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Ballmer: Blu-ray add-on coming to Xbox 360

Posted Oct 21, 2009 at 10:05PM EST by Ryan F.

Listed in: Xbox 360 Tags: CES, Microsoft, Steve Ballmer, xbox 360 titles

ballmer - Image 1

After being defeated in the format wars last year, it looks like Microsoft is finally adopting Blu-ray. In an interview published today by tech site Gizmodo, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer confirmed that Blu-ray will eventually come to Xbox 360 as an add-on drive. According to Ballmer:

Well I don't know if we need to put Blu-ray in thereÂ—you'll be able to get Blu-ray drives as accessories.

I think mostly the future of movies is on-demand, actually, as opposed to distribution via physical media. So we're just gonna keep driving forward and try to make it the best entertainment Â— overall entertainment, not just gaming, but overall entertainment experience we can.

When an Xbox spokesperson wase asked about Ballmer's comment, they told Gizmodo:

Our solution for HD quality video on an Xbox 360 is coming this fall with Zune Video and 1080p instant-on HD streaming. As far as our future plans are concerned, we're not ready to comment.

Ballmer did not specify any timetable for when we can expect these specific add-ons to be available for purchase. Hmmn, maybe Microsoft is brewing something for CES.

Via Gizmodo

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funny really.

"the ps3 is a waste of money"

yet since it came out microsoft has been updating its hardware features to match.... hdmi to bluray.

the other thing thats funny is how xbots always like to claim sony dont know how to innovate and only copy ideas off of the other two.

lol as time goes on I get more and more convinced I picked the best console. (ps3) and not a cheap piece of ***** (wii/360).... well tbh I did buy a wii but I dont use it :P.

# Wtf was that? — TheRockness 2009-10-22 00:40

I know I'm already in hell, but was that just a snowball?

# lame — MagilsugaM 2009-10-22 01:11

Xbox 360 stole our Cell. Their processor was based on the Cell!. Now they want to steal our Bluray which Sony and other0, same with the Cell spent a lot of money in develop. For what for being use by a company incapable of making reliable hardware....

And they dare to call the PS3 useless. In countries like australia.We got ***** internet in here! who the hell will like to stream hd movies! what a waste... Yeah get your bluray and try to run a game from it while is plugged in usb port.....

# Actually... — TheRockness 2009-10-22 01:16

This is exactly why they made the format. They hoped that other companies would adopt the format making it a viable medium to release software.

# ... — Silver-Tiger 2009-10-22 01:45

okay, this is cool. Firstly, this means Blu-Ray will adapt a bigger market. Secondly, this is no competition for PS3.

Why buy an addon for a console when you can get the whole package all-in-one? And we alll know MS, this addon will approx. cost 300 dollars. This will only be good for people who ONLY have an Xbox 360 and an HD TV, which isn't much.

Most gamers will have all three consoles when it comes out, and if you only want to watch Blu-Ray, you get a standalone player anyway.

PS: This is just my opinion, no facts, so no fanboy war please, mkay?

# i like punching midgets in borderlands — Psylink 2009-10-22 03:02

definitly agree with you, but i think what could happen is it will end up in newer consoles closer to natal launch. not an actual external. atleast thats what the smart option would be, for future bluray games. personally dont have a ps3, havent wanted one, but now with more and more games coming out i want to play on it i will be grabbing one around income tax time probably.

# nice — vizard00 2009-10-22 04:00

here i come ,

Im sure that Microsoft plan to Lunsh A New XBOX360 with Bleu ray suport yes since alot of publishers complain about multi discs , so we will have a Separate Drive as accessory then a BR player as Player remplasement then the Xbox 360 bleu ray , thats will solve many problems in develepment process and that will be a answer to KOJIMA too about when he said "MGS4 can only be in a BLUE ray disc " and the big even is the end of piracy on xbox360 , publishers will enjoy releasing their games on BR for less piracy rate .

so just hope its not another 100$ plus for our xbox360

# ... — Teivin 2009-10-22 04:17

Again, why would anyone want to use a bluray drive or games? The read speed is terrible. Oh noz, my 72Mbps bluray transfer speeds (You know, the speed PS3 uses, which sucks, btw.) wont be able to transfer fast enough on my 320Mbps usb port! ...Oh wait. I'll stick to my 129 Mbps DVD drive, mmkay?

He is right, as was the spokesperson, in that streaming media is far preferable to blurays themselves. Physical media in general is on the decline. Anyone who watches media sales can see that.

# hey psylink — Aces In The Palm 2009-10-22 04:21

its microsoft we're talking about.

the ones who male you pay for online.

the ones who blocked third party storage devices in a system update.

the ones who should of had the HD-DVD as an inbuilt drive but decided to make you pay extra for it.

after paying for the license to use Blu-Ray, i cant see them putting it into the console.

it'll be another add-on they can peddle for sure.

# .... — frank_the_bunny 2009-10-22 04:57

How about because they allow for far larger and superior games?

Uncharted 2 anyone?

And the loading speed is absolutely fine on PS3 games, especially seeing as a lot of games only have to load once now to get into the game and then there aren't any other loading points.

# Bad Move M$... — papajag 2009-10-22 05:18

I think by releasing an external Blu-ray drive they admit defeat. The 360 is in a good spot right now and they shouldn't allow anyone to realize what the PS3 has to offer. They should wait until next gen to implement anything Blu-ray. Seriously anyone with the right mind and those that aren't fanboys will get a PS3 over an add-on. This might actually be as bad as their update.

# Forgot to mention... — papajag 2009-10-22 05:22

Both Sony and MS recent ideas suck. From PSP Go to this crap. Wow they don't really pay attention to what people want.

# they don't have a choice! — Navani 2009-10-22 06:45

Blu-ray is the future.. Just as DVDs replaced videos, the Blu-ray will replace DVDs.. and I'll be that in the future there will be games that can be on blu-ray too, if they are allowed I don't know the rules.. because more storage space for games equal more content!

# LOL! — Bountyhunter53 2009-10-22 08:39

So now Sony should request from MS, an apology and a billion dollars for each batch of Blu-Ray drives.

But jokes aside, Sony sales should go up quite a bit. As X360 Elite with BD price should go up. With the PS3 price relatively staying the same. MS admit this year you lost everything.

But i still think Sony, IBM and Toshiba should say no to this deal. Cause MS is kinda trying to monopolize nearly everything on the market.

Leaving the heavy-weight PS3 and light-weight Wii with disadvantages. And monopolizing on every consoles advantages. I would literally make Ballmer lick my shoes if i was Sony's CEO.

# Microsoft is on a suicide mission!? What!? — that_sterlin_kid 2009-10-22 08:42

Question.... Who in their right mind will buy this? MS isn't making enough sales as Sony now for the fact that they are beginning to dumb down. All they care about is attention and sales, therefore, they dish out as much as they can as fast as they can. Im 100% positive that due to their impatience, the Blu-Ray enabled console will fail... And who would buy it? Majority of people who wanted an Xbox 360 already have one... and those who still WANT a 360? Majority already own a PS3 or some kind of blu-ray player already...

Microsoft, YOU CAN DO BETTER!! Save Blu-Ray for your next generation console, and work on something that can be added to the 360's now through an update. You just added Twitter, that's a start, now perhaps you should work on an internet browser or something... But ANOTHER console? Come on... Again, who will buy it?

# NO BLU RAY GAMES, JUST MOVIES! — Daistaar 2009-10-22 10:53

i don't think you guys understand what's really the intent here. MS will not be using it for games as it will present a compatibility problem. This will most likely be just for viewing HD movies. It won't be for playing games and I doubt that as it would alienate the vast install base. Not to mention, who's going to want to develop for a smaller niche market of users that have the addon as opposed to the standard set of users. It's like the 32X, or the Jaguar CD, or even the PS2 HDD. Makes no sense in targetting the peripheral.

# mmm — MagilsugaM 2009-10-22 12:46

yeah they sure will be movies but with the price that micro$oft sells their addons. It will cost more than any bluray player. Plus if you add the price of the console it will end up costing more than the ps3 when it came out !

# Before getting too excited — avatar76 2009-10-22 14:52

I believe that they are only talking at this point about bluray movies on this bluray drive add on.

# @papajag and sterlin — avatar76 2009-10-22 14:55

I think all this drive is about is movies, no different to HD-DVD. Asside from PS3 fanboy boasting rights about having bluray drive before 360 owners there is nothing of concern here. I believe that it will be next gen before we see a bluray enabled 360 for gaming...

# UH — Teivin 2009-10-22 16:51

You mean after you sit there installing for four hours? Ya, then I guess it does only need to load once. My bad.

# rofl — Master Chef 2009-10-22 19:51

"our Cell", "our Bluray". You need a reality check lol

BTW the whole point of a new video format is to get everyone to adopt it, so it, you know, makes money? Sony would love nothing more than for MS to use Bluray

# IF ms are smart and I guess that is a big if — avatar76 2009-10-22 19:59

They'll price this drive in a competitive way such that 360 owners won't have to pay anywhere near the cost of a blueray player for the add on drive. My guess would be a $150USD price point top end, $100USD bottom end.

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