One thing we can always count on in the games industry is someone coming along and upsetting everyone else. If the next-gen format war between HD-DVD and Blu-ray was not enough for us to, a new development has turned up that may shift the tide in favour of HD-DVD and MS.
Ricoh Technologies have been developing a Multiformat drive. A Ricoh spokeperson said,
“This diffraction device is the first one that is ready for four formats [CD, DVD, HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc], including BD and HD-DVD,” a Ricoh spokesman told EETimes. “It will make it possible to build players and recorders ready for all formats, which will benefit consumers”
More news on this interesting development will appear at the International Optoelectronics Exhibition ’06 in Japan. [Just in case your wondering, Optoelectronics is the branch of physics that deals with the interconversion of electricity and light – Ed]
What this means for the format war is pretty unclear at the moment but what kind of response will this get from Microsoft and their support of the HD-DVD and also Sony with their Blu-ray format? Time will tell…
Keep an eye on 360Monster for news on this as it breaks.
Originally Written By: Barrie Rogers
