Xbox 360 vs. PS3 has another dimension to it: HD-DVD of the former vs. Blu-ray of the latter. Rumor has it that Microsoft is looking to incorporate Blu-ray in its console to better take on Sony’s offering. As early as May 2008, we might have Xbox 360s floating with Blu-ray, dumping off the lost cause of HD-DVD. Samarthouse says that Microsoft has built a standalone Blu-ray player that can be connected to an Xbox 360. A model featuring this player might hit shelves within three months. If such a console does see the light of the day, it’d be tantamount to retracting on a fundamental support by the industry giant; Microsoft and Intel were the first of the tech-giants to show allegiance to HD-DVD format. With Toshiba finally withdrawing from the DVD race, it was a matter of time that companies shifted onto the more popular Blu-ray format.
As a matter of fact, the presence of Blu-ray has itself fed the popularity of Sony’s console. It is but natural that Microsoft finally realized that users are more comfortable with Blu-ray drives and players. It is expected that shifting over to the new format would not be too much of a problem for Xbox 360, since the player uses an external drive in any case. This would be a great move for Microsoft and for the fans of the console too. With Blu-ray the clear winner in DVD war, it is but fair that consoles fought on equal ground too.
