Warner Exclusive Blu-ray= More PS3 sold?

[patsu]

That news originated from IDG.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,142579-pg,1/article.html

Blu-Ray didn't really help the PS3 all that much so far, but the PS3 certainly helped Blu-Ray. Now that Blu-Ray has won, it might help PS3 as well.

Yeah, not that much yet. I think the real Blu-ray effect will only kick in when it gains mass adoption (and when PS3 is "cheap" enough). Or when Sony integrates BD-Live into PS3 in a way that enables new economics. I suspect their main thrust still lie in the work-in-progress Playstation Network and of course PS3 games/applications.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Yeah, not that much yet. I think the real Blu-ray effect will only kick in when it gains mass adoption.

This is dependent on TV adoption. It's not a far reach to think that when people buy a new HD set, they'll also be in the market for a new HD movie player, and with new HD games, Sony could certainly capitalise. A strong marketing push that presents PS3 with...Uncharted, Singstar and 'family appeal' titles (like Wii's, showing everyone happy together! LBP would be awesome for adverts) alongside BRD playback, and associates it with Bravia's, could do very well for the system.

 

[deepbrown]

http://www.ripten.com/2008/02/18/xbox-360-blu-ray-add-on-as-soon-as-may-08/

Xbox 360 Blu-ray add-on in three months? Would that hurt the PS3's advantage? Would Sony give Microsoft the Blu-ray license?

 

[patsu]

See the link in http://forum.beyond3d.com/showpost.php?p=1129881&postcount=369

 

[patsu]

This is dependent on TV adoption. It's not a far reach to think that when people buy a new HD set, they'll also be in the market for a new HD movie player, and with new HD games, Sony could certainly capitalise. A strong marketing push that presents PS3 with...Uncharted, Singstar and 'family appeal' titles (like Wii's, showing everyone happy together! LBP would be awesome for adverts) alongside BRD playback, and associates it with Bravia's, could do very well for the system.

Yes, Sony hopes that Blu-ray will help to grow PS3 beyond the core gaming audience (like Wii). i.e., where PS2 slowed down at a point, PS3 should continue to grow because it is a best-of-breed and inexpensive Blu-ray player.

But for the core gamers, it's all about how developers can use Blu-ray to better their games. And for BD-Live, the question I needed answer most is how good is Java (with "improved" memory management) for game development ?

 

[DJ12]

http://www.ripten.com/2008/02/18/xbox-360-blu-ray-add-on-as-soon-as-may-08/

Xbox 360 Blu-ray add-on in three months? Would that hurt the PS3's advantage? Would Sony give Microsoft the Blu-ray license?

I doubt it, chances are it won't be a "good" blu-ray player like the one found in the PS3, and I doubt they would be able to use it for games.

It's not just Sony that make the decisions anyway, but think of the PR, Sony and the BDA could have a field day. "They said Blu-Ray wasn't that good, now look at them"

 

[Arwin]

I guess I'm one of the few that still thinks BluRay's place in the PS3 is exciting primarily because of what games are doing with it and are going to do with it in the future - but then I'm also known to be a little more patient than average.

In the meantime, I just think of all the discussions that bluray didn't count as a selling point for the PS3 because HD DVD might win, etc. That discussion is now firmly put aside, so it's most certainly a plus for the PS3. For many it will be all the BluRay player they need, and eventually it will become the second BluRay player for the kids, etc. Being there right at the start of the format's adoption should help it even more than DVD did (though in Europe it's not that big a difference as it is in the US - my PS2 was one of the first DVD players among the people I knew back then).

 

[patsu]

I guess I'm one of the few that still thinks BluRay's place in the PS3 is exciting primarily because of what games are doing with it and are going to do with it in the future - but then I'm also known to be a little more patient than average.

It's hard to count Blu-ray as a general gaming advantage today when only a few developers are using it "correctly". I agree that we will have to wait for 2nd or even 3rd gen games to see if Blu-ray can shine in games.

The HDD on the other hand seems much more helpful and promising this gen.

 

[-tkf-]

That news originated from IDG.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,142579-pg,1/article.html



Yeah, not that much yet. I think the real Blu-ray effect will only kick in when it gains mass adoption (and when PS3 is "cheap" enough). Or when Sony integrates BD-Live into PS3 in a way that enables new economics. I suspect their main thrust still lie in the work-in-progress Playstation Network and of course PS3 games/applications.

To some extent the effect has already kicked in, there are people out there buying the console for Blu-Ray and getting a console on the side. I see a snowball rolling down a hill right now i just hope it´s big enough to retake some of the market Sony has been losing this time round. I´m not to positive but the Blu-Ray victory keeps them in the game at least.

 

[silhouette]

http://www.ripten.com/2008/02/18/xbox-360-blu-ray-add-on-as-soon-as-may-08/

Xbox 360 Blu-ray add-on in three months? Would that hurt the PS3's advantage? Would Sony give Microsoft the Blu-ray license?

Bluray is not Sony's alone.. There are many other companies that invest onto that format as well. And, I do not think it's up to Sony to decide who gets a license and who not.

Btw, I am pretty sure that there will be add-on. MS's primary strategy was to delay mass-adoption of Blu-ray as long as they could (It was clear from day-one that Blu-ray will not go anywhere, but it was just not clear that HD-DVD could survive. Now, we know it won't). Now, I believe their new strategy will be to keep their installed base not purchasing PS3, especially when it is the cheapest Blu-ray player. In order to do that, they need this add-on ASAP. I also always expect Elite to have the Bluray drive in 2009. As the format-war is now over, I won't be surprised if they release that model as early as holiday time.

/conspiracy mode on
Btw, I guess everything was decided when WarnerBros switched just before CES. In fact, there might be an agreement between Bluray and HD-DVD camps long before xmas. Blu camp let TOshiba to sell its devices through the Xmas time. Then, WB's annoucement came just before the CES despite that it does not make sense for them to make the annoucment long before their contract expires in May (they are going to loose money by releasing and working on a disk format that won't be in the market after couple of months). Universal and Paramonth says we stick to HD-DVD so that Toshiba can continue to sell the remaining players - but do not release any movies. Then, again although it does not make any sense again businesswise, Netflix and Walmart's annoucement comes. Possibly, in one or two weeks, Toshiba - after minimizing their losses - will come out and say we throw the towel. And, then, Universal and Paramount comes out and says industry decides this and we will join Blu side, and everyone will be happy. Btw, MS is also allowed to work on their own BR-J implementation and add-in drive meanwhile, and everyone is ready when the death of Hd-DVD is annouced to the public. Do not get surprised if you see how things get unfold so quickly in the next month.
/conspiracy mode off

 

[one]

Then, again although it does not make any sense again businesswise, Netflix and Walmart's annoucement comes.

Why do you think it doesn't make sense buisinesswise? They have no obligation to sell HD DVD players and media in the foreseeable future. In fact after Warner announcement the sales ratio was like 8:2 for BD:HD DVD. It's no difficult for them to read the trend that leads to 95:5 or something like that as in Japan.

As for your conspiracy theory, it can't explain the fact that Toshiba prepared banners and bags for the CES. They could have canceled the event before the Warner announcement but didn't. It just adds to their exit loss.

In this new article from PC Watch, an insider says Warner decided it not by monetary incentive but by the recent sales of HD titles such as Harry Potter. The article concludes that while it's said $100 millions were spent for Paramount, $1 billion or more would have been required to move a Warner-class company which is not a realistic amount of money even for the Blu-ray Disc Association. The sluggish stock price and management reshuffle at Warner suggest it was a business move.

http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2008/0218/gyokai233.htm

 

[London Geezer]

http://www.ripten.com/2008/02/18/xbox-360-blu-ray-add-on-as-soon-as-may-08/

Xbox 360 Blu-ray add-on in three months? Would that hurt the PS3's advantage? Would Sony give Microsoft the Blu-ray license?

Another add-on-player thing for 360??
The thing has more pieces than a LEGO!
HDD, wireless thingy, HDDVD drive, now Bluray drive?
It would resemble more a Transformer than a console... Don't see that happening, why would MS get involved when movie downloads are obviously much better economics and seem to be much more what the customers want?

 

[wco81]

Another add-on-player thing for 360??
The thing has more pieces than a LEGO!
HDD, wireless thingy, HDDVD drive, now Bluray drive?
It would resemble more a Transformer than a console... Don't see that happening, why would MS get involved when movie downloads are obviously much better economics and seem to be much more what the customers want?

Which customers want movie downloads?

All the video enthusiasts want packaged media because they know the video and audio quality of downloads and streamed media will be far short of what you get on packaged media.

Now maybe the mainstream will gravitate to something like iTunes movie rentals (iLounge did a good comparison of all the different HD options from Blu-Ray to VOD offered by cable TV services).

The experience will have to be good. It has to be an impulse rental and you have to be able to start viewing relatively quick. The syncing with iPods have to be seamless as well.

But really, the test will be whether download services will displace Netflix and similar services.

Infrastructure isn't good enough for a lot of people to do heavy-duty downloading and streaming of quality video.

 

[silhouette]

Why do you think it doesn't make sense buisinesswise? They have no obligation to sell HD DVD players and media in the foreseeable future. In fact after Warner announcement the sales ratio was like 8:2 for BD:HD DVD. It's no difficult for them to read the trend that leads to 95:5 or something like that as in Japan.

As for your conspiracy theory, it can't explain the fact that Toshiba prepared banners and bags for the CES. They could have canceled the event before the Warner announcement but didn't. It just adds to their exit loss.

In this new article from PC Watch, an insider says Warner decided it not by monetary incentive but by the recent sales of HD titles such as Harry Potter. The article concludes that while it's said $100 millions were spent for Paramount, $1 billion or more would have been required to move a Warner-class company which is not a realistic amount of money even for the Blu-ray Disc Association. The sluggish stock price and management reshuffle at Warner suggest it was a business move.

http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2008/0218/gyokai233.htm

Sorry for derailing the topic a bit, but...

Warner: They could have continued to sell the already manufacutured Hd-dvds until May. Once the agreement expires, they could have announced that they are going blu (even though they gave that decision months ago) after they cleared their inventories. Instead, they opted to make an annoucement and put them in a position to release/manufacture disks for a format that they basically doom. Why do you want to take a business decision to loose money on?

Netflix: After Warner/New Line goes Blu, there is no single studio that release movies in multiple format. So, they do not ahve to stock the same movie in two different high-def formats anyway. There was no reason for them to go exclusive in one format. If HD-DVD would have prevailed, they would simply loose customers who choose that format.

WalMart: If you have HD-DVD players on your shelves, why would you want to annouce that you will not sell them anymore before you clear that inventory.

I stilll think more is going back behind curtains.

Another add-on-player thing for 360??
The thing has more pieces than a LEGO!
HDD, wireless thingy, HDDVD drive, now Bluray drive?
It would resemble more a Transformer than a console... Don't see that happening, why would MS get involved when movie downloads are obviously much better economics and seem to be much more what the customers want?

Very good analogy man! But, it is not that bad. HDD actually looks like a part of the box and wireless thingy just locks very nicely also. MS has done a great job on those. I have an HD-DVD drive and honestly, I would have prefered an internal one cause it looks ugly in my A/V stand. However, if MS releases a Bluray add-on around 100-130$, I will get one temporarily until a company releases a player with profile 2.0 and full-audio codec support. If not, probably I will have a PS3 around next holidays.

 

[patsu]

Sorry for derailing the topic a bit, but...

Warner: They could have continued to sell the already manufacutured Hd-dvds until May. Once the agreement expires, they could have announced that they are going blu (even though they gave that decision months ago) after they cleared their inventories. Instead, they opted to make an annoucement and put them in a position to release/manufacture disks for a format that they basically doom. Why do you want to take a business decision to loose money on?

Netflix: After Warner/New Line goes Blu, there is no single studio that release movies in multiple format. So, they do not ahve to stock the same movie in two different high-def formats anyway. There was no reason for them to go exclusive in one format. If HD-DVD would have prevailed, they would simply loose customers who choose that format.

WalMart: If you have HD-DVD players on your shelves, why would you want to annouce that you will not sell them anymore before you clear that inventory.

I stilll think more is going back behind curtains.

Warner needed to act fast because of the imminent CES 2008 announcements (by both camps).

According to Arstechnica, Netflix, Walmart and BestBuy already knew Toshiba was going to give up before they made their announcements.

 

[-tkf-]

Toshiba Press conference in about 25 minutes (if i get it right).

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/s...Conference,_HD_DVD_Announcement_Expected/1479

Anyone with a good idea on what English website that could be convering it?

 

[Kryton]

Toshiba Press conference in about 25 minutes (if i get it right).

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/s...Conference,_HD_DVD_Announcement_Expected/1479

Anyone with a good idea on what English website that could be convering it?

it's official. Toshiba just made a statements saying, " it will no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders."

 

[-tkf-]

It´s dead Jim

http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2008_02/pr1903.htm

 

[Crossbar]

R.I.P.
HD-DVD

Pretty swift move IMO. Probably got some better deals for BD IP if they ended it quickly.

 

[bRoNx]

It´s dead Jim

http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2008_02/pr1903.htm

Wow! I guess they must be commended for making a bold decision. It's never easy when it's your own you have to let go.

On the other hand, SONY must be congratulated for this - I guess they can go ahead the put the BetaMax days behind now. As news of this grows, the PS3 will definitely benefit from this.

Well done SONY. I guess it's only a matter of time before PS3 sales reflect this.