Unlike Toshiba, which is still strictly against Blu-ray disc (BD) format, Microsoft, has always said that it might release an external Blu-ray optical disc drive for the Xbox 360 video game system if there is demand. According to market sources, the software giant does have plans to offer its customers a BD option.

Toshiba-Samsung Storage Technology Corp., a joint venture between Samsung Electronics and Toshiba Corp., has been contracted to manufacture external Blu-ray disc drives for Microsoft Xbox 360 game console. While the exact specifications of the product are unknown, it is rumoured that Microsoft aims at $100 - $150 price-point for the device in order to compete against Sony PlayStation 3 with Xbox 360 + external Blu-ray drive combination.

The main reason why Microsoft is unenthusiastic regarding Blu-ray is mandatory support of BD-Java interactive technology and Sony’s reluctance to adopt competing tech called HDi that was developed by Microsoft.

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