Microsoft is reinforcing its stance regarding Blu-ray: even though HD DVD lost the war, the software giant is not switching to Sony's offering. Despite constant rumors about the Xbox 360 supporting the format, Microsoft continues to deny that Blu-ray is coming to its gaming console. Now, the software giant has gone one step further, predicting that Blu-ray is going to die a slow death.
Microsoft was recently asked about the DVD format holding the Xbox 360 back in terms of its lifespan, suggesting that embracing Blu-ray would have been a better long-term solution. "I think people now recognise what a smart decision it was to keep the pricing low, and actually Blu-ray is going to be passed by as a format," UK Xbox head Stephen McGill told Xbox 360 Achievements. "People have moved through from DVDs to digital downloads and digital streaming, so we offer full HD 1080p Blu-ray quality streaming instantly, no download, no delay. So, who needs Blu-ray?"
It appears that the departure from focusing on HD physical media early on forced the Xbox team to look towards digital downloads for future products. Now, the company says streaming HD content defeats the need for Blu-ray. While streaming content is definitely the future, and will eventually kill physical media, we're thinking Blu-ray isn't going away anytime soon: discs and players are selling just fine. Furthermore, there are still many consumers who find themselves on a capped Internet connection, and if they want HD, Blu-Ray is still the way to go.
Many people are seeing this stance from Microsoft as a demonstration to side with Apple, which also hates on Blu-ray, but the fact is the company has always been against Blu-ray due to its fight in the console market with Sony. Interestingly, Microsoft recently used Blu-ray as one of many arguments against Apple's Macs.