Hot on the heels of Microsoft and Toshiba denying plans for a Xbox 360 that will offer an internal HD DVD drive, comes word from CNBC.com that insider sources are saying Bill Gates may unveil the new model at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show coming up in January of 2008.
Microsoft has been holding long on the company line that the reason they didn’t include a HD DVD player in the 360 was because they didn’t want to "force anything down" the consumer’s throat–a poorly veiled dig at the PS3 which has an on board Blu-ray player.
If the Big M shifts its policy and announces a new HD DVD capable Xbox 360 in the near future, the obvious conclusion is that HD DVD games may soon be available for the Xbox. But it may also segment the 360 crowd and "force" gamers to buy an add-on HD DVD player.
We’ll see how this all develops as the rumor mill keeps on churning.
