Microsoft: No Blu-Ray On Xbox 360, Despite Rumors

Not so fast -- there are no plans for Blu-ray accessories for Xbox 360, says Xbox Live program manager Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb, clarifying yesterday's widely-publicized comments from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. When asked about the possibility of a Blu-ray drive on the company's video game console, Ballmer had replied: "I don't know if we need to put Blu-ray in there - you'll be able to get Blu-ray drives as accessories." The Microsoft CEO's response spurred numerous online reports that Microsoft may be considering some breed of Blu-ray add-on to the Xbox 360. "I wanted to clear something up. Steve was referring to Blu-Ray accessories for the PC," Major Nelson said yesterday on his official blog. Leaving no room for misinterpretation, he added: "As we have said in the past, we have no plans to introduce a Blu-Ray drive for the Xbox 360." Major Nelson implies that the console's upcoming 1080p streaming television and movie service makes an optical drive redundant. Blu-ray is the de facto champion in the format wars against HD-DVD, and the built-in Blu-ray drive is a hallmark associated with rival PlayStation 3, the only console that offers it.