Rumors about an HD DVD equipped Xbox 360 are flying again this week.
According to Brier Dudley of The Seattle Times, Microsoft may announce plans at CES to give the Xbox 360 an internal HD-DVD
drive. The company is also rumored to be working with Toshiba to develop a digital video recorder with a hard-drive, HD-DVD drive and
Xbox gaming capabilities.
I've speculated on my blog that Microsoft may be preparing to license the Xbox gaming platform
to consumer-electronics companies.
In particular, Microsoft could work with Toshiba to develop a digital video recorder with a
hard-drive, high-definition HD-DVD drive and Xbox gaming capabilities. They're already allied against Sony and other backers of the
Blu-ray DVD format, and Toshiba could help Xbox finally penetrate the Japanese market.
Microsoft could also make a splash by
announcing plans to give the Xbox 360 an internal HD-DVD drive, putting it on par with Sony's PlayStation 3 that has a built-in Blu-ray
drive.
While Brier Dudley is usually a pretty reliable source for Microsoft related news, this nothing more than a rumor
at this point. We won't know for sure until Bill Gates steps on the stage at CES next week. If you'd like to read more, the entire
article can be found here.
