Kutaragi movin' on up; Blue Ray conf.

[Vince]

PlayStation guru Kutaragi rises in Sony reshuffle
Reuters, 03.31.03, 2:33 AM ET

TOKYO, March 31 (Reuters) - Ken Kutaragi, head of Sony Corp's <6758.T> videogame unit and often mooted as a possible future leader of the world's biggest consumer electronics maker, got a further boost in a management reshuffle announced on Monday.

Sony said Kutaragi, who built the PlayStation into the world's dominant home videogame machine, was appointed executive deputy president and will head the parent company's new Broadband Network Co, responsible for next-generation DVD recorders.

He will also head up the parent company's game business group, Sony said in a statement.

Kutaragi will retain his post as president of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc, a wholly owned Sony subsidiary that runs the highly profitable PlayStation business.

The game unit accounted for more than 35 percent of Sony's operating profits in the latest quarter, ended December 31.

Kutaragi, often lauded as a visionary but known for ruffling feathers among Sony's top brass, will oversee Sony's work on DVDs that use blue laser light and can pack several times more data on a single disc than conventional red-laser DVDs.

Sony plans to start sales next month of the world's first blue-laser DVD recorder, which will be able to store a two-hour high-definition movie on one disc.

Sony also sees the blue-laser technology as key to next-generation game machines, whose advanced graphics will require huge amounts of storage capacity, a spokesman said.

The company also elevated Howard Stringer, chairman of Sony Corp of America, to vice chairman of the parent company and named him regional representative for the Americas, a newly created post intended to sharpen Sony's regional focus.

Goran Lindahl, a Swede who sits on Sony's board of directors and formerly headed Swiss-Swedish engineering group ABB <ABB.ST>, will be the Sony group's European representative while Minoru Morio, another vice chairman, will take charge of East Asia.

 

[Paul]

Well then I guess any doubt any of us had about PS3 using Blu-ray is shut down. Expect PS3 to use em.

 

[ChryZ]

Well then I guess any doubt any of us had about PS3 using Blu-ray is shut down. Expect PS3 to use em.

Well, the PS2 gave DVD a nice push in Japan, guess PS3 would be quit a multiplier for Blue-Ray.

 

[Paul]

Yes, it would. Although with this blue-ray player I see that it uses cartriges kinda, would this be used for a ps3 game? Those cartridge like things.

 

[Paul]

And by cartridge I mean this

 

[marconelly!]

I think the blu ray standard supports both those cartridges and lower-capacity disc that are without cartridges.

 

[Paul]

Ah yes, I have evidence to back up your claim.

25GB disk without cartridge, and 50 with. Im sure a average PS3 game will fit on 25GB no?

 

[PC-Engine]

Well then I guess any doubt any of us had about PS3 using Blu-ray is shut down. Expect PS3 to use em.

It's been widely known that SONY supported the Blu-ray format among other electronics companies. It's also been speculated that PS3 will use some form of Blu-ray, however, this press release in no way confirms PS3 will be using BR. It doesn't even mention Blu-ray in the press release itself.

 

[Paul]

"Sony also sees the blue-laser technology as key to next-generation game machines, whose advanced graphics will require huge amounts of storage capacity, a spokesman said."

If that's not an indication than I don't know WHAT is.

 

[PC-Engine]

"Sony also sees the blue-laser technology as key to next-generation game machines, whose advanced graphics will require huge amounts of storage capacity, a spokesman said."

If that's not an indication than I don't know WHAT is.

Blue lasers are not exclusive to Blu-ray.

 

[Paul]

Put two and two together..

 

[PC-Engine]

Put two and two together..

more like 2 + n..

Blu-ray is a format. Blue lasers are a technology. Red laser technology have been used in all optical formats to date. How many red laser formats exists to date?

 

[Paul]

So they are going to invent a new blue laser format just for PS3? That's about what your saying.

Face the facts, ps3 and possibly Xbox2 will use blu-ray. You take everything and try to overcomplicate it.

 

[zidane1strife]

200-300M+ blu-ray units by the end of this decade... Dvd thy end shall be swift and painless

 

[Natoma]

200-300M+ blu-ray units by the end of this decade... Dvd thy end shall be swift and painless

I own over 250 DVDs. It certainly won't be painless for me when I decide to upgrade all of my movies to the new format.

 

[zidane1strife]

Well, if eventually they release a 50GB RW disk, you could probably fit that entire collection in little more than a dozen Blu-ray disks.

 

[clem64]

Won't the new machines be backward compatible?

 

[PC-Engine]

Face the facts, ps3 and possibly Xbox2 will use blu-ray. You take everything and try to overcomplicate it.

Actually Microsoft will likely be supporting the DVD forum's next generation HD blue laser DVD standard which is PC friendly.

 

[Vince]

Put two and two together..

Common sence is hard to come by nowadays. There's something about the ideology that Sony would ditch the Blu-Ray standard they're a major supporter of - and are already creating players using - with Panasonic just to create a propietary standard. Borders on retarded with all due respect.

 

[PC-Engine]

BETA