Gaming
MS: 'Users want HD downloads over Blu-ray'
Published Monday, Mar 17 2008, 10:47 GMT | By David Gibbon
The vice president of Microsoft Interactive Entertainment has ruled out ever releasing a Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360 console, stating that users prefer to download HD content rather than buy a Blu-ray disc.
Chris Lewis, who claims the future of movie playback is digital, told MCV: “My own view is very clear and I know it’s shared by other people in Microsoft, is that the future’s digital downloads now. The broadband proliferation is amazing – people’s appetite to download movies through Video Marketplace is testament to that. The future is about people taking their digital content on an online rather than physical media.
“We have no plans to do anything at all in terms of further or additional movie playback peripherals. My own sense – and a lot of the analysts would feel the same way – is that online is the future. And we’re very well placed to take advantage of that.”
The Xbox 360 chief also added that Microsoft made a decision not to force consumers to own a certain DVD drive, hinting at Sony's move to add a Blu-ray drive to its PS3 console.
“We never wanted to force consumers down any particular DVD playback route," Lewis said. "We felt that HD-DVD was the right format for an accessory, but we always felt very strongly that we should never make that an integral part of Xbox 360 because we wanted to give people the choice."
Chris Lewis, who claims the future of movie playback is digital, told MCV: “My own view is very clear and I know it’s shared by other people in Microsoft, is that the future’s digital downloads now. The broadband proliferation is amazing – people’s appetite to download movies through Video Marketplace is testament to that. The future is about people taking their digital content on an online rather than physical media.
“We have no plans to do anything at all in terms of further or additional movie playback peripherals. My own sense – and a lot of the analysts would feel the same way – is that online is the future. And we’re very well placed to take advantage of that.”
The Xbox 360 chief also added that Microsoft made a decision not to force consumers to own a certain DVD drive, hinting at Sony's move to add a Blu-ray drive to its PS3 console.
“We never wanted to force consumers down any particular DVD playback route," Lewis said. "We felt that HD-DVD was the right format for an accessory, but we always felt very strongly that we should never make that an integral part of Xbox 360 because we wanted to give people the choice."
More: Chris Lewis, Gaming
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