prices. That already puts Microsoft at a price advantage and if it could add a Blu-ray drive to its arsenal, that would render the PS3’s most unique feature almost worthless.

Microsoft has of course denied it all, but doesn’t mean much

TBC | £TBC |  (via Edge)

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