Microsoft
has cleared up speculation regarding possible HD-DVD functionality in
future versions of the Xbox 360, saying that it currently has no plans
to release an Xbox 360 equipped with a next-generation DVD player. The unusually direct statement is a straightforward denial of a
report from a Japanese news service yesterday, which claimed that the
company planned to launch an HD-DVD compatible Xbox 360 in 2006.
"Microsoft, in both America and Japan, has not announced anything
regarding the possibility of a next generation DVD drive being placed
in the Xbox 360," a Microsoft spokesperson told IGN. "There are
currently no plans to release an Xbox 360 equipped with a next
generation DVD player."
Speculation over whether such a device might be forthcoming
originated with comments made back in August by Bill Gates himself, who
said: "We are looking at whether future versions of Xbox 360 will
incorporate an additional capacity of an HD-DVD player or something
else."