Ballmer: "We'll support Blu-ray"

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer has admitted that the company is working on ways to support Blu-ray, the next-generation DVD format.

Although he did not talk specifically about the format in relation to gaming, he did concede it was time to move on following the collapse of the HD-DVD format earlier this year.

"We've already been working on, for example, in Windows, device driver support for Blu-ray drives and the like, and I think the world moves on," said Ballmer at the Mix08 conference.

"Toshiba has moved on. We've moved on, and we'll support Blu-ray in ways that make sense," he said.

Many are expecting Microsoft to announce a Blu-ray peripheral for the Xbox 360 in the near future, following the demise of the HD-DVD format and Microsoft's decision to end production of a HD-DVD add-on for its console.

According to a Financial Times report yesterday, Microsoft and Sony are currently in talks to offer a Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360.