No 360 Blu-Ray Planned

Now that Microsoft has dramatically dropped the price of its Xbox 360 external HD DVD players in hopes they don't have to just dump all of them in the same landfill Atari used for its E.T. game, everyone's expecting them to create a Blu-ray player. Don't hold your breath, though.

As Xbox 360 group product manager Aaron Greenberg told Reuters, "Xbox is not currently in talks with Sony or the Blu-ray Association to integrate Blu-ray into the Xbox experience." On the bright side, this means they'll continue to develop their digital content. He adds, "We're the only console offering digital distribution of entertainment content."

This jibes with the rumors of Netflix partnering with Microsoft for some sort of instantly streaming rental service on the 360. Xbox LIVE users can already download select movies and TV shows as well. After the HD DVD collapse, I can't blame Microsoft for not wanting to gamble on another peripheral. Nothing squanders good will with your customers more than getting them to buy hardware that quickly becomes obsolete. Downloadable content seems like the easiest, cheapest solution for Microsoft.

Pete Haas

Staff Writer at CinemaBlend.