Microsoft: No way, Blu Ray!

[newsimg]http://www.aqua-soft.org/media/news/83368d2d46ace12822cd91cf49df87c8.jpg[/newsimg]Microsoft has denied that it plans to integrate Blu-ray high-definition DVD drives into its Xbox 360 game console.

Rumors have circulated recently that Microsoft was considering a Blu-ray replacement for the Xbox's now-discontinued external HD DVD drive.

Last week, the Financial Times, citing an unnamed senior executive, reported that Sony and Microsoft were in talks to integrate Blu-ray into the game system.

Not so, says a Microsoft executive. "Xbox is not currently in talks with Sony or the Blu-ray Association to integrate Blu-ray into the Xbox experience," Aaron Greenberg, group product manager for Xbox 360, told Reuters on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, reports indicate that Toshiba will likely take a nearly $1 billion loss this year, stemming from its decision to abandon the HD DVD format.

Aaron Greenberg, group product manager for Xbox 360, told Reuters that Microsoft isn't exploring any kind of Blu-ray add-on for the Xbox 360.

Microsoft, which has stopped making an HD DVD add-on for the Xbox 360, would continue to invest in its Xbox Live online service that already lets users rent hundreds of movies, including ones in high-definition.

And even though I don't believe the studios will go whole-hog into HD downloads very soon, our studies show that if anyone can pull together a decent library of so-called HD content, it's Team Xbox.

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