There is lots of debate going on online, on the merits (or harm) of updating the Xbox 360 hardware in the future.  To be very clear, we haven’t announced anything, and our official position is to reiterate our standard policy of not commenting on rumors or speculation. 

But this is a blog, and it’d be a little disingenuous of us to ignore it completely (and in fact, it’d be disingenuous to use a word like “disingenuous”).  While we’re really not in a position to shed any light (or darkness) on the Engadget story for a number of reasons, I’ll remind everyone of what we have said publicly:

  • We have no plans to include an HD DVD drive in an Xbox 360, and in fact, we won’t put games on HD DVD. 
  • The Xbox 360 is built to be modular, and while we haven’t announced anything specific, the hard drive on the Xbox 360 was made to be easily swapped out.
  • We have made no announcements about a new SKU, any new accessories, or any plans for a price drop.

Finally, while it’s true that leaks “happen,” much of what gets reported as leaks ends up being untrue, so take everything that’s not confirmed with a grain of salt.  I find it hard to believe that a “Microsoft Insider” would chance leaking anything significant, since our legal and security teams make a serious effort to fully investigate leaks, and any short-term notoriety would only lead to being unemployed or even prosecuted.  Then again, people do some strange things for their 15 minutes of fame, just look at the popularity of reality TV…

FWIW, we always keep an eye on gaming sites, blogs and forums, and we’re hearing your feedback (good, bad, or otherwise).  So feel free to continue to offer your comments, because we’re listening--even if it turns out that everything you’re commenting on so passionately is completely false.