Microsoft Tries to Overshadow Sony’s Playstation News

Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) newest Xbox — set to launch late next year — will come equipped with a Blu-ray player and two AMD GPUs, according to gaming blog VG247.

The report comes a day after reports surfaced that Sony’s (NYSE:SNE) newest console, codenamed Orbis, is slated for a 2013 holiday-season launch.

Microsoft’s hesitance to use the Blu-ray player may have to do with the fact that Sony is one of the founding members of the Blu-ray Disc Association and licenses Blu-ray technology to other companies.

Despite Microsoft’s reluctance to embrace the technology, the company has no choice but to incorporate it in its newest Xbox, as Blu-Ray allows for far more data capacity than DVDs, and is growing in popularity.

The newest console will also require an “always-on Internet connection” to combat piracy, and will come with a built-in Microsoft Kinect, a motion-gaming device.

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To contact the editor responsible for this story: Damien Hoffman at editors@wallstcheatsheet.com