Posted Mon Feb 18, 2008 at 05:41 PM PST
Responding to reports that Toshiba will soon discontinue the HD DVD format, Microsoft says such a move would not hurt sales of Xbox 360.
The company went on to say that it would wait to hear from Toshiba before discussing its plans for the Xbox 360 HD DVD player.
The full text of Microsoft's statement follows below:
"We do not believe the recent reports about HD DVD will have any material impact on the Xbox 360 platform or our position in the marketplace. As we've long stated, we believe it is games that sell consoles and Xbox 360 continues to have the largest next-gen games library with the most exclusives and best selling games in the industry. We will wait until we hear from Toshiba before announcing any specific plans around the Xbox 360 HD DVD player. HD DVD is one of the several ways we offer a high definition experience to consumers and we will continue to give consumers the choice to enjoy digital distribution of high definition movies and TV shows directly to their living room along with playback of the DVD movies they already own."
The unusual statement from Microsoft (a company reknowned for not addressing rumors or speculation) would seem to be yet another indication that Toshiba is on the verge of conceding defeat to the Sony-backed Blu-ray format.
Toshiba has reportedly scheduled a press conference for 5pm Tuesday in Japan (that's midnight tonight Pacific Time). Needless to say, we'll keep you up to date on any developments.
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