MS open to the possibilty of a 360 Blu-ray peripheral

by Dustin Burg { Jan 9th 2008 at 10:30AM }

The HD format war is an icky mess of ickiness, with numerous companies taking sides, making money, losing money and acting like hormonal teenagers in high school. It's bad. And Microsoft has always been a backer of HD DVD for its own business reasons, but what if the format were to fail?

That question was posed to the big M recently when they were asked if they would release a Blu-ray peripheral for the 360 (similar to the already released HD DVD player) if Blu-ray were to win the HD format war. Microsoft's answer, sure, why not. Group manager for Xbox hardware Albert Penello said that the HD format "should be consumer choice; and if that's the way they vote [Blu-ray], that's something we'll have to consider". That's a very open minded stance by Microsoft on the issue, but why are they so flexible? Well, because they don't see the HD format war affecting their gaming rivalry with the PS3 and Wii, so if Blu-ray were to win, they'd consider supporting it. And it wouldn't be like they'd have a choice, one company can't save a media format. Just don't bank on a 360 Blu-ray player anytime soon.

[Thanks, NukeAssault]

Tags: blu-ray, hd-dvd, microsoft, sony

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

xenocidic @ Jan 9th 2008 10:34AM

Hasn't this been their company line for a while now?

terrence @ Jan 9th 2008 10:48AM

yup.

they supported HDDVD to get the market confused long enough to get Digital Distribution out there en masse as the next big thing.

i you believe in corporate conspiracy that is...

Knight Marquise @ Jan 9th 2008 11:02AM

Terrence,

Here's something to help you debunk your corporate conspiracy theory with MS: They did not create the format, therefore there was nothing to gain from it winning, other then a differentiating bullet point from the PS3.

I'm actually waiting to see what comes from the European Unions ongoing investigation into Sony & Blu-Ray, as well as why so many studios were on board initially when it wasn't the superior choice, nor the superior format, nor the dominate format, nor with any form of standards. Why/how did they have this following? What was promised, and how much money changed hands?

If you believe in corporate consipacy, that is.

Bravo6 @ Jan 9th 2008 11:08AM

Knight how does that debunk it? If MS wanted to create confusion long enough for Digital Dist to go mainstream, they would not want either format to "win" they would want confusion to reign until DD was ready to go.

If you believe in corporate conspiracy, that is.

Bravo6 @ Jan 9th 2008 11:09AM

Now I think I read your msg wrong. My bad :)

refinedsugar @ Jan 9th 2008 12:11PM

Knight, there are so many holes in what you've just said. Toshiba lead the charge for HD-DVD, but Microsoft's HDi software is at the root of the format's specs. So yeah, I'd say they are somewhat invested ...

... and you're really reaching for straws with your Blu-ray conspiracy theory. First off, HD-DVD has a solid foothold in Europe, secondly, when Sony owns four movie studios (Tri-Star, Columbia, Sony Pictures, 20% stake in MGM) it's not hard not to have a jump on the competition. Them paying FOX to go exclusive isn't a secret nor is the fact that they have major public and manufacturing support coming out of the Asian sector.

terrence @ Jan 9th 2008 12:16PM

Knight,

as to your first paragraph, i'm right there with you. the reason for MS's support of HDDVD had to to with giving Sony (and by extension, the PS3) a stronger "opponent." they absolutely had nothing to gain from HDDVD's success. they do however have A LOT to ain from digital distribution's success, something that would be rather more difficult if there was a clear winner in the format war.

as to your second paragraph, sounds intriguing... and suspicious. first i've heard of it myself, mind linking me to more info? (though i will be heading right to google...)

carl @ Jan 9th 2008 12:41PM

"when it wasn't the superior choice, nor the superior format, nor the dominate format" - Knight Marquise

HD-DVD came out the same year as Blu-ray, and was only beating Blu-ray sales for less than a year. While Blu-ray has been beating HD-DVD for more than a year.

1. Blu-ray has a better Maximum Bit-rate than HD-DVD which makes movies better, but due to Warner sharing there movies, those are downgraded too look like HD-DVD's as well. In terms, Exclusive Blu-ray Movies are better than HD-DVD's (I have both so from what I can see, Pirates of the Carribean looked better than Transformers when it comes to HD Discs) Lets not forget more disc space. - Obviously Blu-ray wins the Superior Format.

2. Sales of High Definition Discs are 2:1 in favor of Blu-ray. The Consumers decided on that one as for Superior Choice.

3. With more format support from movie studios, it is obvious that Blu-ray will have a bigger library of movies to choose. You just had to Blu-ray time to really sell. And that took about 7 months last 2006, when Blu-ray started beating HD-DVD for 11 Straight Months till now. Dominate Format?? It's still Blu-ray.

Knight Marquise @ Jan 9th 2008 1:07PM

Terrence,

Agreed, MS has it's marbles, IMHO, in digital distribution, not a physical media, and that's the direction I like, and think we will eventually end at at. DRM has to be sorted out first, though.

Personally, that's where I'm at, after starting with Beta Max, then VHS, then DVD...I'm done with physical media for the foreseeable future. I know setting up and running a Media Server isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I'm enjoying it, and find that I actually enjoy my collections even more as they are more easily accessable then going through hundreds of discs.

Carl,

You're a Blu Ray fan, and that's fine. BR didn't begin beating HD-DVD until the Sony trojan came to market. It was in Sony's best interest, and kudos to them.

I do, however, think it odd that the other studios don't find even a minor conflict of interest with Sony, Sony Studios and BR.

R0B3RT @ Jan 9th 2008 1:07PM

carl
you misunderstood him he said it was the superior choice as in there was already a lot of hd dvd supporters already out + there were cheaper players therefore it was superior in sale availability compared to blu ray at launch.
Your proving it had superior technology which may be true but different tan what he is saying.

TORO @ Jan 9th 2008 10:34AM

I think their flexible because HD Movies weren't their main concern, video games were priority.

Matt @ Jan 9th 2008 11:55AM

Agreed.

murph @ Jan 9th 2008 10:48AM

they need a X360 with built in BluRay ASAP. there are a lot of people out there who have been on the HD sidelines waiting for this format war to sort itself out. many of those people will be picking up a PS3 b/c of the BluRay drive and price...plus bonus gaming console ;)

terrence @ Jan 9th 2008 10:53AM

"many of those people will be picking up a PS3 b/c of the BluRay drive and price...plus bonus gaming console ;)"

could very well be, but cost of entry and the playstation name might keep the mainstream away from using it as a blu-ray player.

also, sony announced at CES that they'll have a sub-$200 stand-alone blu-ray player by the end of the year. so we'll see. one thing is for certain though, microsoft will never add any HD drive to the 360 internally. now, a USB blu-ray (like in this story) is quite likely.

AnOffday @ Jan 9th 2008 10:55AM

Who gives a crap.

I miss old the old days when video game systems were for video games.

jjdoglegg @ Jan 9th 2008 11:20AM

yeah i'd like a blu-ray add on for my atari 2600 ftw!

Eric H @ Jan 9th 2008 11:12AM

I give a crap, I don't mind extra feature son my console, as long as gaming it the main focus.

zlionsfan @ Jan 9th 2008 11:53AM

I don't mind additional features available as options for a reasonable price (understanding they'll cost more separately). I do mind if it becomes like buying certain cars, where you can only get feature A if you also buy features B, C, and D, none of which you want.

Viridium @ Jan 9th 2008 11:19AM

No shit.

They said this two years ago:
http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/rpg/bluedragon/news.html?sid=6142137

Michael Paul @ Jan 9th 2008 11:29AM

This is a golden opportunity to use dual-format drives as a gesture to past add-on purchasers and future customers.

Who would pass up a 360 add-on that also worked on a PC to play HD-DVD and Blu-Ray? Sure, the price wouldn't be as good due to double royalties or whatever, but they'd fly off the shelves anyway...

Magic Whiskey @ Jan 9th 2008 11:37AM

The only comment worth my time to post is this: When, when will fanboys be able to separate HD disc format from gaming? (I'm not referring to any of you guys posting..I'm referring to PS3 fanboys right now.)

Case in point: this week's news about Blu-ray (or more importantly, this week's news about Warner Bros.) So fine, it's one more drop in the bucket to send HD-DVD the way of Beta...I can respect that. But why is it that when fanboys see this information they IMMEDIATELY begin saying things like "Playstation 3 will be on top in 2008 because of this," or " This has totally put the 360 in THEIR place! Bwahaahaaaa!"

If anything, the one thing I believe is what happens in front of me and cold hard numbers. Both say that the Playstation 3 is still not selling as much as the Xbox 360, and that HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HD DISC FORMAT. If it was, as some of these PS3 fanboys seem to think, so weighty on the issue, wouldn't the PS3 be selling leaps and bounds above what they are currently?

My bottom line; Blu-ray may 'win' this format war, but it has nothing to do with the Playstation 3 so stop being a dip about it.

john paul @ Jan 9th 2008 7:01PM

you really need to understand ps3 fanboys want, no NEED something to be proud of u know and know that their console wasn't a complete disaster but contributed to the victory of something

P.S. everything i said is correct and it also helps that this is 360fanboy

Magic Whiskey @ Jan 9th 2008 11:37AM

Morgon @ Jan 9th 2008 12:48PM

"So fine, it's one more drop in the bucket to send HD-DVD the way of Beta..."

Just wanted to point out the irony in your statement.
Betamax was Sony's format. While Blu-Ray isn't totally Sony's, the 'Full-circle' aspect is funny.

I'm just really scared about Sony's position if/when BRD becomes the single format.
Think about MiniDisc (Expensive, obsolete, DRM'ed out the rear), MemoryStick... their CD Rootkit fiasco.
Do we really want a company like Sony to create and manage our storage and physical media distribution?

Oh, btw - I do think you're incorrect about Blu-ray's potential dominance - The PS3 is most definitely -the- catalyst in its adoption and acceptance.

Flash2000 @ Jan 9th 2008 11:42AM

Honestly, and I say this as a huge supporter of HD-DVD, Microsoft better get a blu-ray player out on the market sooner than later. Because how it will play out is this... people in the next few months will see that HD-DVD is dead, then they'll see the PS3 is the cheapest and best Blu-Ray player on the market for the price. They'll start buying PS3's as Blu-Ray players with the added bonus that they'll also play games. This will show a huge surge in PS3 console purchases. All this will happen around the same time a lot of the PS3 exclusive games are coming out, and 360 doesn't really have any big bullets to fire this year... not like Halo or Bioshock at the very least. So... unless Microsoft can come out, VERY quickly with a better priced Blu-Ray add-on... then this one little hitch might just give the PS3 the foothold it needs to get back on top in the gaming world. Gamers are fickle when it comes to loyalty... and if there is a sudden surge in PS3 popularity because of Blu-Ray, gamers won't care why, they'll just want to jump on that band wagon. Honestly, I'm not a big Sony fan, I love my 360 and I love HD-DVD... but I will be buying a PS3 in the next few months just so I can have it as a blu-ray player. Then all of a sudden I have a console that has free online play, and some neat games coming out this year. But if I knew that Microsoft was going to come out with a blu-ray player by the end of spring/early summer for say $199, I'd hold of. But they'd have to stop being coy about right now and not play the waiting game, because by the time they wait and THEN act... it'll be too late. Remember Microsoft, it's the early bird that gets the worm.

Robert Aitchison @ Jan 9th 2008 11:42AM

This is a no-brainer, the entire reason to release the HD-DVD drive separately is so they could change formats easily depending on who won the war. Microsoft was in-effect hedging it's bet on HD-DVD.

I predict that if (when) one of the last 2 major studios ditches HD-DVD that we'll see an external Blu Ray drive for the 360 within 6-12 months, and a 360 with integrated Blu Ray within 12-18.

George Arauz @ Jan 9th 2008 12:02PM

I was hoping HD DVD would be the winner.. i like the picture better..but so much for that idea

willyfonsworth @ Jan 9th 2008 1:27PM

I think that people who believe that this is all about console sales are incorrect in assuming so. Console sales do not make money, software sales do. From what I am seeing with the numbers Microsoft has the highest attachment rate compared to the PS3 and Wii.

Prince King @ Jan 9th 2008 3:49PM

console sales dont make money? have you heard the wii is the best selling system of this gaming generation? have you also heard the wii has been selling for a profit?

Oorang @ Jan 9th 2008 1:39PM

Seems to me that if MS had sold and HD DVD 360 after a year of the consoles launch the format war would be much clearer.

The fact is neither HD DVD or Blu Ray will win as the bulk of consumers are just not ready to accept either format. Its only gamers and enthusiasts who are buying HD movies...

I pose this question:

Would a PS3 owner buy a Blu Ray player if it wasnt built in to the PS3? (I doubt it)

TiltedCircle @ Jan 9th 2008 1:49PM

I am deeply saddened that I spent 180 buckaroonies for the beautiful and personally no different than blu-ray (concerning quality) HD DVD peripheral. I didn't start the fire, why should the consumer have to suffer/spend extra to have high quality HD movie experience. I seriously doubt i will by the Blu-Ray Peripheral. I tend to look back at all the $$$$ i have gladly donated to M$ and developers in the year of 2007 and think that my wife may well leave me if i buy an extra ANYTHING for my habit. er uh hobby.

Cass-D @ Jan 9th 2008 3:48PM

Let’s dispose of the PS3 and 360 having anything to do with this format war. Truly it is about consumer choice so the consumers are saying give me more Blu-Ray, that’s fine that’s their choice.

Pitting one format to another wouldn't show a real winner as each has winning capabilities and shortcomings. For instance….
Blu-Ray is larger capacity (+1)
HD-DVD is smaller capacity (-1)

Blu-Ray has a higher Bit rate ( -+?)
HD-DVD has the same thing (+-?)

Blu-Ray used MPG-4 Codec (Seriously please they started this way that’s why they needed all the damn space, now the use the VC1 Codec Same as HD-DVD) Not part of the sum, don't bother.
HD-DVD Used the VC1 codec from the start, so big deal.

Blu-Ray looks better (60' and above guys +1)
HD-DVD Looks worse (60' and above guys -1)
**This is of course perspective as the average consumer is most likely playing these Hi-Def movies on a 42' LCD HDTV running at 720P. Don't be so quick to crucify me, what were the best deals this Christmas on hi-def televisions, the 42' LCD. And the last time I checked consumers went for the best buy for the buck and these units sold at this price to make way for newer version this year that start at 1080P. So who is going to see the quality difference....Not your average Joe!)***

Blu-Ray requires special hardware manufacturing due to the hardware specifications. Players and Discs (For the studios -1)
HD-DVD can continue to utilize current disc manufacturing plants only adding a new type of disc to the line (for the Studios +1)

Blu-Ray requires Sony's proprietary Disc interface programming. Production studios would need to hire or send current Digital Media creators to special courses to learn new software to create Blu-Ray DVD's (Studio Cost -1)
HD-DVD utilizes the current software program capabilities just adding in the ability to program Digital Media in HD (Studio Cost +1)

Blu-Ray Discs write the critical data closer to the surface of the disc. Producing a more prone to disc damage product (Families -1)
HD-DVD still has the same resistance to damage as current DVD's (Families +1)

Blu-Ray DRM updates your hardware with each new BR Disc and thus writing this new security DRM back to your other discs. Hmmmm, sounds like a root kit to me just on your Blu-Ray Player (Tech -1)
***Go ahead and nail me up on this one but my company is a develops software and my Lead Programmer gets his hands in all sorts of stuff. He told me about this one day and proceeded to show me where he found the information. Of course he is a Sony hater so I have to take this with a grain of salt. ***
HD-DVD DRM Still a cracked security DRM and could be pirated but units don't update the security software on the player (Tech +1)

Let’s not forget the big one Blu-Ray will fork over lots of cash to sell your soul to them (Studios $$$$ +1, who cares if it’s better or not look at all those zeros!)
HD-DVD they court the studios too but the pockets isn’t as deep (Studios $$$$ -1, you want to pay me what, Sony offered me more!)

So Now that I have taken at least 3min of your time, flame away at me I don't care. If my info is off I don't care. I'm still waiting for all this crap to end one way or the other.

XDragon @ Jan 9th 2008 10:56PM

A few more points:

Blu-Ray has an anti scratch coating like the coating on the psp's screen so i'd argue that hd-dvd is more prone to damage.

Blu is capable of storing 200G while hd-dvd is only capable of 61G (based on disc surface area and layering due to laser wavelength).

HD-DVD stand alone players are less expensive.

Only Toshiba makes a non-dual format stand alone HD-DVD player where as there are many companies making Blu. (Apple vs IBM-->PC)

Magic Whiskey @ Jan 9th 2008 6:45PM

@ 23.
I was terribly familiar with Sony development behind Betamax..some things work, and some just don't. Maybe this time they'll actually win out in a format war.

(My family had both Beta and VHS back in the day)

john paul @ Jan 9th 2008 6:51PM

now you're gonna need 3 posts a week
-this week in blu-ray
-" " " hd dvd
-" " " games
right?

fretster @ Jan 9th 2008 10:02PM

Personally I think they should definitely pursue a BR drive add-on. The hope of that alone will keep me from buying a PS3. I love my 360 and hate Sony, but as a BR player it's one of the best out there at the moment. Please MS, don't make me turn to the enemy...

crazylegs @ Jan 10th 2008 8:24AM

Microsoft should get Samsung to build an extrenal BR drive and then sell it for about 100 bucks. Nice cheap price would sell boatloads and piss Sony off

Loopy @ Mar 7th 2008 12:35AM

@ number 37 you forgot Sony could put a special block on the Samsung or any other manufacture based Blu-Ray external drive for the Xbox 360 until Microsoft pays to have it unlocked and royalties lol. Now that would piss off Xbox fan boys looking to rejoice about not having to buy a PS3 for Blu-Ray.

Xbox seem to make great money off of buyers who don't buy the extended warranty after the 30 day version is up. As a result they can't get service when the console does the one thing it does best......

Brick, thats right the console hasn't stop doing that since day one LOL. When that happens the xbox gamers are forced to go out or order another xbrick i mean xbox 360. Which of course helps with xbox 360's sales.