Boston (TheNextXbox) – The successor to the Xbox 360 is right around the corner, as the Major Nelson countdown has the entire gaming world on alert. One thing that is almost a given with the successor to the Xbox 360, for the sake of this article we will call it the Xbox Next, is that it will include a Blu-ray optical drive. This is due to the fact that next-generation games are going to require a lot more space than is currently available on a DVD. This type of optical format has been utilized by Sony throughout the life of the PlayStation 3 and will continue forward to the upcoming PlayStation 4 in all likelihood as well. What many gamers are missing though, is that there is a real chance that Microsoft may opt against allowing Blu-ray movie playback on the Xbox Next.
Microsoft has already set a precedent in the past in terms of not allowing movie playback out of the box with its gaming consoles. When Microsoft launched the original Xbox, gamers were not able to play DVD movies right out of the box. Instead, Microsoft required gamers to purchase a little DVD playback adapter that came with a remote control. This activated the ability that the system already had to play DVD movies. Microsoft received a lot of flack for this move, and did away with the idea with the Xbox 360, allowing DVD movie playback right out of the box.
There have been a lot of changes though since the original Xbox and even the Xbox 360 launched. This is all due to the fact that Microsoft has a cash cow that they are relying on heavily in the form of Xbox Live, and Xbox Live Gold subscriptions. So how does this relate to Blu-ray movie playback and why should you care?
The fact of the matter is that Microsoft earns a lot of money off of Xbox Live Gold subscriptions, which provide gamers with a great deal of content in the form of streaming movies, television shows, and more. This comes from providers including Netflix, Hulu, and others.
Simply stated, Microsoft would much rather you pay for Xbox Live Gold and subscribe to streaming content over Netflix and Hulu than have you throw a Blu-ray movie into your console and watch it from the optical disc format.
Xbox Live Gold subscriptions generate roughly $1 billion in revenue for Microsoft every year, and the more that they can grow this service, the more profitable their gaming unit is going to be overall.
There is a double-edged sword here with this potential move from Microsoft. First, Microsoft would be sticking it to Sony, and second, they would be making a move to increase their own revenue. Looking back in history, Microsoft backed the HD-DVD format while Sony has Blu-ray. We all saw how HD-DVD fared as it no longer exists. Blu-ray is and has been considered a Sony format. Microsoft not allowing Blu-ray movie playback would be a shot to Sony, as it would take away from the viability of the format, and it would also require gamers to stream more content over their console, thus increasing the money Microsoft gets to pocket.
This may sound crazy, but it is not out of the realm of possibility for Microsoft to take this bold move, even if they tick some gamers off in the process.
I don’t really think restricting Blu-ray play back would be “sticking it to Sony”. The fact that the Xbox 360 didn’t have Blu-ray play back didn’t hinder Sony’s success with the format this generation, so why would it hinder its growth next generation?
The only thing I see happening is people buying PS3′s, PS4′s, or stand alone Blu-ray players to play their movies in addition to the Next Box, assuming that’s their gaming preference.
Personally that’s why I choose Playstation products first for my gaming, they give me value. Everything I need all in one box, no add on’s required.
Is it a succes though? Blu-Ray still hasn’t reached the worldwide mainstream after almost 7 years. It has a minute market share of under 15% worldwide and DVD is still over 65% (all optical formats accounted for). DVD owned the market after the same period.
It surely won’t be bad to buy a standalone unit. They are cheap and offer better features than the PS3, but…
Personally I don’t believe this is true as MS want to own the living room, which means support for everything. It could be like the original Xbox (DVD remote) and Windows 8 though. You might need to pay for an app with the Blu-Ray playback license for a small additional one-time fee. This will cut back on the base costs for the console.
Im a big Xbox Fan but the PS3 is still the best Blu-Ray player to date anyone can tell that, no stand alone player can be updated like a PS3.
You are a crazy Fanboy if you think the 7 year old PlayStation it the top of the line best Blu-ray player out. Look up AV forums if you think I’m wrong companies like Oppo or Marantz make players that put the PlayStation to shame. Blu-ray is a format waiting to die. 4K is the future along with high speed wireless streaming content.
Am cool with it ,besides Sony only get it portion of money MS pays to the BDA not from movie sales. Love it.
I doubt that will happen… MS will adopt the BR play back feature.. Remember PS3 mainly sold as a BR player at first when it released… Infact the PS3 was the cheapest BR player on the market back in 2008 and thats why it was used as Media player back then… MS will be stupid if they dont let the NEXTBOX have BR playback.. Seeing a lot people will probably use it to watch movies anyways.. Or just use it for media center purposes just like those guys did who bought the PS3 early in its life span.
I bet whichever format they come up with, it’ll only repeat the HD-DVD failure, which is also attributed to their repeated failures in supporting other video/audio formats like Zune. Apple and Sony collectively can put further threat to any of their hardware intended for videos. So its better they stay mainstream. Sony will go ahead with the higher version of blue-ray able to store native 4K movies and as everyone knows they will keep selling well.
No they won’t and that’s the reason Apple has boycotted the format and that PC software still release on DVD. Blu-Ray has a minute market share worldwide and isn’t mainstream.
MS will provide a BD-XL drive in the next Xbox as that is the current mass storage standard. The software for playback is the question we should be asking.
If M$ does not include Blu-ray then it will be disservice to all gamers, again. Please M$ use Blu-ray so all gamers can benefit from the expanded storage. Devs won’t put the effort into using the extra space for content unless both M$ and Sony support it.
The Wii U has its own propriety discs that hold 25 GIG, ; why can MS do that. It would help against piracy as well. MS does not need blueray its a waste of cash since everything is becoming streamed anyway.
@Manoj
Zune was a portable media player not an audio/video format. Just clarifying, not trying to flame.