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Shocking Rumor Alert: Blu-ray Coming to 360?!
DOGS AND CATS LIVING TOGETHER MASS HYSTERIA!
by Sarah
Xbox 360 maker Microsoft, who previously has been reportedly in talks and not in talks to bring Blu-ray to the console after the untimely death of HD-DVD, may or may not be bringing Blu-ray to the 360. If you remember correctly, Microsoft has also been considering a 360 Blu-ray player, dismissing the idea of the 360 having a Blu-ray player, and developing a 360 Blu-ray player to be added to the 360 at some indeterminate point in the future. In other words: it’s a slow news day, so it’s time to dredge up some new rumors about Microsoft and Blu-ray coming together!
The latest story comes from X-bit Labs, which states that Microsoft does indeed have plans to give their gamers a Blu-ray option—they just don’t know when they’re going to announce it:Toshiba-Samsung Storage Technology Corp., a joint venture between Samsung Electronics and Toshiba Corp., has been contracted to manufacture external Blu-ray disc drives for Microsoft Xbox 360 game console. While the exact specifications of the product are unknown, it is rumoured that Microsoft aims at $100 - $150 price-point for the device in order to compete against Sony PlayStation 3 with Xbox 360 + external Blu-ray drive combination.
The main reason why Microsoft is unenthusiastic regarding Blu-ray is mandatory support of BD-Java interactive technology and Sony’s reluctance to adopt competing tech called HDi that was developed by Microsoft. Even though Microsoft managed to push its VC-1 codec onto both Blu-ray and HD DVD markets, the company’s negative attitude towards Java prevented it from supporting the former standard in general. As a result, the company used to sell external HD DVD drive for Xbox 360.
I’m sure that would be a reasonable explanation if I actually cared about this. It does make sense for Microsoft to adopt Blu-ray since HD-DVD has gone the way of the dodo, but I’m not exactly waiting at the edge of my seat. Of course, I already have a PS3 as well, so that’s probably why I couldn’t care much less. With Tokyo Game Show kicking off later tonight (tomorrow Japan time), it’s possible that we’ll hear an announcement from Microsoft regarding the fabled 360 Blu-ray player. It’s also possible that we’ll be batting this rumor around for months to come with no real news either way.
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Comments
must indeed be a slow news day
Rumors and speculation are always a fun way to spend a slow news day
It wouldn't surprise me.
Erm, how many times are we going to hear this rumor? This is adding up to be one of those trademark Microsoft "Worst Kept Secrets in the Industry."
Isn't this sort of what MS does? Just throw around a billion rumours and all we get is vaporware?