Gaming
No Blu-ray add-on for Xbox 360
Published Saturday, Oct 11 2008, 14:21 BST | By Mark Langshaw
Xbox Group product manager Aaron Greenberg has refuted reports that Toshiba-Samsung Storage Technology Corp will develop a Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360, claiming owners of the console would not be interested in such an add-on.
"We have no plans to integrate Blu-ray into the Xbox experience," he told Major Nelson. "We believe that we shouldn't force people to pay for things they don't want."
Following the commercial failure of the HD-DVD format Microsoft decided to invest in, Greenberg also stated that Microsoft's position on high-definition movie and TV content is currently centred around digital distribution.
"We've invested in a massive library of entertainment content. That's why we're bringing things like Netflix to members in the US, that's why we're growing our library in Europe, that's why we're adding all types of entertainment experiences around the world.
"And Blu-ray: who knows? I'll tell you one thing: if you look at retail sales and availability, there's not a lot there, and what is there is at a premium," he added. "No one knows what Blu-ray will be. It's pretty clear it's not the next DVD, right? The days of one physical format being the standard I think are gone... We're not sure if it's the next UMD or DVD."
"We have no plans to integrate Blu-ray into the Xbox experience," he told Major Nelson. "We believe that we shouldn't force people to pay for things they don't want."
Following the commercial failure of the HD-DVD format Microsoft decided to invest in, Greenberg also stated that Microsoft's position on high-definition movie and TV content is currently centred around digital distribution.
"We've invested in a massive library of entertainment content. That's why we're bringing things like Netflix to members in the US, that's why we're growing our library in Europe, that's why we're adding all types of entertainment experiences around the world.
"And Blu-ray: who knows? I'll tell you one thing: if you look at retail sales and availability, there's not a lot there, and what is there is at a premium," he added. "No one knows what Blu-ray will be. It's pretty clear it's not the next DVD, right? The days of one physical format being the standard I think are gone... We're not sure if it's the next UMD or DVD."
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