Moore sad something similar last year before the HD-DVD drive was released. They keep pushing this "let the customer choose what features they want" thing, which i think is noble, though a bit of BS. While I'm glad the Hard drive isn't necessary, it is proprietary. As are the memory cards and wifi adapter and there wireless controllers :/

If Blu-ray does win out it would be stupid of MS not to offer a drive. If it is the dominant format they will want people to see there console as a valid option to get into it, just like the PS3. Otherwise it becomes a much more valid bullet point for sony.
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Microsoft have gone down the add-on route so if HD-DVD fails, they can easily make a Blu-Ray add on.

Although better yet would be one of those two-in-one drives cropping up that can play both. ^_^.