Microsoft's Xbox video game unit still fully backs Toshiba's high-definition DVD format but could consider supporting Sony's rival Blu-ray technology should consumers want it, an executive said Tuesday.
"It should be consumer choice; and if that's the way they vote, that's something we'll have to consider," Albert Penello, group marketing manager for Xbox hardware, said when asked whether Microsoft would support a Blu-ray DVD accessory in the event that HD DVD failed.
However, Microsoft might not do such an accessory itself. In an interview with CNET News.com, Chairman Bill Gates said that such an add-on drive could be done by a third party.
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"I fundamentally don't think...this has a significant impact on Xbox 360 versus (Sony's) PlayStation 3," Penello told Reuters in an interview at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
"With the PlayStation 2, DVD was a big part in the beginning, but over time, people were not buying it as a DVD player after first year or two," Penello said.
The Xbox 360 supports a plug-in HD DVD accessory that is bought separately, while Sony, hoping to give its next-generation video format a leg up, built a Blu-ray player into its PlayStation 3 machine.
"You can't say it's not a bummer, not a setback, but I've seen this battle declared over so many times," Penello said of Warner's decision.
"I want consumers to have a voice in this and I think there are a lot of consumers who bought HD-DVD who are going to have a say in how this shakes out."
Warner Bros. is the movie division of media conglomerate Time Warner.
CNET News.com's Ina Fried contributed to this report.
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