For the fans of high definition content for their video, the collapse of the HD-DVD market last year could have really darkened the living room, especially if that living room was filled with new discs and players that were already being rendered obsolete. Microsoft certainly wasn’t happy about it either, considering they were one of the biggest backers of the format along with Toshiba, and had even released an add-on to play the discs in their Xbox 360 console. Sony’s Blu-ray discs came out of the high-def wars the victor, and it seemed inevitable that with the adoption of the format on the rise, having no competitor would see a market rush to get up to the new “standard” and that DVDs had seen their end day. With some time to adjust now, that wasn’t the case, but it didn’t stop a wide variety of rumours coming out during the year that Microsoft was already manufacturing internal Blu-ray drives for the Xbox 360. They denied it, but everyone still expected it throughout the year.

At this year’s Consumer Electronic Show (CES), Robbie Bach of Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices group has gone on record with three logical reasons why they will not be releasing Blu-ray in any form for their current generation. Bach lists out that there is no real demand for the product from their customers, which is very likely true as I don’t believe there is a large clamouring for Blu-ray drives in every media centre product, as well as the fact it would cost a fortune to produce the drives and it would be useless for game developers since 28 million systems have already shipped without it. Makes a lot of sense and seems to be a good way to close off the issue, but it doesn’t really explain why they would have backed another format given that at all those reasons directly applied to HD-DVD even at the time it was released as an add-on. It was more driven towards movies than being directed as an alternative game format, but there is a bit of contradiction if these are the only reasons that Microsoft has for not adopting the new format.

I’ve noted a handful of times that I think that the HD-DVD format was severely mishandled by Microsoft when it comes to the Xbox 360, but it just was never in the cards to work out any other way than the way it did. The Xbox 360 launched a full year earlier than its competitors, and at a lower price point than the PS3 on its launch day. It gave them a head start which seemed to have worked out rather well, and gave PS3 shaky ground with a price that was just a bit too high to see widespread adoption at the start, even going into this year. With the inclusion of HD-DVD, that advantage would have been eliminated. While the strength of their gaming library could have still put them at a good position against the PS3 at this point in the game, they would not have the market share they now hold onto, but HD-DVD may still be alive and kicking with a stronger backing. Sony went all-in with their product, and it paid off, so with Microsoft unwilling to make that full step into the format, it did nothing but show a lack of true investment in the HD-DVD.

Microsoft has been focused on creating a gaming product that had its toes dipped into the waters of a previous generation when compared to its closest competition. However, it was that focus on gaming that led to using DVD, and it was the reason why they never fully backed the HD-DVD horse, but still supported it based on their vested interest in the HD-DVD consortium. Another big reason why they won’t be looking into Blu-ray this generation is the fact that they’ve put a lot of stock in their marketplace pushing HD content, especially with the recent deal with Netflix on the NXE. Digital distribution seems to be their future for HD content, and it makes a lot of sense given the growing demand for the services. As long as infrastructure can keep up with the demand, perhaps Microsoft will never see Sony’s format in their systems, even going into the next generation. Otherwise, you may see Microsoft bite the bullet and take on a format that would allow more lateral development for cross-platform games, and give more of the HD push for a company that wants to appear on the cutting edge of technology and give gamers the experience they want to receive out of a high-definition focused console.

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