Gamespot informs us that Peter Moore, Xbox Marketing Chief at Microsoft, told them that they might release an external Bluray drive for the Xbox 360 console as well.

Microsoft openly admits they do not know either where the next-generation-DVD format war will go, and although their current commitment to HD-DVD is clear it seems they might be all too willing to drop that dedicated support should Bluray take the initial lead. Moore emphasized again that the external drives will only be used for watching movies and games will not be released on the larger platforms.

[…] he suggested that whatever the outcome of the HD-DVD/Blu-ray war, the Xbox 360 can adopt the dominant format since its uses an external drive. He also suggested that it’s a weak point for PlayStation 3, saying Sony’s system is stuck with Blu-ray. Microsoft hasn’t announced how the HD-DVD peripheral will connect to the Xbox 360, but it’s most likely going to use one of the system’s USB ports. While the PS3 may come with Blu-ray out of the box, there’s no apparent reason an external HD-DVD drive couldn’t be hooked up through that system’s USB ports.

He also touched on the subject of Japan’s slow sales. He said their biggest challenge in Japan is the lack of games, with only six games available at launch, and those of wildly varying quality. Especially the repeated delays of Dead or Alive 4 are cited as causing the not-so-stellar debut. Delaying the console as well was never an option though after they had decided they would launch globally in 2005.