Xbox 360 to get Blu-ray?

9 comments
October 22, 2009 2:30 pm
Categories: Gaming News   Tags: ,

Xbox 360Microsoft backed the wrong HD format on the Xbox 360 when it launched an HD-DVD drive for it, but the tech giant could be about to get back on track: Redmond boss Steve Ballmer himself has just hinted that Blu-ray could be coming to the console!

To promote Windows 7‘s release today, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has been talking to gadget blog Gizmodo, and in the interview, he let slip that “you’ll be able to get Blu-ray drives as accessories” for the Xbox 360 in the future, so you can watch HD discs on it, just as you can the PS3.

Xbox 360 Sky Player dated

Microsoft’s PR later played down his hint, saying that 1080p movie streaming will fill the need for Blu-ray level viddy for the time being, but declined to comment on future plans. That certainly doesn’t rule out Blu-ray on the Xbox 360 in future, as Microsoft has a habit of saying just the same thing until the day of launch.

We’ll let you know as and when anything gets official between Blu-ray and the Xbox 360, but don’t bet on it happening before Project Natal.

Out TBC | £TBC | Xbox 360 (Via Gizmodo)

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  • Stewart

    The big question is:

    Will it be a bolt on at the side (which lives ontop the HD DVD drive and Memory brick) that can only play movies, or will it be integrated, used to load games, and alienate every Xbox owner todate?

    • CJ84

      Why would it alienate every Xbox owner?

      • Stewart

        Because you were forcing 30m Xbox owners to buy yet another costly add-on just to carry on playing games. Microsoft only have 2 options here.

        Gimp the Blu-Ray drive so it can’t play games, only movies.
        Make it do games.

        If they do the later, all Xbox owners are going to have to upgrade (the HD DVD drive was £140 from what I recall).

        As it is, it sounds like Blu-Ray with Xbox is not happening. Microsoft have backtracked. So if you want to get the most out of the HD TV, then you need a PS3.

        • http://www.gravatar.com James Holland

          Not sure about “gimp”… they’d just avoid releasing games on Blu-ray… until a new Xbox with Blu-ray built in came along, by which time the cost of a Blu-ray drive will be ultra-low… like, sub £50, and make it available as a bundle with the first flagship Blu-ray game, say a new Halo title, surely?

          • http://www.electricpig.co.uk Ben Sillis

            It wouldn’t be like Microsoft to build useful tech right in to the 360: look at Wi-Fi.

  • http://www.electricpig.co.uk Joe Minihane

    Personally I think an add-on is the way to go. The HD DVD one was great before the format died and I know plenty of people who still use it from time to time. A similar Blu-ray bolt on, at a cheap price, would encourage people to get into HD movies. Something surely the studios want. Be interesting to see how it sits with MS’s previous claims that downloads were the way forward.

  • Stewart

    Plan scrapped. Xbox360 to stick with 1998 PS2 era technology DVD (or 2005 obsolete technology HD DVD).

    http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/10/26/bluray_xbox_backtrack/

  • http://cast-iron.org.uk Eugene Vincent

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