No HD-DVD games for Xbox 360, says MS exec

Microsoft's John Porcaro has quashed speculation that the company plans to release HD-DVD format games for the Xbox 360 following, despite the forthcoming launch of a new drive for the console.

In a post on his blog Porcaro, who is online communications manager at Microsoft, wrote: "I'm seeing lots of speculation about our upcoming HD-DVD player, and whether we have plans to publish HD-DVD games. The answer is no."

According to Porcaro, the player is designed to play HD-DVD movies exclusively - and Microsoft has yet to see "anything to suggest that next-gen DVD formats offer a better game experience than current DVD".

"What we do know is that these formats will bring added cost to game developers, disc manufacturing, and could even result in added costs and longer load times for the consumer, which would negatively impact the game experience."

Porcaro went on to reaffirm Microsoft's commitment to "making great HD games", arguing that titles such as Oblivion show it's possible to create huge, visually impressive gameworlds for the DVD9 format.

His comments come soon after Microsoft's Andre Vrignaud, in a post on his own blog, predicted that Sony will not release any 1080p games this year. Sony is promoting HD-DVD rival Blu-ray as a format which gives developers more freedom to create bigger, better looking games, and enhances the player experience as a result.

Microsoft has yet to announce a price for the HD-DVD drive, but it is slated to hit the shops in time for Christmas.