Xbox 360 exec: No plans to go Blu

Thu Mar 13, 2008 10:14AM EDT

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Despite rumors to the contrary, a member of the Xbox team has flatly denied that there are any plans to develop a Blu-ray drive for the 360.

In an interview with Next-Gen, Xbox 360 group product manager Aaron Greenberg said his team is "not currently in talks" with Sony or any other Blu reps about bringing Blu-ray to Microsoft's gaming console.

Just days ago, a Sony exec claimed that the consumer tech giant—and major Blu-ray proponent—was in talks with both Microsoft and Apple about Blu-ray, and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer recently discussed the development of Blu-ray drivers for Windows.

But from what Greenberg is saying, it sounds like Xbox and Blu-ray aren't about to join forces anytime soon. Greenberg goes on to argue that the 360 already offers HD movie and TV downloads, plus a heady slate of games.

"People bought their Xbox 360s this holiday for Halo 3 and Bioshock and Mass Effect and Guitar Hero and Rock Band. They weren't buying an Xbox to watch 300," Greenberg told Next-Gen. "And we don't know what will happen to Blu-ray. Is it the next DVD, or the next UMD? Your guess is as good as ours."

Hmmm...do I detect sour grapes over the demise of HD DVD? Well, maybe. But while Greenberg has left the door open for a future Blu-ray-equipped Xbox console, he's pretty much dashed any hopes for a quick-and-dirty Blu-ray 360 add-on.

Related:
Interview: Xbox 360's gloves comes off [Next-Gen]

Comments on Xbox 360 exec: No plans to go Blu

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  • 7 Posted by jp3compton on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:42PM EDT Report Abuse

    WHY! Really this is a real upset, I am so disappointed in Microsoft, but I hope I don't have to give up on getting a Xbox 360. Sigh......

  • 8 Posted by kizacuda on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:52PM EDT Report Abuse

    If you want a bluray player buy one. If you want the best game console buy xbox 360. Simple. Besides what are you all waiting for?

  • 9 Posted by djjaysin215 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:44PM EDT Report Abuse

    i got a 360 and a ps3, for games the 360 and live win, hands down. if microsoft wants blu-ray they can have it for 2 reasons 1 if sony denied them access it would be them monopolizing 2 microsoft owns the codecs for hd video (yes that means blu-ray), so anything you rent buy or download has microsofts hands on it. thats also why mkv as a video format will never be mainstream.

  • 10 Posted by martyteboe on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:09PM EDT Report Abuse

    QUOTE: "microsoft owns the codecs for hd video (yes that means blu-ray)...." How about WRONG! Quoted from an HD website: "H.264 is a standard for video compression. It is also known as MPEG-4 Part 10, or MPEG-4 AVC (for Advanced Video Coding). It was written by the ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG) together with the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) as the product of a partnership effort known as the Joint Video Team (JVT). The ITU-T H.264 standard and the ISO/IEC MPEG-4 Part 10 standard (formally, ISO/IEC 14496-10) are jointly maintained so that they have identical technical content. The final drafting work on the first version of the standard was completed in May 2003." You should probably gain a bit more understanding of such matters before assuming that Bill Owns Everything. mt

  • 11 Posted by moveleft on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:27PM EDT Report Abuse

    Wow...Microsoft manages to sound both ignorant AND arrogant all in the same article. If they are so convinced that people who bought the 360 don't give a hoot about watching movies then why tout that as a feature of the HD DVD player in the console? Sony seems convinced that a console that offers BOTH is a good thing...they tout both the gaming options and built in Blu-ray DVD player in all their PS3 marketing. Are XBox gamers that radically different from those who play on a PS3? I don't think so. Of course, this is typical of the way Microsoft responds to competition...be it from Sony, Apple or anyone else. Microsoft prefers to scoff, belittle or churn out poor imitations of the innovations of others. I don't think a company that launched duds like Windows Vista or the Zune music player should be casting stones at anyone.

  • 12 Posted by blueiroc350 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:09PM EDT Report Abuse

    I don't see the advantage for Microsoft to release an Xbox 360 with built in blu-ray, at least not in the near future. They can't start making games on blu-ray discs because of all the 360s with standard DVD drives out there. And the increase in price for a 360 with built in blu would be more than a PS3. I would bet on an add-on device at some point in 2008/09. I must admit that I am pro Sony/PS3/Blu-ray, and own both PS3 and 360. For the price, get the 40 GB PS3 for $400 if you want a blu-ray player (I also recommend the blu-ray remote for $25). The PS3 has Wi-Fi built in, HDMI and digital optical audio ports built in, and the blu-ray built in. It will always be up to date via software updates from Sony. Its the cheapest blu-ray player you can buy, and it plays PS3 games and gets you access to the Playstation network on top of that.

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