14 DAY TRIAL // The Blu-ray - Xbox 360 saga is set for yet another twist. First Toshiba put up the white flag in the HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray war and announced the HD-DVD will no longer be developed. Then Stan Glasgow, president of Sony Electronics US, told the Financial Times that Sony was in "advanced talks" with Microsoft and Apple to integrate Blu-ray technology in their products. And what better product to get a Blu-ray add-on than the now HD-DVD-less Xbox? Hell, even tight-lipped Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said recently that Microsoft will support the Sony backed optical technology "in ways that make sense".
Now Microsoft has executed an 180 turn in the matter. Microsoft executive Aaron Greenberg has vigorously denied any intention from Microsoft to offer a Blu-ray drive as an optional add-on for the Xbox, in the same way the HD-DVD drive was offered. Talking to Reuters, he stated: "Xbox is not currently in talks with Sony or the Blu-ray Association to integrate Blu-ray into the Xbox experience". The not in talks part is obviously wrong, given the statements Sony let out, as quoted above. But Greenberg is an authorized voice within Microsoft when it comes to console development.
He went on to add that Microsoft is "the only console offering digital distribution of entertainment content," trying to suggest that there's no need for an add-on drive for the Xbox when a gamer can get downloadable content via the Marketplace service. It's worth noting that the HD-DVD add-on never really caught on, with less than 3% of the people that bought the Xbox also buying such an add-on.
Microsoft's denial of any Sony talks coupled with the low adoption rate of its precedent drive offer might be a sign for the company to reduce investment in drive technology for the Xbox and rather spend the money more wisely in increasing the capabilities of the marketplace, which could be enhanced to offer all the content an Xbox user needs without any further need for optical drives.