Rumor: Microsoft to Announce Xbox 360 Blu-Ray Drive

You've probably seen a ton of rumors over the years about Microsoft, the 360 and a Blu-Ray Drive. Well, here's another: supposedly Microsoft will announce a Blu-Ray drive for the Xbox 360 tomorrow which will be available by Christmas.

I've seen this rumor on few sites and heard rumblings for a week or so now. The new batch of this rumor today seem to stem from one person who has a "close friend" who works at Microsoft. Supposedly the announcement will be tomorrow at 9 am in an attempt to upstage Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference.

Look, I think it's inevitable that Microsoft will eventually make a Blu-Ray drive. Even if they have said many times that they never would. They also said they would never make a bigger harddrive for the Xbxo 360. I don't know if this announcement will actually happen tomorrow, but I'd think it would happen someday.

The real question is what kind of Blu-Ray drive will it be? Will it be an accessory like their HD-DVD drive or will it be internal? Will this mean a new SKU for the 360? Maybe we'll find out tomorrow...

Paramount Breaks Up With Blu-Ray

Celebrity couples always seem to have it all. You see them smiling and having a good time together out at the awards ceremony and then BAM! Splitsville. That's how it is with Paramount/Dreamworks and Blu-Ray. One minute, Blu-Ray thinks its in a committed relationship, the next day they see Paramount/Dreamworks out with HD-DVD in the tabloids!

Don't feel too bad for Blu-Ray though. She's been seen with a lot of other production studios.

The only exception to the HD-DVD switch will be any movies directed by Steven Spielberg. Those movies will be released on both formats.

But all other movies released by Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Nickelodeon Movies and MTV Films will be HD-DVD only. That includes recent blockbusters like "Shrek the Third" and "Transformers."

Paramount says the switch is due mainly to the fact that HD-DVD players average about $200 cheaper than Blu-Ray players. And while technically, there are more Blu-Ray players in use in the United States, almost all of those are PS3s, and recent research indicates that gamers buy less movies than people who buy a stand alone DVD player.

Other reasons could include the fact that it actually costs distributors a lot less to convert their normal DVD factories into HD-DVD factories. They just upgrade certain equipment, but with Blu-Ray, they basically need to replace all their equipment.

With this announcement, Time Warner is now the only major studio to release movies on both formats.

Sony Fires Another Shot in Format War - Free Movies

In an effort to drive up Blu-Ray DVD player sales, Sony has started a new promotion. When buying a Blu-Ray player from Panasonic, Phillips, Pioneer, Samsung, Sony Electronics or Sony Computer Entertainment(that includes the PS3), consumers can take part in the mail-in offer and receive 5 free Blu-Ray movies. The promotion started July 1st and ends September 30th.

The movies consumers can choose from are:

Babel
Black Rain
Blazing Saddles
Chicken Little
The Corpse Bride
The Devil's Rejects
The Guardian
Hart's War
Invincible
The Italian Job
Kiss of the Dragon
The Last Waltz
The Omen [2006]
Pearl Harbor
The Phantom of the Opera
Resident Evil: Apocalypse
Species
Stealth
Stir of Echoes
The Transporter 2
Underworld: Evolution

Five free Blu-Ray movies is a sweet deal, especially since each movie can set you back $20-30. So that deal could be worth up to $150. Sadly, the selection to choose from is not the best, but free movies are still my favorite kind of movies.

Jeff's SingStar Dreams Come True

We all had a good laugh at Jeff last week when he mentioned his uncontrollable anticipation for SingStar. For those not hanging out with Jeff and his American Idol friends, SingStar is a PS3 game that allows users to sing against their friends. The players are graded on how well they sing based on tone and pitch. It's got online playability and news has been released that it will be released on Blu-Ray with 30 smokin tracks (the smokin is my word not theirs).

Players will also be able to upload their performance for all to see and heckle at. The videos on the Blu-Ray disc will be in HD, so make sure you upgrade your TV. Word is that new songs will cost ₤1.49 (AUD $3.64 / EURO 2.17). Where's Jeff? I'm going to let him borrow my pair for a while.