HD-DVD death: Xbox 360 to receive enhanced digital delivery?

Although the HD war might be over, with Toshiba preparing to sign an official declaration of surrender, it would appear that the bloody battlefield is still littered with injured corporate casualties floundering due to a lack of assistance. Could the end of HD-DVD spell the rise of digital downloads via Xbox Live, or a standalone Blu-ray player for the Xbox 360? Credit: Toshiba.

Could the end of HD-DVD spell the rise of digital downloads via Xbox Live, or a standalone Blu-ray player for the Xbox 360? Credit: Toshiba.More specifically, Microsoft Corp., fellow proponent of Toshiba’s failed HD-DVD brand, has today released a statement in light of mounting press chatter indicating that the battle for high definition supremacy is all-but over.Commenting via gaming site Gamerscoreblog, the Redmond-based software giant has said that Toshiba’s withdrawal of HD-DVD would not have “any material impact on the Xbox 360 platform or our position in the marketplace.”Microsoft’s popular Xbox 360 home videogames console is complemented by its own standalone HD-DVD player, while gaming rival Sony includes its Blu-ray technology as standard in the Sony PlayStation 3 console.

Credit: Toshiba

Microsoft is maintaining that “it is games that sell consoles” not necessarily high-definition format video players, and that HD-DVD amounts to just “one of the several ways we offer a high definition experience to consumers.”One particular element of the statement adds to gathering speculation running contrary to the belief Microsoft is preparing to issue either a standalone Blu-ray player for the Xbox 360, or perhaps even a Blu-ray equipped model. “We will continue to give consumers the choice to enjoy digital distribution of high definition movies and TV shows directly to their living room,” outlines the company, which reinforces Microsoft’s ethos to expand the reach and content of online media delivery via the Xbox Live Marketplace.In other conveniently timed news, Internet whisperings are today suggesting that Microsoft may well be developing a brand new or overhauled iteration of its existing Xbox Live service.For those Xbox 360 gamers who have invested in the console’s standalone HD-DVD peripheral, Microsoft said only that: “We will wait until we hear from Toshiba before announcing any specific plans around the Xbox 360 HD-DVD player.”