Microsoft officially drops HD-DVD, adopts cassettes

As Toshiba announced their withdrawal from the HiDef wars, gamers have been watching Microsoft with great anticipation. The death of HD-DVD at the hands of Sony's Blu-ray technology has left a gaping hole in the peripheral capabilities of the leading next-gen console. While many insiders have hinted at the unavoidable move to Blu-ray for the Xbox 360, the MS faithful have held on to the hope that the gaming giant had another trick up their sleeve. Today, at a press conference in Redmond, they got the news they were hoping for. Kind of. All the details, after the jump.