Rumors of Blu-Ray Xbox 360s Persist

By Geoff Duncan May 2, 2008

Rumors of Blu-Ray Xbox 360s Persist

Microsoft‘s official line on adding Blu-ray capabilities to its Xbox 360 gaming console remains unchanged and succinct: no. However, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News reports that Asus subsidiary Pegatron has been contracted by Microsoft to assemble Xbox 360 systems equipped with a Blu-ray drive. According to the report, shipments are expected to begin in the third quarter of 2008, which would have the units landing in retail markets just in time for the end-of-year holiday buying season.

The news is just the latest installment on the Blu-ray and Xbox 360 saga: Microsoft was one of the heavy-hitters backing HD DVD technology, and launched a separate HD DVD drive for the Xbox 360 console. However, when Toshiba officially threw in the towel on the HD DVD format earlier this year, speculation quickly centered on when, not if, Microsoft would add Blu-ray capability to its gaming console. Reports have had Lite-On developing BD-ROM drives for the Xbox 360, and some sources claim the relatively high cost of Blu-ray drives may have Microsoft selling Blu-ray equipped Xbox 360s at a loss.

For its part, Microsoft has consistently said it has no plans to offer Blu-ray capability for the Xbox 360, and is instead focussing on broadband delivery of high-definition video for folks who want to watch movies and other content via the Xbox 3690 consoles. Some industry watchers believe Microsoft is more likely to offer a Blu-ray drive as an external peripheral—as it did with HD DVD—rather than integrate a Blu-ray drive directly into the Xbox 360 console.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Gaming

Best Xbox Series S deals: consoles, games, and accessories

Xbox Series S placed on a white table with the controller just in front of it

Microsoft's Xbox Series S, the more affordable counterpart of the more powerful Xbox Series X, was made for gamers who prefer to go completely disc-less. The Xbox Series S can still play the most popular titles though, and it's still pretty quick by today's standards. Whether you're thinking of buying the console, or you're looking for discounts on games and accessories, we're here to help. We've rounded up the best Xbox Series S deals below, so you won't have to spend time looking elsewhere.
Best Xbox Series S deals

The Xbox Series S only comes with 512GB of storage, but for casual gamers, that's more than enough -- though you have the option of buying storage expansion cards for more space. It's also highly recommended that you sign up for Xbox Game Pass -- in addition to enabling online play, a subscription will let you access a vast library of games, so you'll never run out of titles to try and get hooked on. Check out the Xbox Series S deals featuring these add-ons, but you need to hurry with your purchase if you're interested because some of these bargains will end soon.

Gaming

Rebuild your own nostalgia with this detailed Xbox 360 toy set

xbox 360 mega building set replica

Although Microsoft is shutting down the Xbox 360 Store next year and definitely wants you to pick up its newest console for Starfield, it has still found a new way to appeal to the nostalgia of Xbox 360 players. It's doing so through the new Mega Showcase Microsoft Xbox 360 Collector Building Set, which will be available this October.

This set will be available starting on October 8 and will cost you $150 dollars; that said, you'll only be able to pick one up at Target. Mega makes Lego-like replica models of things for people to build, and this one is intricately designed to look like the launch version of Xbox 360. It's at 3:4 scale and made up of 1342 pieces. With it, players can build a version of the Xbox 360, a controller, and a case and disc for Halo 3. Even the packaging it comes in looks like the boxes Xbox 360 consoles came in at release.
Once built, this model will actually have working lights and a disc drive, as well as a hard drive and side shell panels that are removable. It obviously won't be able to play actual Xbox 360 games, but it still looks like a faithful recreation of Microsoft's classic game console. This is far from the first time we've seen video games and their consoles branch over into the work of buildable toys, as Nintendo patterned with Lego to create various Mario sets as well as a replica NES.
The Mega Showcase Microsoft Xbox 360 Collector Building Set releases exclusively at Target on October 8.

Gaming

Baldur’s Gate 3 dev dishes on mods, upcoming epilogues, and Xbox Series S struggles

A group of four adventures stands on the ends of a cliff in Baldur's Gate 3.

Larian Studios has an absolute hit on its hands with Baldur’s Gate 3. The Dungeons & Dragons-based CRPG sold millions of copies, has legions of fans, and we called it a “staggering CRPG with a level of player freedom that makes its possibilities feel endless” in our review. It's currently being considered a "Game of the Year" frontrunner ahead of this December's Game Awards -- a massive feat considering stiff competition from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Starfield, Resident Evil 4, and more.

Digital Trends met up with Swen Vincke, CEO of Larian Studios at PAX West 2023 to discuss the game's success. In a wide-ranging conversation, Vincke offered transparency on how the team approached open-ended player choice, the specific challenges of bringing it to Xbox Series S, and what sort of new content they’ve already started working on. The team may say it's resting after a long development journey, but there's much more work to do.