Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360
[Update: Sounds like Microsoft still isn’t having any of this “Blu-ray on Xbox 360″ nonsense, despite the ever-churning rumor mill’s insistence to the contrary. In a prepared statement, Microsoft stated (rather unequivocally we must say), “No. Lite-On is not manufacturing Blu-ray drives for Xbox 360.” Speculation over? Something tells us that’s unlikely.]
If you believe yesterday’s rumor from Digitimes that Microsft is looking to integrate a Blu-ray drive into future revisions of the Xbox 360 console, then you’ll want to hear their followup: their source claims that “Sony, as a main global producer of BD-ROM pick-up heads, may decide to combat the market competition by selectively reducing the supply of key BD-ROM components to OEM makers partnering with Microsoft on the new Xbox 360 drives.”
What does this mean? Since the BD-ROM drives are roughly $95-100 “according to industry sources,” and since the current DVD-ROM drives in the Xbox 360 are only $18-20, Microsoft would ostensibly be selling the console at a loss or risk selling a Blu-ray equipped 360 for more than a PlayStation 3. (Here, we’ll do the math for you: $350 Xbox 360 Pro + $80 price delta > $400 PS3). So what happens if Sony jacks prices or withholds components, making that margin even less palatable to Microsoft? We’re really not sure … competition is always good for consumers, but Sony controlling the means of production is certainly an x-factor. Oh yeah, that is if Blu-ray is coming to Xbox 360 at all.
[Via Engadget]
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