Re: Another Report: Bluray Adoption Not What It Should Be

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i'm sorry. i was lead to believe that br wasnt needed to play hd games.

On an Xbox 360 you don't need Blu-ray to play "hd" games. You're getting your consoles mixed up there. All the Blu-ray games to date are apparently released on Blu-ray. This was done in order to remove space contraints from game developers. They certainly wouldn't go backwards, and destroy backwards compatibility among existing games with some new XBox clone they would call the "PS3 minus 3".

Hopefully we will even see game development companies take advantage of all that great space with exclusive titles.. but I bet it will be next year at the soonest.

Additionally, the Blu-ray part of the PS3 has dropped in price for Sony quicker than most other components in the device - namely because the cost of blue lasers has gone down pretty drastically over the last 6 months. (which were used in HD DVD players also).

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Additionally, the Blu-ray part of the PS3 has dropped in price for Sony quicker than most other components in the device - namely because the cost of blue lasers has gone down pretty drastically over the last 6 months. (which were used in HD DVD players also).

This is very true. And something that's equally as important is that fact that since Sony sold Toshiba it's manufacturing plant for the cell processor, this move reduced a lot of the overhead Sony had to deal with in producing them. Over time, this will also reduce the cost of manufacturing PS3 consoles.

[Post edited by gvortex7 on May 16, 2008]

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This is very true. And something that's equally as important is that fact that since Sony sold Toshiba it's manufacturing plant for the cell processor, this move reduced a lot of the overhead Sony had to deal with in producing them. Over time, this will also reduce the cost of manufacturing PS3 consoles.

How could Sony remove what are arguably the two most important aspects of the Playstation 3?

These reports are just silly. It's May! On top of the obvious flaws in some of the stats that have been used in other doom-and-gloom reports, a much better indicator will be sales levels this Fall. I don't think any of the big media companies are panicking one way or another based on March-August sales levels. The media needs a story right now, so this is what a bunch of slobbering dogs are feeding on.

I can't say with certainty what's going to happen in the long run with Blu-ray, but trying to judge its success based on sales right now is very short-sighted and shows very little understanding of sales cycles and the planning involved with promotion timings.

sky,
nope. pretty sure i have my consoles right. and i'm also pretty sure ive seen some hd graphics coming out of red laser standard dvd. why would they go backwards? uhhhh. to compete with the 360. this all goes back to joe blow not caring about blu-ray. we have already had a couple "superior" formats that did not succeed.(sacd,dvd-audio,laserdisc,hd-dvd) so...thats it. just throwing it out there.

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sky,
nope. pretty sure i have my consoles right. and i'm also pretty sure ive seen some hd graphics coming out of red laser standard dvd. why would they go backwards? uhhhh. to compete with the 360. this all goes back to joe blow not caring about blu-ray. we have already had a couple "superior" formats that did not succeed.(sacd,dvd-audio,laserdisc,hd-dvd) so...thats it. just throwing it out there.

This is just ridiculous. There is no way Sony is going to release a PS3 without a Blu-Ray drive and the cell processor. The PS3 is doing just fine against the 360. It's not winning, but if some of the numbers I'm hearing are right, it's been selling much faster since the price drops. Blu-Ray won the format war because of the PS3 and the PS3 survived early on solely because of the BR drive, I see no reason why Sony would mess with a winning formula.

I'm calling it now -- The day Sony announces a PS3 without a Blu-Ray drive will be the day Sony announces it's withdrawal from the BDA. Consequently, the BDA will announce that they have partnered with Atari and Sega, who will be working together to make a new, Blu-Ray based game console/player/surround sound receiver/IPTV STB/convection oven.

[Post edited by Fumbled_Revolution on May 18, 2008]

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i'm also pretty sure ive seen some hd graphics coming out of red laser standard dvd.

You probably didn't know this, but the PS3 already contains a red laser to offer backwards compatibility with media stored on standard DVD. However dropping the blue laser would kill compatibility with their current games, and they'd have to rename the PS3 to the PS2. But the PS2 has already been produced, and technology generally moves forward, rather than backward. Games (and other applications) over the next few years will likely demand more space rather than less. (DOH!)

Forget the technological rediculousness of your suggestion for a moment, and think of it from a marketing perspective. Sony and the other companies in the BDA have a lot to win in their promotion of Blu-ray. The inclusion of a Blu-ray player helps them by:

1. Getting more Blu-ray players into homes even if the primary or original purpose was for gameplay only. Having the format already in homes can be a huge influence on the adoption of the format for other purposes - such as influencing the future buyings decision to buy a standalone Blu-ray player.

2. There are still people that buy the PS3 primarily as a Blu-ray player. This is the converse to #1, in that the first console format into the house generally wins. If dad buys a PS3 for moves, it's more likely they'll buy little Johnny the same console next Christmas and start buying games. Also, those who buy the PS3 for movies and were never gamers might pick up and game at some point and be turned on.

3. There are people who buy the PS3 as a duel purpose machine - for both games and Blu-ray playback. Removing the Blu-ray capability would remove the main feature that distinguishes it from the XBox 360.

Common sense would have you completely turn around your statement, since removing the main feature that distinguishes it from the XBox 360 would be a "bad thing". In other words, Microsoft better think about including a Blu-ray drive in their console in order to better compete and level the playing field - at least in their next generation console. IMO they have no choice.

[Post edited by Skyhawk on May 18, 2008]

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In other words, Microsoft better think about including a Blu-ray drive in their console in order to better compete and level the playing field - at least in their next generation console. IMO they have no choice.

Where are you getting this notion that Microsoft NEEDS a blu-ray player? Do you have some FACTUAL statistics realizing their downfall, due to lack of blu-ray support?

Xbox 360 (including the PS3 & Wii and future consoles) DOES NOT NEED a blu-ray player... THEY NEED GOOD GAMES! GOOD, repeat-playable games SELL THE CONSOLE... that & cheaper hardware cost.

Period.

[Post edited by tylerdurden on May 18, 2008]

While the PS3 is a good game console, the XBOX360 has sold many more consoles despites it's red-ring-of-death problems and they still sell many more games. At least that's the way I understand it. Why would you think they would need a bluray player??

Maybe I'm off on the stats but from what I remember the Wii and the XBOX 360 have sold more than the PS3?

I'm not trying to knock the PS3 because to be honest at this moment if I was buying a game console I would buy it over the 360 just because of the bluray playback. I'm just saying what I remember. Heck wasn't the PS2 outselling the PS3 for a while?

Having said all that, I think the PS3 is gonna have a good holiday season this year.

1) There will be more good games available for it by that time.
2) Blurays victory will make it a more attractive option.

If they do a price reduction it would definitely sweeten the deal.

[Post edited by Falcon01 on May 18, 2008]

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Where are you getting this notion that Microsoft NEEDS a blu-ray player? Do you have some FACTUAL statistics realizing their downfall, due to lack of blu-ray support?

Xbox 360 (including the PS3 & Wii and future consoles) DOES NOT NEED a blu-ray player... THEY NEED GOOD GAMES! GOOD, repeat-playable games SELL THE CONSOLE... that & cheaper hardware cost.

You’re totally right about good games being the key, of course, but they continually seem to require more and more space as they become increasingly complex and visually detailed. Some of the PS3 games are using the space afforded by dual-layer Blu-ray discs right now, although others have argued that it isn’t actually necessary. I don’t think it’s crazy to think that most high-end “hard-core gamer” games will eventually need 25Gb+, but I have no idea if that’s a few years from now or 10 years from now!