Microsoft 'not in talks' with Sony over Xbox 360 Blu-ray drive

Well, this is awkward. Just a week after a Sony executive told the Financial Times that Sony was "in talks with console rival Microsoft about offering a Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360," console rival Microsoft corrected the record. Aaron Greenberg, group product manager for Xbox 360 (and all around pleasant guy), told Reuters rather unequivocally, "Xbox is not currently in talks with Sony or the Blu-ray Association to integrate Blu-ray into the Xbox experience."

Considering a not insignificant portion of the Xbox 360 owning audience has a now obsolete drive tethered to their 'box, we're unconvinced that the "Xbox experience" couldn't use a high-def optical format. Greenberg is quick to point out that Xbox 360 is "the only console offering digital distribution of entertainment content" which, to our continued great surprise (don't you own a movie studio, Sony?), is still true ... but for how long? We can't be sure of what makes sense to Microsoft bossman Ballmer, but we think just talking to the Blu-ray Association might be a good start.

[Via Engadget]

Reader Comments (64)

I have absolutely no interest in high-def movies, but I think it would be pretty stupid for Microsoft to not release a BR attachment at this point... especially since, for at least some consumers, the inclusion of BR seems to be a tipping point in their console purchasing decisions.

I still don't think high-def has really taken off, and in light of the recession, I don't think it will for a while... but it'd be idiotic to not, at the very least, entertain the idea of a BR attachment. Especially if you can sit it on the shelf for $150~$200.

Because Blu-ray is a consortium and there are other companies involved, MS doesn't have to ask "Mother may I?" to Sony. In fact, they can licence BR and there's NOTHING Sony could do about it unless of course Sony is throwing bags of money around that is. Be kind of funny wathing the 360 beat the PS3 to death with it's own tech.

So, Msoft, all this talk of you offering 'choice' with the HD DVD add-on ultimately boils down to you offering the consumer...nothing?

Bravo :)

I believe that Microsoft was in talks and was trying to get Bluray to incorporate HDI into thier Bluray Disks instead of BD-J which is not as good as HDI. Sony probably did not agree and Microsoft said screw it. That is what I think.

BD-J is more powerful than HDi. HDi is more simple to implement because it's a scripting language... but anything that can be done with HDi can be done with BD-J. The reverse is not true.

That was 6 years ago and was one of the reasons for the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray schism

Why would Sony talk to MS anyway? You talk to the BDA. The BDA is a consortium who wants to profit from BluRay, and thus are likely to want a BluRay drive to be available for 360 (perhaps unlike Sony).

If I were MS, I wouldn't bother anyway. It's not going to be a big seller. Instead I would support a 3rd party USB BluRay drive (one was already announced).

What kind of "talks" would be necessary? MS gives Sony the money, they get the Blu-ray drive for the 360. It's not like Sony's gonna turn it down. That's like saying Sony's not in talks with studios about Spiderman 5- we still know it's coming.

HD discs are so unnecessary, that I think digital rentals are a way better option. There's almost NO movies I would repay for, let alone for $20-30 apiece, that I already own on DVD.

Esp with the econ going down BR is never going to be close to what DVD became.

Methinks the key word is INTEGRATE......that word alone does not relate to an external add-on drive.

I think the operative phrase here is "not 'currently' in talks". Something tells me that if it is going to happen, agreements have already been reached.

M$ has the foresight to have known that HD-DVD was a format walking for a long time now.

Surely the talks had been going for awhile, and thus an agreement has already been reached.

Oh gee thanks Microsoft for offering to let me pay for a service that my digital cable provider gives me for free. In a much timelier manner I might add.

Digital Distribution = Blockbuster 2010. Pay and pay and pay but never own.

I'll pass.

http://www.tech-exposed.com

Its very doubtful that Sony would give away this technology to their largest game console rivals.

It's funny how people who use the term "M$" think they're clever. You might as well call it the $ony P$3, too, in order to be consistent. They both want to make $ after all.

Microsoft 'not in talks' with Sony over Xbox 360 Blu-ray drive

Reader Comments (64)

Posted: Mar 13th 2008 10:59AM FredFredrickson said

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