In the beginning, it was hard not to see Microsoft’s refusal to embrace Blu-ray on the Xbox 360 as a result of the fact that the company had originally sided with Toshiba’s HD DVD format–a battle that, of course, the company ultimately lost.
Even as Blu-ray became the clear victor of the battle and former HD DVD supportser (including Toshiba itself) embraced the format, Microsoft wasn’t exactly falling all over itself to adopt the media.
And now, as other companies are beginning to abandon physical media in favor of the streaming variety, it looks as though Microsoft may have ultimately done itself a favor by waiting it out. Now seems like a pretty good time for the company to pat itself on the back for such foresight.
Stephen McGill, the head of Xbox operations in the UK, did the honors. “Blu-ray is going to be passed by as a format,” the executive told a UK site. “People now recognize what a smart decision it was to keep the [Xbox 360] pricing low,” Gill said, in reference to the lack of a Blu-ray drive on the device.
It’s hard to argue with the suggestion that Blu-ray will ultimately be eclipsed by non-physical formats–we’re seeing the same phenomenon occur over in the music world. Though, thanks the the war on technology waged by record labels, the process has been relatively slow and painful.
As broadband becomes the norm, it’s clear that movie streaming services are the next logical step in the evolution of movie delivery. The question then, is how long such a transition will take. It’s certainly a gamble on Microsoft’s part–but then, the last time the company invested itself in a next generation movie format, that didn’t work out all that well.
