Although the eventuality has been hinted at before, Xbox UK head Neil Thompson has stated again that if the Blu-ray format becomes significantly more successful than the HD-DVD format then the company will support it with the Xbox 360.
Speaking to the BBC, Thompson is quoted as saying: “Whatever format wins it is highly likely we will offer a solution. The only debate is if you want to watch Blu-ray movies and pay the extra money for that feature. We prefer to offer the consumer choice."
Microsoft is known to greatly favor the HD-DVD format, although most assume that an unwillingness to support a Sony-sponsored format has played a significant part in this decision. As such, the Xbox 360’s HD-DVD drive has become the cheapest way to obtain a HD-DVD movie player.
Microsoft has always denied plans to release games on the HD-DVD format and this would presumably also follow for any potential Blu-ray drive. Recent data has suggested that cumulative sales of Blu-ray discs have surpassed those for HD-DVD for the first time, with Blu-ray outselling the HD-DVD format discs by a margin of more than 2-to-1.
