WMS: Console War to be Determined by Movie Studios

[Black Dragon37]

Could the battle between Sony's Blu-ray and Toshiba's HD DVD decide the winner in the next-generation console race? Ultimately, Wedbush Morgan Securities thinks that's the case and as a result it's the movie studios that ironically could affect the outcome of this video game industry war.

 

[Inane_Dork]

If one of the two optical formats takes off, mostly what you'll see is the attach ratio of the respective console platform take a nose dive. IMO.

 

[Serenity Painted Death]

In short, no.

If Blu-ray does well, it will help, but probably not significantly. Maybe if all these predictions for super-spiking HDTV penetration come to fruition it could be major. People who are going to be buying the PS3 for the forseeable post-launch future are already inclined to buying HD movie technology to begin with. PS3 can help Blu-ray a hell of a lot more than Blu-ray can help PS3. So, in essense, the reverse is true... if PS3 dominates remotely like PS2, it would be hard to imagine Blu-ray losing to HDTV, though there is DVD to worry about.

If it fails, well, it still plays games. Outside of some poor press, people aren't going to stop buying the thing because it isn't primarily a movie player to begin with.

 

[rabidrabbit]

I don't think Sony is planning the PS3 to be the device that makes people buy Blu-ray movies en masse.
Majority of people still don't have a high definition display yet at home, so they don't care much about high definition format movies.

But some years forward, maybe even closer to PS4 launch, the Blu-ray in PS3 will have a whole new meaning to the masses.

I think the Blu-ray in PS3 is not there to make the whole world abandon DVD's and turn Blu-ray in a year or two, but it's there for the future, and simply establish a very strong base for the real "HD Era" that's not today, this year, next year... but maybe year 2010 when there is possibly tens of millions of PS3's and thus Blu-ray players in homes.

 

[NismoMaxima]

i don't have time to game as much as i used to. a major selling point of the ps2 was the fact it would play dvds as well as entertain me with games. the same with the ps3. the 360 looks more and more outdated the more i learn about ps3.



--jon

ps view my for sale thread! lots of computer parts and other stuff. http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=470566

 

[wco81]

The analyst predicts unit sales for the life of the consoles: 41 million for PS3, 32 million for X360 and I forgot how much for the Wii.

PS3 is about the same as the PS2. X360 more than doubles what the Xbox ships, Wii also ships more units than the GC.

This is all for US only.

So everyone wins, especially MS, but Sony treads water.

 

[flf]

I seriously doubt that movie formats will decide the console war. Give it a year or so and Wal-mart will be selling $90 players of both formats from chinese knock-off companies.

I don't know anyone, except young gamers, who actually use their console (or computer) for playing DVD movies on a regular basis... everyone tends to have a stand-alone DVD player sitting in their entertainment system somewhere.