Sony turned to Microsoft for a possible Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360, a senior executive told the Financial Times yesterday. On one hand, Microsoft has always supported the HD DVD format, which is now dead and buried, while Sony said they wanted to adjust to the consumers’ needs. After all, if we think of it, as there is no more HD DVD, what can the two companies do but talk?

Everyone is curious to know how this collaboration would materialize in terms of prices, as Sony has kept a pretty high price tag on its Blu-ray so far. The question is: is Sony ready to give up the advantage the PS3 has now over Microsoft’s Xbox 360? As it appears, they’re nor afraid of a little competition, and that’s not all, as Sony will also get some great revenue from a Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360.

 The same source also reported that Stan Glasgow, Sony Electronics US president, said at a media dinner that they were also discussing a possible collaboration with Apple, a company that focused more on digital media downloads and Apple TV. But Sony’s president doesn’t think the high-definition content on the internet puts Blu-ray in a corner. “Downloading will build over time, but this will be over a period of years,” he said, according to the Financial Times.

At the same time, Microsoft refused to acknowledge such discussions were taking place: “We have made no such announcement. Games are what are driving consumers to purchase game consoles and we remain focused on providing the largest library of blockbuster games available.”

As the HD DVD is gone, the Blu-ray trend is becoming more and more obvious, as old HD DVD supporters turn it to. If that should be the case with Microsoft, still remains to be seen. For the time being, that remains only a rumor, as Microsoft denied such talks taking place.