Microsoft's Bach tamps down Blu-ray Xbox rumors

by Kyle Orland { Jun 9th 2008 at 12:00PM }

Well, it's tomorrow, and despite yesterday's rumor that Microsoft would be announcing a Blu-ray equipped Xbox 360 today (that's yesterday's tomorrow, for those of you confused by that first clause), so far we've so far heard bupkis. In fact, we've heard less than bupkis if you take into account the San Francisco Chronicle interview with Robbie Bach, in which the Microsoft Entertainment & Devices president downplays disc-based movie formats and stresses Microsoft's HD video downloads.

"Xbox 360 has a great ability to deliver [high-definition experience] through the Xbox Live (online download) service," Bach said. "It's a great way to get the high-definition concept because it's right there. There's no additional media. There is nothing you need to purchase ... You have to look at how fundamentally compelling the difference is between a progressive scan DVD player and the picture that it can produce and what you get on a high-definition player. The reality is there is some difference, but most people look at it and say, 'I am not going to pay extra for that.'"

The full interview also includes Bach's thoughts on in-game ads, the next-next-gen Xbox, and motion-sensitive controllers. Check it out.

Tags: blu-ray, breakingnews, hd-dvd, high-def, microsoft, robbie-bach, rumor, xbox360

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Count Noobula @ Jun 9th 2008 12:05PM

Knew it.

NATO_Duke @ Jun 9th 2008 12:06PM

Who can honestly be shocked that this rumor is being killed again?

colin @ Jun 9th 2008 5:32PM

IDK ... a lot of Microsoft rumors have come true ... Elite model, falcon chipsets, arcade model, HDMI

Tiptup300 @ Jun 9th 2008 9:45PM

People, IT IS NOT COMING. THANK YOU!

Phil Ringsmuth @ Jun 9th 2008 12:08PM

I sure hope that picture came from Google and that you guys don't actually somehow still *have* Pepsi Blue sitting around.

I'd be afraid if that were the case...

John Z @ Jun 9th 2008 12:09PM

Hey, don't be mean. Maybe now that it's years past its expiration date it might actually be drinkable!

CTC XBL-supapaypamawio PSN-ctclaw @ Jun 9th 2008 12:20PM

I wish I still had some Pepsi Blue, that was some good stuff. They just came out with 3 new Mountain Dew flavors that are out for a limited time, I think I'm going to buy some extras to save over the years once they are gone! Then I will sell them on ebay for millions.

Fernando Rocker @ Jun 9th 2008 12:22PM

Me hearts Hawaiian Punch.

=p

Korova Pyro aspect @ Jun 9th 2008 12:23PM

Pepsi Blue Label

Refrigerator-aged over 12 years!

Small-batch soda from America.

JS Beckerist @ Jun 9th 2008 12:23PM

I still have some Vanilla Coke stored away... Granted, it's in cans (though still probably good!)

MarkHawk @ Jun 9th 2008 12:34PM

they still sell Vanilla Coke here in Arizona. Along with Mountian Dew Live Wire all year round.

Vcize @ Jun 9th 2008 12:47PM

Screw Pepsi Blue, I want me some Crystal Pepsi.

Viridium @ Jun 9th 2008 12:57PM

JS Beckerist, the Coke will eventually eat through the cans and make a giant sticky mess. It may take 2 years to do so, but believe me - it'll happen.

BPM [MKWii: 2578 3585 8392] @ Jun 9th 2008 1:28PM

I actually liked Pepsi Blue. :(

Never got to try Crystal Pepsi, I think...

Vanilla Coke is still for sale around here? Huh....

BPM [MKWii: 2578 3585 8392] @ Jun 9th 2008 1:34PM

Huh, I just noticed... that Pepsi Blue label has Japanese written on it. At the bottom to the right it says ペプシ　ブルー (pepushi buruu).

Wonder if they still sell it in Japan? :O

Mr.ESC @ Jun 9th 2008 1:44PM

"Me hearts Hawaiian Punch".

Hawaiian Punch what about FAAALCOOON PUUUUNNNNCH!

You people sure like to drink flavored toilet water. I drink POWER THRIST I especially love Shockolate is like adding chocolate to an ELECTRICAL STORM!!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=qRuNxHqwazs

(I think I tried Crystal Pepsi once and it wasn't bad a little better than the average Pepsi but to be honest I don't like Pepsi. I got a free Retro Pepsi once and I don't mid to tell you it tastes awful)

deaftly @ Jun 9th 2008 1:51PM

Crystal Pepsi was soooo good. Pepsi Blue not so much, anyone remember Kona Pepsi, now that was BAD.

BPM [MKWii: 2578 3585 8392] @ Jun 9th 2008 1:54PM

Mr. ESC, if you liked Powerthirst, then you'll love the non-fictional drink, Brawndo: The Thirst Mutilator.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbxq0IDqD04

(commercial done by the same guy who did the Powerthirst videos)

unboring @ Jun 9th 2008 12:08PM

lol, did anyone believe this? besides immediateley after joystiq posted this story yesterday, it was denied by Bach. The story was posted on Engadget immediatley. Seems like Joystiq leaves these stories up to fan flame wars.

PojoMofo @ Jun 9th 2008 12:14PM

Next week this will pop up again, just to be debunked...again

SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread) @ Jun 9th 2008 12:14PM

the commenters on THIS SITE debunked this rumor yesterday almost immediately after you posted it with a link to the....uh....debunking.

that said, i still think 360 will get Blu-ray eventually, just not yet.

svenhoek @ Jun 9th 2008 12:18PM

Dude wtf is the problem with MS making a little add-on (like the hd-dvd) to sell for the 360?

Blu ray won MS. GTFOI and make some damn money off of it.

MarkHawk @ Jun 9th 2008 12:21PM

Most likely the only one here ... but MAN I miss Pepsi Blue...

Anyone try that new Blue-Raspberry Mountain Dew? Closest thing to a Pepsi Blue these days is a Bah-Ha blast from Taco Bell.

MarkHawk @ Jun 9th 2008 12:21PM

sorry pressed the wrong reply button.

Cesaria (MKW:2621-2994-1376) @ Jun 9th 2008 12:24PM

Baha Blast FTW. It's the only Mountain Dew I can drink without feeling like my teeth are rotting out.

DangerMouse @ Jun 9th 2008 12:24PM

Why Microsoft would want to deal with the overhead of disc format when they can sell HD digitally is beyond me. In my honest opinion, Blu-Ray will be the last wave of optical media we'll see in a long time.

arrrgh @ Jun 9th 2008 12:29PM

Holographic storage will eat blu ray soon... I think it's a giant joke personally. Blu ray makes me laugh at money grabbing superfluous formats

MarkHawk @ Jun 9th 2008 12:31PM

If only they sold it in a can Cesaria... if only...

Fernando Rocker @ Jun 9th 2008 12:32PM

Well...

I really hope that next gen consoles don't use optical media.

Maybe by 2011 flash memory will be cheap enough to store 25GB games in a flash card. No load times FTW.

Altough, I don't see Sony or Microsoft using cartridges... maybe Nintendo will.

nick @ Jun 9th 2008 12:33PM

Microsoft technically could make a blu-ray add-on for the 360 to play Blu-ray movies.

The HD DVD drive add-on was subsidized by Toshiba (a customer and vendor to Microsoft), which kept costs down. It's doubtful someoneone would subsidize the blu-ray drive, which means it would likely cost more than the HD DVD add-on. Higher costs mean less sales.

The HD DVD add-on never really sold well, which can either be attributed to the format war, or simply customers were not interested in playing HD disc movies on the 360.

Microsoft would have to update the 360 firmware, and support some level of blu-ray specification. This would include supporting JAVA, which is a competitor to Microsoft's technologies. I personally believe this would the biggest hurdle for Microsoft. I can't imagine them going down that path unless they had to do it (ie market demands it). Right now the Blu-Ray market isn't exactly setting the world on fire.

So while Microsoft could support Blu-Ray, what do they get out of it by doing so? They already stated any high definition disc format would be for movies only. Microsoft doesn't get a cut from Blu-Ray movies to my knowledge. So to recoup any costs, they have to charge a lot for the player, which if it costs too much, nobody is going to buy the thing.

MarkHawk @ Jun 9th 2008 12:40PM

agreed nick. Maybe Microsoft will take a few billion dollars and give us all 50 mbs internet access across the states. Then we can stream all our Movies, TV, Music. I do not see users DLing huge files but sites like hulu.com prove that Streaming is a way beautiful thing. For files on the go we could always have optimized versions for portable electronics.

borland502 (SDF - Macross Ring) @ Jun 9th 2008 12:43PM

@Fernando

"No load times FTW.

Altough, I don't see Sony or Microsoft using cartridges... maybe Nintendo will."

No my good friend, Nintendo will not use them either. Now optical media might vanish, but load times are not the result of optical media; they are the result of RAM on the console itself. Unless the console can contain the entirety of the game within its working memory, you will have load times.

Although come to think of it, you may be right. If the next Wii only duct-tapes two dvd's together in 480p resolution, then memory might be cheap enough by then to eliminate load times.

Korova Pyro aspect @ Jun 9th 2008 12:56PM

nick's right. Its a programming and support hurdle.

Also, PS3 is a lossleader than cannot recoup on BD alone (it needs game royalties), so the more people buy PS3 for BDplayer, the better for MS.

NATO_Duke @ Jun 9th 2008 2:01PM

arrgh, is anyone currently working with holographic storage? I haven't heard anything about it lately.

nick @ Jun 9th 2008 12:22PM

I figured it would turn out to be false. For some reason this one just keeps appearing, and I think it's just wishful thinking. That's not to say it won't ever happen, but it's not in Microsoft's best interest right now. Microsoft would likely have to face this by the time they release the next Xbox, unless there's some alternative to disc by then...

Anyway, I'd be more interested in hearing about the much rumored Netflix association than I am a blu-ray drive on the 360.

Robobagins @ Jun 9th 2008 12:23PM

I'm betting it's MS that keeps continually feeding these rumors. How many times have they debunked this? They're probably just waiting for BD market share to increase(not players sold but discs) before releasing a unit of their own.

Also betting that their deal with Toshiba forced them to use HD-DVD somehow. Otherwise I'm sure it would have never been done at all.

unboring @ Jun 9th 2008 12:53PM

microsoft may be "waiting" but its a big mistake, tons of people are buying ps3 at my store and bluray playback ( as well as being one of the best bluray players on the market ) as well as gaming and media center functionality are the reasons I am hearing over and over. We have seen a huge spike in the 40gb sales and havent had 80gbs since about a week after hd dvd conceded loss. We have right now abit under 200 MGS4 bundles in the back of my store that I can say confidently will sell out in the first day.

You assumption that MS is waiting for more discs to be available seems baseless and counter intuitive. However you spin it MS is losing out on alot of sales by not offering Bluray.

And also No, Toshiba did not force Microsoft to support HD DVD or make an xbox attachment. MS made the hd dvd hardware because they wanted to prolong the format war and confuse consumers. That way more consumers will be happy taking sub par 720p compressed with DD5.1 movies that they can have for like 3 days. You sound like one of the guys who bought the hd dvd add-on.

deslock @ Jun 10th 2008 10:11AM

@Unboring

Not that I doubt you are telling the truth about your area but the industry numbers are showing otherwise. Blu ray movies are simply not selling like everyone hoped and expected. Up until the death of HD DVD, people were blaming market uncertainty about which format but now they are having to face the possibility that people aren't seeing the incentive. When the average DVD price is $15 these days... is an average Blu disc ($30) providing you that much more? Add in upscaling and there just isn't enough reason. Only videophiles are buying still unfortunately.

@Nick
I think your statements for MS waiting are so right on. I work as a software company that partners with MS and our software uses Java... and they grit their teeth.

offday @ Jun 9th 2008 12:26PM

Aw man. I remember Pepsi Blue. That stuff was gross. I bought one bottle, took one sip, and threw the rest in the trash.

MarkHawk @ Jun 9th 2008 12:32PM

I then came to your trash and drank the rest. I miss that stuff but I'll admit that there weren't admirers of the stuff.

Korova Pyro aspect @ Jun 9th 2008 12:34PM

At first glance, BD4XBOX peripheral would be appealing, but then think of the programming for all the weird BD interface stuff, constant updating etc. It wouldnt be worth it.

Plus, I am sure no BD standalone manufacturer want MS to take away the key electronics buying demographic with cheap add-on.

Anyway, I have Netflix, so I would like to see BD, but I dont want a standalone. As for XBL movies - $6 rental is pretty expensive and requires thick ipipes.

I'd rather MS rebuild XBL A&M from ground up that waste their (apparently limited) xbox resources on BD.

playwhutyalike @ Jun 9th 2008 12:35PM

I do agree with MS on this one. I myself, don't watch movies ever. If I do watch a movie it is either easily obtainable (download or DVR) or just happens to be on (cable). After watching said movie, I probably will never watch it again. Hence buying a 360 over a PS3. I also had a few other reasons added on top of that one.

If I were a movie nut who buys/rents movies, I probably would own a PS3 right now. But, like I've stated before, my home will probably have a PS3 in it sometime in the near future. Maybe then, I will be more interested in watching more than 1 movie a month.

beatboxtaun @ Jun 9th 2008 12:37PM

I'm sure it's going to happen. They just need to speed up the process. Nongamers would buy a PS3 as a blu-ray player and take advantage of gaming capabilities. This can destroy sales for XBOX if they don't step up their game. I'm sure all this is taken into consideration and it will happen. I guess, it's just a matter of time.

Korova Pyro aspect @ Jun 9th 2008 12:47PM

Remember, Sony is still losing money on each PS3 they sell, hoping to make it up with game royalties, which I believe are higher than BD movie royalties.

So each person who buys PS3 as a BD player puts Sony deeper in the whole and makes MS shake its fat belly just a little.

When the loss-lead on PS3 stops, then MS will launch a competing peripheral and take its fair share.

And no gamer will be swayed by BD vs. DVD in their choice of system, so its pointless for MS to jump in now.