With BD obviously about to become the defacto standard for high def films how will microsft counter attack this seeing as how they, to an extent supported hd dvd. I dont think its out of the question to assume that MS was using hd dvd to at least confuse the market, perhaps at least long enough to get their downloadable movie sevice up and running for the mass consumer, not just xbla.

With CES coming up i believe MS will shed some light on their 08 plans but i doubt they will reveal much, if any on unannounced games of 08.

My question is what will ms do?

- Will this fabled hd dvd xbox 360 be announced even though bd is the unofficial winner?

-will they add a blu ray add on to the 360? 

-Will ms become much more aggressive in trying to get once thought ps3 exclusives to jump ship?

-Will ms buy another games studio/ exclusive game? I think if it were any game itd be resident evil 5.

-Perhaps theyll do nothing and act as if this silly format war never happend? 

P.s.  Does ms profit from 360's being sold or are they still sold at a loss? 

i have a feeling that this CES is gona be pretty lame for gaming.

"gaming is cool...gaming is here to stay...gaming is for everyone..."

The most likely out of the options you have given us is Bill Gates at CES would announce the internal HD-DVD drive into the Xbox 360 being built another manufacturer. This is still a probably a 20% chance and the topic was probably extensively researched by MS to see if it can provide positive aspects for the company.

I personally do not believe they will add Blu-Ray to the 360 internally, or even in an external accessory.

Microsoft it always aggresive! Remember from the Simpsons? "I don't get rich by writing cheques Mr. Simpson, Mwuahahahaha"

They probably won't buy another studio since it is already the #1 platform to make games on for third-parties. They already have huge support from developers.

They'll most likely act like the format war never existed or claim they didn't support them too much or some foolish PR movement.

And lastly, I think they are still selling 360 at loss? A while ago they were also selling at a loss, not sure if it got any cheaper to manufacture. I honostly can't answer that. Just my assumption.

EDIT: madskillz cleared the profit/loss thing. The 360 is being sold at a profit margin

There is a similar thread to this one right now, but I agree with what Madskillz has said.
Except he seems a little more than confident about Microsoft regaining the sales lead in 08 with little exclusives in comparison to Sony IMO.

If Microsoft drops the price again, and it works- Sony will not let too much time go by before they follow suit.

It does bring your other questions into more perspective though....
What will Microsoft do as far as exclusives, and in that regard- I expect them to do something big- they have to!
Although it should not be announced at CES.

3rd party exclusives? Honestly, what's there to PS3 beside MGS4 now?

A couple Rockstar games.

@ FelmanX
Sigh,

White Knight Story by Level 5.
Heavy Rain by Quantic Dream
Disgaea 3 by Nippon Ichi
Haze by Free Radical
Final Fantasy XIII (Japan release isn't out of question) by Square Enix

There are a few others but there is a list.

Microsoft is still fine... A few items don't make a year...

Microsoft proved that even with failing hardware they could keep pace with Sony. And they have just as many exclusives already scheduled for this year as Sony do. So, we will wait and see.

I can't wait to see how pathetic all companies' sales are this week with no pre-Christmas days. It will be interesting to see if PS3 or 360 falls more