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Sony discussing Blu Ray with Microsoft

March 06, 2008 in News comments 27

Sony has reportedly been talking with Microsoft about the possibility of supplying Blu Ray drives. Since Blu Ray has more or less won the format war against HD DVD now Sony probably have the upper hand in that regard. It's no surprise they're wanting to supply them to Microsoft as they will get revenue from it as well as giving them a larger amount of Blu Ray players out there in the market.

A Blu-ray drive in a 360 would make Microsoft more competitive with the PS3, but it would also mean extra revenues for Sony’s electronics division. It would also add further cost to the 360, meaning a premium edition of the console could be necessary.
Deathman48 via ft.com »
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Most recently commented on by on Mar 11, 2008

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  • 6
    Xenctuary Mar 6, 08
    Watch the flood of comments from "fanboys" who don't understand the logistics of real world business or even the reasoning behind Microsoft's HD-DVD player add-on in the first place...
    • 3
      Deathman48 Mar 6, 08
      Yeah definitely. I'm not sure if Microsoft would really go for a Blu Ray drive from Sony, but for sure they definitely need to consider their position now that Blu Ray has come out on top. Well, it would be foolish if they didn't anyway.
  • 0
    Avalith Mar 6, 08
    This could work in both companies' favors, actually. Sony would be making money off of Microsoft while supplying them with Blu-Ray drives, and some people may consider the 360 more seriously with a Blu-Ray drive, driving potential sales for Microsoft up and possibly narrowing the gap between the PS3 and the 360 as far as performance goes.
  • 0
    LordMaChao Mar 6, 08
    MISSON ACCOMPLISHED

    Sony vanquished the evil that is Microsoft!

    Right...?
    • 2
      Subzer0 Mar 6, 08
      Would you shut up already? You're not funny.

      Anyway, seems to me like Sony wants everyone to use Blu Ray. But if MS do decide to use it, I think the competition between them is only going to get a lot tougher than it already is.
    • 0
      Seeker X Mar 7, 08
      quote
      MISSON ACCOMPLISHED
      How long did it take to type and format that???
      • 0
        LordMaChao Mar 7, 08
        Haha, I just typed '[color=red}{/color][color=blue}{/color]', copied it and pasted it 8 times. Wasn't that hard, haha.

        I'm sorry I don't appeal to your sense of humor subzer0. God knows posting logical statements that are slightly pro-Microsoft wasn't acceptable - so I'm trying a new strategy.
  • 2
    jmac353 Mar 6, 08
    Here's where I see it being beneficial to Microsoft.

    If a person is a gamer and they wanted Blu-Ray chances are they're going to get a PlayStation 3, whether they're waiting for price drops or not, simply because hey, they're a gamer already, why not?

    That being said if Microsoft chose to implement Blu-Ray into a future 360 people that already owned a 360 would be more likely to just trade up to a 360 with a Blu-Ray drive and hence possibly not further PS3 sales (their competition) in the process.

    Sony isn't the enemy. PlayStation 3 is the enemy. Something people don't seem to understand is it's not the corporations that are really each others enemy, it's just their respective products.
  • 0
    Storm Mar 6, 08
    A Blu-Ray drive in the 360...so they'll input the BD compatibility within the console instead of a external player? That would be better...hell if they did that with the HD DVDs I would have bought a few...then again, I'm really not into getting another 360.
  • 0
    devil link Mar 6, 08
    Blu-Ray on 360 = Xbox Undefeatable lol.
  • 0
    Incidnia Mar 6, 08
    But how would it be implemented usefully?
  • 0
    Mnmfan* Mar 6, 08
    This still might cause a problem for Microsoft though. What about the millions of gamers that already have a 360? Is MS going to upgrade everyones console with a BD player??
    Game developers won't be able to use the extra space on the BD because not everyone will have purchased the add-on.
    • 0
      Cdemon Mar 6, 08
      They would use it for movies only, obviously.

      -___-
  • -1
    Red 9 Mar 6, 08
    I think it would kill PS3 sales. A lot of people bought a PS3 for the Blu-Ray, so if suddenly the competition has it, there would be less reason to get a PS3. I can't see this move helping their gaming division.
    • 1
      iLLmatic Mar 6, 08
      The Blu-Ray add-on would still cost money...
    • 0
      jmac353 Mar 6, 08
      Red 9 you need to open your eyes. You need to start dealing in definitives rather than possibilities.

      This could possibly hurt Sony's gaming division but it's not for certain. Let's just say that this does possibly hurt the PS3, I can't imagine it being devastating, maybe if it happened last year, but this year the PS3 will sell largely due to it's games.

      However it will definitely help Sony's Blu-Ray division. That's definitive.

      Either way this is good for Sony if it happens.
      • 0
        Red 9 Mar 7, 08
        I suppose people would still buy PS3s even then, since it's built in with Blu-Ray, as opposed to a 360 peripheral (as I doubt they would make a whole new model just for Blu-Ray).

        And yes, the games are finally becoming the centerpiece for PS3, like it should've been. So it will sell for that reason, indeed.
  • 1
    iLLmatic Mar 6, 08
    Why would you say they 'more or less' won the war with HD DVD?
  • 0
    Armed Rebel Mar 7, 08
    A blu ray drive for the 360 would be worthless I think, at least in helping the sales of the 360, unless it's priced at $50 or something (which I would definitely go for). More likely though it'll be priced at $200 or something and I may as well buy a blu ray player separately as it'll probably be better. (Or if you want a blu ray player with your console, a PS3)
  • 0
    SS4Gogeta Mar 7, 08
    The writing was on the wall the whole time. This is good business for both companies and just makes good sense.
  • -1
    CRUNK JUICE Mar 7, 08
    For once, I agree with Cdemon. They can only use it for movies. This means that Sony are in a win, win situation. Sony will gain more profits from the extra Blu-Ray drives and the 360 still can't use a next gen disc format for their games so they still can't close the gap to the PS3, meaning the PS3 still has a big edge over 360. And to the dude who recons that a 360 with a Blu-Ray drive is unstoppable...what about a PS3 with a CELL processor AND Blu-Ray drive? I take it the PS3 by your logic is uber unstoppable then -__-
  • -1
    RikuNova27 Mar 8, 08
    If Sony were to distribute Blu Ray Drives to Microsoft, Microsoft would probably be getting the upper hand.

    The Xbox 360 would be uber godly by then.
    • 0
      Raziel_326 Mar 8, 08
      For *bleep* sakes people, what makes you guys think that the 360 will be running Blu-Ray games from now on? There have been far too many 360s sold so far, it is WAY too late to be making BLu-Ray games for 360. This will only be an external drive for movies, nothing more. Microsoft will most likely not be making BLu-Ray games until the next generation.
    • 0
      CRUNK JUICE Mar 8, 08
      How the *bleep* will the 360 be uber godly IF thjey did have one? It will only be used for Blu-Ray DVD's not Blu-Ray ROMs which is what the games are saved on. The PS3 already has a Blu-Ray drive in it and is used for games, we have the CELL and a more reliable console with a much better game library this year. The 360 will not be uber godly!
    • 0
      Red 9 Mar 8, 08
      That's ridiculous. Please, go research the Blu-Ray situation before speaking again. IMO, a Blu-Ray player addon would not do much better than the HD-DVD addon player did.
      • 0
        SS4Gogeta Mar 10, 08
        I think the Blu-ray add on would do much better than the HD-DVD add on. Before now it was a $199.99 gamble that HD-DVD would win, now it is certain that Blu-ray is the wave of the future. So expect Blu-ray to become much more popular. I would have bought the HD-DVD add on if it had won.
  • 0
    Unknown Warrior Mar 11, 08
    I think people are misinterpreting a few things.

    a) It's only going to be used for movies, just like HD-DVD add-on. 360 will still be running DVD format for their games.

    b) This will be beneficial for both companies. Microsoft is back in the game as a movie player, Sony gets more revenue.

    c) PS3 will not be blown out of the water due to the add-on. Even if they added a Blu-Ray drive to the 360 and allowed Blu-Ray as a games format, the mere cost of the Blu-Ray processor will make the 360 cost as much as current PS3s.

    Not 100% sure on the latter though, so don't shoot me for it.

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