The Blu-ray disc format has no future, according to a senior Microsoft executive, indirectly endorsing Apple’s decision not to add Blu-ray drives to Macs and Apple TV.
Stephen McGill, the UK head of Microsoft’s gaming and entertainment division, told the XBox360Achievements website that the company has no plans to add Blu-ray to its Xbox gaming console.
“I think people may have spoken about that originally, but that’s long gone,” McGill said. “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. 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?”
That is the same stance Apple has taken, preferring to focus on its movie and TV downloads business. Chief executive Steve Jobs once described Blu-ray licensing as “a bag of hurt”, a slightly surprising comment given that Apple continues to sit on the board of directors of the Blu-ray Disc Association.
Microsoft, in contrast, has never been a fan of the format and was a vocal backer of the rival HD DVD technology until its demise.
The company recently revealed that it plans to provide movie rentals when its Zune service launches in the UK some time this Autumn. The launch will coincide with the release of the first mobiles running Windows Phone 7, but Microsoft says it has no plans to bring its rival to the iPod touch, the Zune HD, to the UK.
