Many Bothans died to bring us this information. (We keep them in tiny boxes, and stab them individually as each headline comes in over RSS. It’s a “good luck” thing. Do not mock our customs!)

Sooooo, remember when Microsoft’s Steve “The Emballmer” Ballmer told us that the recently-retired HD-DVD add-on drive for 360 was no to be repeated, as it was never very successful and downloads are the future?

… nevermind. Tom’s Hardware has the scoop.

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer had admitted that Microsoft had been working on support for Blu-ray under Windows during this year’s Mix08 conference. Rumors began to swirl and many began to expect Microsoft to announce a Blu-ray peripheral for the XBOX 360.

However, Microsoft came out and denied all rumors, stating that they were not exploring any kind of Blu-ray add-on or in talks with Sony about integrating Blu-ray into the XBOX experience. The software giant stated they would continue to invest in its XBOX Live online service as the means of high-definition content delivery. Toshiba received a crushing blow earlier this year at CES that Warner Brothers would be Blu-ray exclusive. This eventually led to Toshiba withdrawing from the HD format war and the demise of the XBOX 360’s HD-DVD add-on. It is interesting to note that sales of the XBOX 360 lagged behind Sony’s PS3 in the month of February, the same month Toshiba withdrew.

Looks like Microsoft just completely legitimized Sony’s high-def gamble. Oh well, I guess options are good, right?

Wait, what’s that? You don’t want another SKU? Too bad consumer! Suck it up. MS wants that stimulus cheque. Just make sure you bring a Venn diagram of configurations with you to Target.

(Edit – as per the comments, this is technically a rumour until Microsoft announces it.)