Blu-ray not coming to Xbox 360... yet

Ballmer got it wrong

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23 October 2009 9:30 GMT / By Duncan Geere

Kids, Steve Ballmer is lying to you. Yesterday we brought you the news, straight out of the man's mouth, that the Xbox 360 would be getting Blu-ray accessories. Today, Microsoft's PR team has swung into action to try and say they don't exist without explicitly saying "Ballmer was talking out of his arse".

Instead, a Microsoft spokesperson said: "Steve was referring to Blu-ray accessories for the PC. As we have said in the past, we have no plans to introduce a Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360. In fact, the future of home entertainment starts this fall when Xbox 360 becomes the first and only console to offer instant-on 1080p streaming HD movies".

Given that Ballmer was responding to a question about the Xbox and said "You'll be able to get Blu-ray drives as accessories", we doubt that accessories for the PC had anything to do with what he was saying. More likely Microsoft is trying to firefight some of the damage that Ballmer caused with the casual statement.

We wouldn't be surprised at all if Blu-ray accessories arrived for the console, particularly if Blu-ray movies begin to sell in reasonable numbers at some point. Microsoft just isn't ready to announce that yet.

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Gaming, Xbox 360, Steve Ballmer, Blu-ray, Home Cinema

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