Rumor Surfaces About HD-DVD for Xbox 360 in 2006

By Frank Ling, GN Writer Thursday, December 29, 2005 There™s an old saying that says good things come to those who wait. This may hold true for those who have not gotten into the hype and frenzy of getting an Xbox 360 RIGHT NOW! Nothing is set in stone and nothing is necessarily confirmed, but there are rumors that have been circulating about future versions of the 360 having an HD-DVD drive as part of its hardware. Where in the heck did that rumor come from? None other than Mr. Billy Gates himself. In a statement he made earlier this year, Gates said, "We are looking at whether future versions of [the] Xbox 360 will incorporate an additional capacity of an HD-DVD player or something else." The rumor mill began churning quickly last week after a Japanese news service speculated about a HD-DVD capable 360 showing up in 2006. Microsoft denied the report and said in a statement to IGN, "Microsoft, in both America and Japan, has not announced anything regarding the possibility of a next generation DVD drive being placed in the Xbox 360. There are currently no plans to release an Xbox 360 equipped with a next generation DVD player." Ah, but they didn™t categorically deny that no plans were in the works. They only said,