While all the Halo 3 Beta insanity was going down yesterday, Microsoft's Gamerscore Blog took a moment to address a rumor that I seen in my inbox at least once every other day for the past couple of months. Stemming from comments taken out of context from an ITmedia interview at CES and bolstered by an alleged Associated Press article that doesn't actually exist, gamers and game sites have been reporting rumors that the 360 would eventually or potentially support Blu-ray should HD DVD fail. Even Xbox UK head Neil Thompson was indicating it was a possibility.

Now FightingSunDevil at the GSB seeks to clear the air.

We firmly stand behind the HD DVD format as the best choice for consumers. Current reports indicating that Microsoft has a back-up plan, which includes Blu-ray support are incorrect. We're fully committed to HD DVD and have absolutely no plans to support other optical formats.

Sounds pretty final, doesn't it? Makes sense though. The HD DVD player for the 360 wasn't created to sell the system. It was created to sell the format, and if for some reason the format no longer becomes viable, you simply stop selling. The 360 will do just fine without it. Michael Fahey

Clearing the Air: In Support of HD DVD... [Gamerscore Blog via GamesIndustry.biz]
image courtesy of SciFi.com