It would be pretty pointless actually and would just skyrocket the price of the console higher and reduce profit margins.

No what MS means by "rebranding" their console as an entertainment hub is that they are litteraly going to blow the walls off of all the stuff that is offered via streaming on xbox live.

Expect Youtube announcements as well as some sort of cable subscription partnership or something similar. I think Pachter is right in saying that MS will introduce some sort of Platinum service for $100 a year that offers an immense ammount of things to access on xbox live like rolling Hulu, Netflix, and other subscriptions all into one package.

I don't get this whole rebranding thing.  I mean we have only a year or so til MS announces the next Xbox, so why waste the time, effort, and money to promote your system as a multimedia device?  Most people already know that the consoles have more features than just playing games, so I just don't see the point.

As for the Blu-ray, no chance at all.  To do it, MS would have to release a Blu-ray player add-on similar to their HD-DVD add-on.  It would probably cost at least $150-$200, and barely anyone would buy it.  Next gen, though, MS will have little choice but to go wtih Blu-ray, especially if they want to continue to look like THE multimedia device to buy.

That would be just plain stupid. It would reduce profits by a ton, and they wouldn't be able to put games on blu-ray because that would hinder people without a 360 without a blu-ray player.

According to this post on VGChartz (http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread.php?id=129415&page=1&str=1922768464#16) IGN is gearing up to reveal a new product for the Xbox 360.

That along with this post tells me that when people think about what Microsoft should do to label/rebrand themselves as multimedia device (keyword: media), their inital thoughts include adding a Blu-Ray player. That could be a telling sign, but then again...maybe it's just a Kinect addon. We'll find out tomorrow.

If anything, XBL has a better opportunity to go cloud based than this happening.

( -_-)

I just saw that thread lol. The prophecy is being fulfilled. :P

*yawn*

I'll wait for the next physical media in three years.