There's no denying the fact that the failure of Microsoft's HD-DVD format in the seventh gen format war was a total embarrassment for the company, accentuated by the fact that it's been widely speculated that the 720 will come fitted with a Blu-Ray drive, a rather unfortunate, bitter pill for Microsoft to swallow given that the format is, of course, developed by Sony. However, once we get past this fact, it's easy to see the advantages that Blu-Ray gives the 720, in that it crowbars open the consumer base that little bit more. I know plenty of people who've bought a cheap PS3 purely because they heard that it's a great Blu-Ray player, while the most casual of gamers will be tempted to get one because there's the bonus that they can watch HD movies on it. To give the 720 the same push would mean that this demographic would now be divided between the two companies rather than just lining Sony's pockets. Given how impressively the 360 thrived without BR support, it can only make their position stronger by including the format. After all, isn't it annoying having to unplug your 360 and plug in your PS3 just to watch an HD film? In taking away an exclusive feature from the PS3, only good things can happen.