MS tramples external Blu-ray drive talk

via Eurogamer


Microsoft has denied that an external Blu-ray drive for Xbox 360 is in the works.

"As we've said before, Microsoft has no plans to introduce an Xbox 360 Blu-ray add-on. Games are what drive consumers to purchase game consoles, and we remain focused on providing the largest library of blockbuster games available," Microsoft told Edge Online in a thinly veiled swipe at the competition (presumably having temporarily forgotten about its price cuts, Avatars, movie downloads, music festivals, theme packs and all the other things it does which aren't games).

Reports surfaced earlier this week claiming Microsoft had already commissioned the manufacture of the hardware with Toshiba-Samsung. The rumoured price was to be between USD 100 and USD 150.

But speculation of internal or external Blu-ray drives for Xbox 360 has been rife since the death of the HD-DVD format earlier this year. And Microsoft has consistently swatted them down, maintaining that digital distribution will be the real future.