MICROSOFT could introduce Blu-ray support for the Xbox 360 gaming console if consumers wanted it, an executive said at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The Xbox 360 currently supports HD-DVD, the rival to Blu-ray in the high-definition DVD format wars. A HD-DVD player for the Xbox 360 can be bought separately to the console.
Group marketing manager for Xbox hardware Albert Penello said Microsoft would have to consider introducing a Blu-ray accessory in the event that HD-DVD failed.
"It should be consumer choice; and if that's the way they vote, that's something we'll have to consider," he said.
The surprise decision last week by Warner Bros, the top seller of home movies, to abandon the HD-DVD format in favor of Blu-ray should not affect sales of Xbox 360 consoles, Mr Penello said.
"I fundamentally don't think... this has a significant impact on Xbox 360 versus (Sony's) PlayStation 3," Mr Penello said.
"With the PlayStation 2, DVD was a big part in the beginning, but over time, people were not buying it as a DVD player after first year or two."
The Xbox 360 supports a plug-in HD-DVD accessory that is bought separately, while Sony, hoping to give its next-generation video format a leg up, built a Blu-ray player into its PlayStation 3 machine.
"You can't say it's not a bummer, not a setback, but I've seen this battle declared over so many times," Mr Penello said of the Warner Bros decision.
"I want consumers to have a voice in this and I think there are a lot of consumers who bought HD-DVD who are going to have a say in how this shakes out."
Warner Bros is the movie division of media conglomerate Time Warner Inc.
With Reuters
