All those expecting to get their hands on the next generation Xbox this year might be forced to wait until early 2014, if a recent report turns out to be true. This is something Microsoft cannot afford to let happen, but if it does, Sony would surely walk away with the prizes earlier than expected.

The next generation Xbox is expected to make its official debut at a Microsoft conference set for May 21. Here the giant from Redmond will let the world know what it has planned for the future ... but that future might go beyond 2013.

According to MondoXbox, Microsoft is facing problems with licensing Blu-Ray to be used in the new console. This particular problem could see the Xbox 720 pushed back into 2014, which would give Sony ample room to punish Microsoft, and even Nintendo could end up taking a swipe.

Apparently, Sony holds exclusive rights on using Blu-Ray for consoles, Microsoft is unable to break this exclusive hold so it might end up that the next generation Xbox will eventually come with a propriety technology similar to what Nintendo uses in the Wii U, or go with HD-DVD, but at this point, who would want to go the route of the already dead HD-DVD format?

The million dollar question is this: could not having Blu-Ray as part of the Xbox 720 pose a problem for Microsoft's chances of dominating the living room? There's no easy answer for that. Another media format might make the next generation Xbox more expensive than it needs to be, while having Blu-Ray could potentially make for a more affordable system. Then again, Microsoft might not be interested in paying royalties to Sony, so anything is possible.

If you were to purchase a Xbox 720, would it matter if Blu-Ray is a central part of the system or not?