Is the Xbox 360 getting a Blu-ray Drive?

It must be the changing of the seasons because no quarter of the calendar is complete without the requisite rumor that the Xbox 360 will be adding Blu-ray support. This rumor has been circulating in one form or another ever since the demise of HD-DVD, and now it’s come to rear its head once more.

This time around the reports come from X-bit Labs, who claim that Microsoft is prepping an external Blu-ray player in an attempt to cut into PlayStation 3 sales. The drive would retail for $100-150, but X-bit didn’t have any info on when the new drive would be released.

If you’re rolling your eyes at the mere concept of this then congratulations, you have expressed the proper response. Microsoft squashed the rumors in short order once more, stating:
[indent]"As we’ve said before, Microsoft has no plans to introduce an Xbox 360 Blu-ray add-on. Games are what drive consumers to purchase game consoles, and we remain focused on providing the largest library of blockbuster games available."[/url]

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, as the company has long stated that they believe the future of media is in digital distribution, and think that Blu-ray will be dead and buried without ever achieving widespread popularity. So yet again we have to kill this undead zombie rumor, one which keeps rising from the grave no matter how many bullets we put in its brain.

TGR Verdict: Rumor Killed Once More