Rumours have been floating around for months regarding Microsoft integrating Blu-Ray technology in the 360, and with the apparant demise of HD-DVD many more will no doubt arrise.
One such rumour comes from the website SmartHouse. Supposedly, insiders at Microsoft have confirmed that the company has already created a stand-alone Blu-ray add-on in the same vein as the HD-DVD add-on. As long as Markerting and Sales approve the project, there will be a Blu-ray add-on in the coming months.
To add more to the above rumour, the same insider sources have claimed that Microsoft have been working on a new 360 with an internal Blu-ray drive. Now while the add-on rumour is somewhat believable and quite logical, this one might need to be taken with a grain of salt or two.
Firstly, Microsoft fully backed HD-DVD, yet they never released a 360 with an internal HD-DVD drive. Secondly, why would they start creating a Blu-ray equipped 360 variation while the next-gen format wars were still being fought (remember that Toshiba only just announced they were pulling out while the rumour suggests Blu-Ray development has been going on for months).
However, if a Blu-ray equipped machine were released, it would allow developers who release multi-disc games to cram everything onto a single Blu-ray disc, similar to PC game developers releasing games on CD and DVD. Some developers may even move to releasing games solely on Blu-ray, although this could cause a lot of backlash, with owners of older 360s being forced to buy the Blu-ray add-on to play new games.
Personally, I’d put money on a Blu-ray add-on and maybe even developers releasing games on both DVD-9 and Blu-ray. What do you think?
[via CVG]
