My PS3 wants calf implants.

Iamtehawesome

@thegunshow:

You call the best selling games console of all time a toy?

This is why you are not a rich man.

EdwinJ85

@ceilingFANBOY: now with 100% more fanboy:

The market has never before managed to handle three main home consoles for one. The gamecube died horribly as did the saturn. I just want the 360 to keep going and I dont want developer support to die for it.

The best case scenario is that things stay the same - Wii kicking butt and MS/Sony on equal footing. Everybody wins that way.

EdwinJ85

@Onizuka-GTO: Yeah, compare PS3 to DS, that make sense. $400 machine to a $129 toy...hhhmmmm.

thegunshow

doubt this will print money for sony. nothing can top that juggernaut DS that nintendo got. but i do expect a few more people who like watching HD video to buy it.

Onizuka-GTO

seen this shit coming

Prodigys Flawless

i love entourage….when is it coming back?

dh4645

Actually, in the end it will mean less PS3 sales, as prices fall(standalones) and sales of standalones pick up, sales of the PS3 will slow up bigtime as people won't be forced to buy them anymore as the only futureproof players.Now with FF13 delayed until 2009-10(lmao!) and MGS4 almost out the door, there's goign to be a time very soon where the PS3 will have to sell itself on it's video game console merits for the first time and since it's list of "must have" games is about as long as a pubic hair, it looks like Sony had better get used to the #3b permanently.

Sugaray

I think this could be quite dangerous as a whole, especially if PS3 ends up beating the Wii. Sony, and in fact the gaming industry as whole needs to learn that sticking a new format in your machine =/= success. If they get it into their heads that it does, which sony certainly will do if PS3 ends up on top, we will end up with a new format each gen. That doesn't mean we'll have to upgrade every 5 years, it just means the industry will die because no-one will want their stupid formats.

Nayl

@Zunnoab: I agree with you on every point and that is why Blu Ray while it won this format war its not going to win the race. The american public is not ready to upgrade and it won't be until there is a huge jump in invoation like DVD to VHS that we will have the next real format.

taftsearlobe23

VICTORY!!!!

Lets hug it out bitch.

Fyren

While this is of course great news for the PS3 and Sony, I really don't think Blu-ray is nearly the jump in progression that VHS to DVD was.

Do you know what I first loved most about DVD versus VHS? It was neither the picture quality nor the sound quality. What I loved most was that I didn't have to rewind it when done, and that I could skip all over and fast forward and rewind seamlessly. Blu-ray offers a clearer picture to those that own HDTVs. While it is certainly a big jump, this isn't anywhere near as important to the PS3 as DVD was to the PS2. Great news, but it's not going to drag the PS3 to number one.

Zunnoab

Yes, I just came here to give props to the picture.

kuzuboshii

@Ampillion lives a life much like No More Heroes.: I both agree and disagree. There will be cheaper players out there soon enough, however with the surge of money pouring in to the format you're also going to see Sony have the means to cheapen their production of the Blu-ray drive again. This will allow for the price of the PS3 to again be slashed.

BornToFlail

Now heres the question...Would now be a good time to invest in Sony? =O

DrLight

you know i doubt it was all on purpose, but at the same time to some extent worked out to their advantage. when teh ps3 was very expensive and money losing for sony it wasnt selling all that well, now cost is about where the price is and blue ray is the hd format winner which will spur sales due to teh attractive price compared to stand alone players (and the ps3 being an actual pretty good blue ray player) personally i woudlnt mind having some sony stock though i'm not really sure how to go about it :/.

i'm glad i dont have apple stock though, one of my course instructors was talking about how its sunk recently and he lost a bunch of money >.>

demonknightinuyasha

So now they don't have to drop the price any time soon.

floppylobster

@EnigmaNemesis: When I get a PS3 again, which is more then likely, I want the white one too :)

Irenicus-the one and only

I know it's been done, but still...

VICTORRRRYYYYYY

NPlace

@TitillatedOcelot: My fiance's dad refuses to get a PS3, even though he wants a BluRay player. Go figure.

CarlitosColon

Waiting for the white one. As soon as that hits, I am there to buy it ASAP!

EnigmaNemesis

@IntelSilver: I agree that BluRay on PS3 may be attractive to gamers on the fence over which console to buy, but I was speaking to its lack of appeal for non-gamers.

CarlitosColon

@San:

I agree with most of what you say, however, I think the PS3 will continue to drop in price if the 360 does so. Price point is a big draw for consumers and I really believe Sony would stay competitive with the 360 if the price drops. It may not drop as fast as it did in the first year it was out, but I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a price drop at least once this year. I too hope that Sony can just stay with 2 different versions of the PS3 and just leave the darn thing alone. You can't sell PS3's if you are putting people on the fence because they aren't sure if they should buy one now or wait til a new version comes out.

dalejrfanfreak

Love the Johnny Chase! But I must say, that Howard Stringer is a VERY smart man. It didn't take long after ripping the gaming division from Kutaragi's crazy little hands to turn everything around. Victory!

Arsenal

Ready to buy one as soon as they have one in white and of course FF13 comes out. I love my 360, but this year it seems to be Sony's with the exclusives coming out for it.

Gex

Sony's strategy was to lead up to a similar moment around a year and a half ago. Unfortunately, there were many problems - the cost of making the Blue-Ray unit and console itself was far higher than they thought (and was passed on to the consumer), the Xbox 360 was very successful and the HD-DVD group had far too many good connections with the movie studios. Hence the delay of the moment to early 2008.

mcderek3000

@budash2: Exactamundo!

rawg

... I-is that Johnny Drama?

Krimmson

@CarlitosColon: NON-GAMERS WILL NOT BUY A PS3 STRICTLY AS A BLU-RAY PLAYER

That's not the point. The BR player will help Sony win back some of the multiplatform market. For example, the built in BR player will be the deciding factor for a lot of folks still trying to decide between a PS3 or 360 for GTAIV.

Also, many gamers who have a 360/Wii will be tempted to pick up a PS3 as a second console when they upgrade their home theaters to HD/BR. Even if you don't use it for games, it comes with some nice extras generously subsidized by SCE, like wifi and DLNA media center with an upgradeable HDD that you can't get in a standalone player. But they'll eventually buy games for it too, unless they're die hard fanboys.

rawg

@kNZA: Ok, well it's closer towards standard than it was prior.

I myself would prefer everything change back to cartridge again. All gaming turns into SD card format, faster load times and even writing capabilities!

Eh, wishful thinking.

Ampillion lives a life much like No More Heroes.

i really have to buy a ps3 now

FlapDangerous

ok. Now beat the DVD format.

crazyorloco

@Ampillion lives a life much like No More Heroes.:

BD doesn't have any physical-media competition anymore but it isn't standard yet.

When everybody has one, it will be standard.

I'm not sure that the average person is convinced they need one.

kNZA

@zoesch: Right, but as Luckydan pointed out, the DVD was conceived around 93, put into production in 95 or so. The PS2 was developed in 99, using an established format. As well, the PS1 was in 94, using an established format in CDs that had been around since late 82. I'm merely saying that the comparison between PS1/PS2 formats and the PS3 format is largely different, because Blu-Ray hadn't become a standard until just recently.

Ampillion lives a life much like No More Heroes.

@ Luckydan: although i agree with you that i was wrong and out of line with my remarks regarding the ps1/ps2 use of cd's & dvd's, i don't see what your trying to get at at the end of your post. unless you've owned a ps3 since launch and have bought all the games that have come out. i don't belive your in the position to say such a thing.

limitt

Definitely a good reason not to support Sony. They almost screwed the Playstation brand to win Blu-ray. As a gamer, it's an insult. That's why I made the switch from PS2 to X360.

reptile168

The ps3 won't be getting any cheaper, even when it is going to be cheaper to make. Sony needs to let lowering costs for development and the successful win in the format-war recoup the losses they have been suffering from. I don't think it was Sony's master plan though. But the PS3 was a guaranteed market. HDDVD players had to be advertised to people wanting a higher quality DVD. The minute Xbox refused to include hddvd with the system at all, it was over. As the only format for people wanting hd movies, the PS3 may have found a new way to tap external markets.
If the nintendo is said to aim at casual games, the PS3 panders to those who would want a useful dvd player to go with their hd setup. Sony will regain a lot of momentum now, recouping many loses suffered thus far, and hopefully, a complete, once and for all ps3 will be released. (To hell with a cheaper ps3, i just want to see one on sale that won't be replaced with another with different features.) Soon, the games will come back and sony skeptics might have to eat their words.

San

@Ampillion lives a life much like No More Heroes.: Sony co-developed the CD with Phillips and was one of the early backers for DVD which at the time had competition in the shape of VCD.

zoesch

The numbers say that the PS3 is selling well, why are teh internetz so hellbent on talking about squandering or failure?

It's more that the Wii is a freak of nature than anything else.

zoesch

@limitt:

Sigh. I see some Kotaku readers do not know how to use wikipedia for their benefit. I wouldn't go around stating by your wording that SONY champion CDs and DVDs because your incorrect. Sony didn't support DVDs at all but a MM compact CD until they reached an agreement. Sony didn't champion those formats they implemented them because they were popular at the time and were used waaay before PS2 and PS1 come into popularity.

Here's the blurb taken directly from Wiki:
==================================================================
In 1993, two high-density optical storage standards were being developed; one was the MultiMedia Compact Disc, backed by Philips and Sony, and the other was the Super Density disc, supported by Toshiba, Time Warner, Matsushita Electric, Hitachi, Mitsubishi Electric, Pioneer, Thomson, and JVC. IBM's president, Lou Gerstner, acting as a matchmaker, led an effort to unite the two camps behind a single standard, anticipating a repeat of the costly videotape format war between VHS and Betamax in the 1980s.

Philips and Sony abandoned their MultiMedia Compact Disc and fully agreed upon Toshiba's SuperDensity Disc with only one modification, namely changing to EFMPlus modulation. EFMPlus was chosen as it has a great resilience against disc damage such as scratches and fingerprints. EFMPlus, created by Kees Immink, who also designed EFM, is 6% less efficient than the modulation technique originally used by Toshiba, which resulted in a capacity of 4.7 GB as opposed to the original 5 GB. The result was the DVD specification, finalized for the DVD movie player and DVD-ROM computer applications in December 1995.[3] In May 1997, the DVD Consortium was replaced by the DVD Forum, which is open to all other companies.
==================================================================

AND from that it was IBM's godly decision that birthed DVDs lol.

However on the Blu-Ray Sony did champion the format and thus made a safe gamble since 1. they were later than the XBOX 360 and 2. as the Xbox 360 didn't implement the HD-DVD it was a safe bet to implement the Blu-Ray. If the Xbox 360 implemented the HD-DVD they might of had second thoughts but both companies did the right thing and Sony was the main player in driving HD-DVD to the ground.

Now I just twiddle my thumbs and wait for the PS3 to dip in price soonish. There are NO GAMES for the PS3 atm.

Luckydan

"You...you don't think Sony's whole strategy with the machine has been leading up to this very moment all along, do you?"

Are you implying that the PS3 is simply a tauted Blu-Ray advertisement trying to force a format down our necks? Surely you jest.

justhesh

@limitt: Eh? As I recall, both CD and DVD were pretty much already 'standard' formats at the times that those systems came out, they merely took advantage of what was already becoming commonplace. Much larger difference than the PS3. (I could be a bit off in my timeline in my head though, but I'm fairly certain PS1/PS2 weren't 'pushing' a new format, but using a newly established standard.)

Ampillion lives a life much like No More Heroes.

@jayntampa: Well true, noone's forcing anyone to buy anything in the literal sense, but when the system came out at the $600 dollar price tag, that sent out a lot of red flags to people. Some felt like Sony was stuffing Blu-Ray into the PS3 just to exploit the brand name so they could win the format war. If all you cared about was gaming, I'm sure some might feel like this format was being forced upon them. This of course was before Sony really started to cut the fat and drop the price down. Now that the price is more competitive with other systems, it's not such a huge deal anymore.

Ampillion lives a life much like No More Heroes.

@gamadaya:

"Don't underestimate Sony man. They managed to squander all the ground they made with both the PS1 and PS2. These guys are pros when it comes to squandering."

Ya don't say, you know Captain Obvious too?

I "keed", I know, is there still anyone who doesn't? They royally fucked up, but now it looks like at least their Blu Ray shenanigans are somewhat paying off, and they're slowly recovering from whatever mind altering substances everyone at the damn company decided binging on.

Bando

The Blu-Ray victory means more PS3 sales for sure but remember, Sony is a huge consumer electronics and media conglomerate not just a gaming company. Sony still takes a loss on each PS3 sold.

The 5% rise in the stock price is more likely because investors expect the Blu-Ray win to drive sales of high-margin BD players, HDTVs and movie discs.

rawg

A TOAST, to all those who doubted sony's decision on implimenting blu-ray with the Ps3. let them not forget the ps1 with its cd's, or the ps2 with its dvd's. to sony this has become routine and a very succesful one at that. the future is definatly blu. * r.i.p hd dvd, we shall not forget the look & sound of perfect*

limitt

@TrettOff: Good job dealing in absolutes.

Jest

@Ampillion lives a life much like No More Heroes.: I agree, but ... I mean, forced? A company can design their product any way they want to. I can see someone calling it a poor or a disappointing choice, but no one makes you buy something.

Anyway, check this rumor -- according to this site, MS already has a working Blu-ray drive for the 360 and could roll them out by May: [www.smarthouse.com.au]

jayntampa

..

limitt

I'm...getting the strangest sense of deja vu with this article... Seems I've already seen it, say, twice before here.

Kovitlac

@jayntampa: I think the forced argument came from the original large price tag on the PS3 being credited mainly to the BR drive, and seeing that the games looked similar to 360 quality, wondered if the format was really all that necessary. Meaning that some people felt like they were being 'forced' to eat that extra price for a disc format that didn't seem to do much for them.

Ampillion lives a life much like No More Heroes.

@dalejrfanfreak: I never really understood the forced argument ... people tried to make it all the time though.

I bought a Blu-ray movie yesterday to celebrate, and an HD DVD one today to mourn :D

jayntampa

I bought a Blu Ray movie today just to celebrate. I guess now Blu Ray isn't being "forced" on gamers anymore, instead it's just another perk to buying a PS3.

dalejrfanfreak

Honestly, f the Blue Ray player, like I said, until they get BC fully fixed, I'm not buying.

Ashkihyena

@Kyle81: Did you even look at the links I posted? Prices have been going up since Christmas -- as well, lower priced models are being phased out. Yes, prices will go up in the short term - it's already been documented, so saying you doubt it is just ignoring the reality.

Remember, the original Blu-ray players aren't even going to be compatible with the upcoming models. Blu-ray still has some rough waters before it's mainsteam.

jayntampa

@ceilingFANBOY: now with 100% more fanboy: I don't see Nintendo losing steam unless they somehow fail to ever address the supply issue and are unable to drop the price down to keep themselves as the cheapest gaming console. The Wii is just selling way too consistently as it is to see any big decline outside of their own failure to keep up with demand STILL finally catching up to them. Besides that, the Wii and the 360/PS3 offer uniquely different gaming experiences, and those experiences don't necessarily always overlap. Which is why they still haven't lost any momentum even as Sony's gaining it. You have to figure that the 360/PS3 offer more similar types of experiences, and therefore, are probably subject to 'steal the thunder' away from each over as opposed to the Wii.

Ampillion lives a life much like No More Heroes.

@Cruithne: That will only be true for the common folk. If blu-ray does become a standard the home-theater crowd will definitely want top of the line stand alone players. Which will be better then the PS3 at movie playback.

FtGF

@comedy: It almost fought its way back in there, though, when Target started carrying UMD movies again because they were getting demand for them. It really wasn't necessary, though. Portable DVD players aren't that huge that they can't be carried around and people don't want to have to buy a movie twice just to be able to carry it around. Sure, people will buy a movie twice to have it in HD, but that gives them something that DVD didn't give. Portable copy is starting to take off, though, and the PSP will have its last laugh.

ceilingFANBOY: now with 100% more fanboy

@Sniper_Zegai: I don't think you get it. the days of your Games System and other media devices being seperate are a thing of the past, that's kinda the whole point.
And as for the Sony Blu Ray capabilities, it might be cheap, but it sure isn't cheap when it comes to quality.

Cruithne

@comedy:
No prob. You might know about it already but I suggest you check out [bluray.highdefdigest.com] they have tons of reviews and they cover transfer quality. Cheers.

FtGF

I think the point many are missing is Blu-ray is simply a optical storage disk, "HD" does not require it since that is all about codecs and TV resolutions.

Also considering how many formats were tried from CD to DVD we can only say something "won" when the market adapts it.

This is all very nice but I have no interest in HD TV since what is pushing it is corporate interests on spying on what you do, even in the case I purchase a PS3 its not going for watching "Blu-ray movies", it will remain "off line" for the duration of its existence.

Drakron

I hate to sound like a fanboy, but jesus when you know you went wrong somewhere when your GAMES system is being used as a cheap Blu-Ray player.

When the PS3 comes to a more affordable price, I just might get one and although Im glad Sony are making a comeback of sort (more money means more games, right?) it just kind of saddens me that the PS3 is'nt being bought becuase its actually a good console, lets wait for MGS4 and FFXIII.

Sniper_Zegai

All these news about the HD-DVD format dying and the Blu-Ray emerging "victorious" aren't that surprising.

I remember reading a few stories at the end of last year that foretold Blu-Ray's victory over HD-DVD, yet the same stories seem to have been completely forgotten by everyone!

Here is a quote from an article taken from cdfreaks.com dated 17/06/07: "Microsoft's manager for Media Entertainment Convergence, Richard Doherty, said both HD DVD and Blu-ray will be obsolete in 5 years. [...]He feels, as do others, that downloading will be the access portal of the future, combined with very large hard drives." (full article can be found here [www.cdfreaks.com] )

I remember clearly reading a few articles about Microsoft being enclined to lose this format war on purpose, ditch the HD-DVD and be ready to unleash a solid media download solution when the time is right.

I honestly have no favorite side in this as I don't have any Blu-Ray or HD-DVD movies, neither do I a 360 or a PS3 (although I plan to get both when budget allows!). I'm curious to see how this will unfold, as we see mp3 downloadable purchases are now common practice, will Microsoft successfully come up with a similar, viable business model for movies? or is Sony really the winner? I guess only time will tell...

bakunyu

@JayrodT: I completely agree that software is only one of many factors in this console war. The Sega Saturn had some truly outstanding games and I couldn't believe everyone flocked to the PS1 so rapidly. Of course, the PS1 eventually grew to have a formidable library, but it wasn't always so.

PaulHunter

@Bando:
Don't underestimate Sony man. They managed to squander all the ground they made with both the PS1 and PS2. These guys are pros when it comes to squandering.

@DigitalHero:
To be honest, it was really, really hard to not count Sony out.

gamadaya

@jayntampa: What kinda stupid article is that? Electronics always drop in price as time goes on. Its something called mass production. And with increased competition that is surely to follow after the death of HD-DVD, prices will go down even further. In retrospect, DVD took forever for prices to go down significantly. We should be seeing $200 blu-ray players by this holiday season and you can quote me on this as well.

LeLoi

@-EDGE-: If games and innovation were the deciding factors than the Dreamcast and Saturn would have done a hell of a lot better. And the 360 would have a gigantic lead over the Wii.

I almost wish that I was lame enough to go through all of my old forum posts when the "HD format truce" fell apart, and people were saying that HD-DVDs lead and the fact that it had "DVD" in the name would carry it ahead of Blu-ray, and then when the dual-format players came out and people said that was the end of the war....I could totally do the "I was right" dance all over the internet.

It wasn't exactly hard to see that Sony was banking on Blu-ray carrying the PS3's sales slump from the beginning, and hedging its bets long term with the install base of the PS3 carrying Blu-ray ahead of HD=DVD and in to semi-mass appeal.

JayrodT

@FtGF: @Kj719:

thanks for the references. i have heard that 300 looks pretty good in hd, and i did like the look of pan's labyrinth a good deal, mind you the fact that it was all a small girl's psychosis did change the film for me.

@ceilingFANBOY: now with 100% more fanboy: yeah, i think umd is fine for games, but sony placed a great deal of stock in umd being a killer movie format - which it just isn't.
win some lose some

comedy

@Ampillion lives a life much like No More Heroes.: I think by this time next year Nintendo is going to start losing steam as the PS3 hits maturity and possibly a new price while the 360 is finally able to match the price of the Wii.

ceilingFANBOY: now with 100% more fanboy

Are we allowed to stop hating Sony now?

PaulHunter

Hahha, grats Sony, I hope you will still make games :P

Irenicus-the one and only

@ceilingFANBOY: now with 100% more fanboy: I could see that, definitely the best point for them to do it. I just think that, like you said, they have a lot of things hitting this year, and they'd probably rather ride out sales driven by good software than sales driven by another price drop.

Ampillion lives a life much like No More Heroes.

@Cagalli:
Remember there are always people who like to rain in on people's parade, especially when it deals with good Sony news.

DigitalHero

@jayntampa: Doubted. Consumer Electronic prices generally go down in time. DVD players didn't go up in price when they won over divx, did they? No.

Cagalli

That last line in the story was priceless.

coktoe

We all win now that there is only 1 HD format!

Good job Sony! People counted you out, which wasn't wise.

DigitalHero

If people really needed HD and a movie playback in their game console, the why does is the Wii so far out in front? Mom and Pop aren't going to be keen to pay $35 for "Click" or "50 First Dates" in High Def when they can get the same movies in the $5 bin on DVD and it'll look the same on their $500 Walmart HDTV.

TrettOff

@CarlitosColon: My girlfriend's father just picked one up. He doesn't play games, but he wants a Blu Ray player. I guess he didn't talk to the guys you spoke with.

TitillatedOcelot

Right now is the time where early adopters like myself sit and act smug saying we knew all along Sony had a plan. Okay, doing that now.

atomos

It's definitely convinced me to get a PS3.

R.I.P. HD-DVD

jeffjk

@Ampillion lives a life much like No More Heroes.: I was talking later in the year. If there is a price drop, it probably wont be until right before the holidays, unless Sony just decides to drop a bomb on us one day. Then again, Sony does have a couple more non price drop things to keep sales going. Whenever the new model comes out, that will boost sales; Metal Gear will boost sales; rumble controllers will boost sales; whenever a slim PS3 comes out, that will boost sales (I dont know that we should expect that anytime soon, though)

ceilingFANBOY: now with 100% more fanboy

There is no possible way anyone can say Blu-ray will not be a huge advantage of the PS3 in coming year. All three consoles are still not even close to maturity and the vast amount of people that will be buying consoles still haven't bought one yet. Barely 50 million "next-gen" consoles have been sold. PS2 at the tail-end of maturity is at what? Above 120 million? And now the PS3 is the single best entry point into blu-ray. In Feb, 2009 broadcast TV will go completely digital. We're talking major expansion of the HDTV market until it's as common as a home PC. People who own a PS2 and still haven't upgraded are going to be buying HDTVs - this will all add up to a massive console seller. This will push so many more consoles than any single game ever has. And now the PS3 is poised to have a killer library of games (PSN too) by the end of 2008 - it's astonishing that people are even doubting the PS3 at all anymore. 360 will still do well in America, everyone in the world will own a Wii by 2011. But people need stop discouting the PS3 - it's back for vengeance, no doubt about it.

budash2

Good, I hope to hell and back Sony does not squander the ground they have been gaining.

@Cruithne:

Yea, they seem to be content with merely sitting on their thumbs and twiddling furiously when it comes to pushing software, they need to start getting behind some of their hardware's big guns/tac nukes, even if they haven't anything to do with it's development/publishing, though it looks like they figure they'll just save any marketing blitzes for later, for there own big stuff.
At

Though they would be just plain stupid not to help push such titles such as the next big installments of Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy, those could easily INDIVIDUALLY beat out Halo 3's sales numbers on a global scale, not to mention move hella hardware, and yes, I do so happen to be very close with Sir Captain Obvious, thank you very much.

Bando

@comedy: UMD is kind of different. It still works for games, it just never caught on for movies, but they dont really need it to catch on for movies.

ceilingFANBOY: now with 100% more fanboy

@comedy:
310 to Yuma. Has a decent transfer but not the best movie to show you what blu-ray can do. It is a great movie though.

FtGF

For people that think that HD picture isnt that great or they cant tell the difference, try watching an HD program or movie on a 120hz HDTV. It will blow your f****** mind sir.

JackTretton

@ceilingFANBOY: now with 100% more fanboy: Woah, woah. The day you quiet the 'it has no games' crowd is the day people stop whining about Nintendo games and the 360's RROD. =/

I honestly don't see the PS3 dropping this year myself, especially if they're on an upswing. If they're picking up sales momentum from the 360, why drop the price? It's currently up to MS what they do next on that. Until sales trends change again, I don't see there being much reason for them wanting to drop it prematurely when they could be netting some income. I'm beting more for an early 09 drop myself, unless 360 makes a drop before the holidays.

Ampillion lives a life much like No More Heroes.

@-EDGE-: see the bigger picture why dont you. Inclusion of blu-ray now means bigger user base which now means more attention towards ps3 development which means better and bigger games.

JackTretton

@comedy: I recommend 300, Planet Earth (duh!), and Pan's Labyrinth

Kj719

Well I just hope everyone stops talking about these fucking formats and start showing me some damn games. And I mean on store shelves. I never bought my PS3 for movies.

FtGF

i have a ps3... i have 1 bluray - casino royale, my free copy. but with a hd tv and now knowing that bluray wins, i might just get me some bluray disks.

mind you i just think it's about time people stopped talking shit about bluray inclusion in ps3, it worked for ps1 and cds, ps2 and dvds, not for psp and umds... time will always tell, and now it has.

and that's the end of that chapter.

comedy

@Pai Pai Master:
You know, I'm happy to take it that way without any fanboyism or disparaging remarks.

We're actually shaping up to have three strong consoles to choose from - once unthinkable. Whichever of the three you get, you're going to have great games to play.

fuchikoma

@Ampillion lives a life much like No More Heroes.: I was considering a year as actually being a long time. To get a sales boost for a year would be huge for the PS3, especially because that would push it into its maturity where it wont need the Blu-Ray push because it will have enough games to shut up the "it has not games" crowd. I think that by the time we get to the holidays, Sony may drop the price of the PS3 so that there is a $299 model so that it can better compete with the other two systems. Sure, the Funai players which are coming (it was confirmed by Hidefdigest about a month ago) will be cheaper, but the people wanting a high quality brand will not find too much price difference between the PS3 and say a Samsung Blu-Ray player. (Funai makes the Magnavox DVD players and all of the Emerson and Symphonic stuff for Wal-Mart)

ceilingFANBOY: now with 100% more fanboy

Blu Ray isn't going to magically win the generation to PS3, but it no doubt is going to help sales. It's not going to kill MS or Nintendo, but its going to make the PS3 more attractive to some consumers and it's going to be a positive sale booster for the PS3 especially in the long run if blu ray adoption continues at the rate it's going, which is tracking faster than DVD adoption rates when it first came out.

Kyle81

A.) The PS3 isn't the cheapest Blu-Ray player out there, and with the addition of HD cables of some sort and a Blu-Ray Remote, it clocks in at least $100 more than the cheapest of players out there.

B.) Considering how difficult it has been to find Wii's and 360's in normal retail channels for the past several weeks since Christmas, the fact that the PS3 moved up in the food chain this January probably had more to do with it being the only system available rather than anything Warner Bros. did. You also can't really tally it up to some must-have software either because virtually nothing came out for any system in January, PS3 included.

Overall, I believe there's too much hype regarding a system's other capabilities instead of focusing on what we really buy them for - playing games. Virtually no one buys a Wii for weather, Internet, and news. Virtually no one buys a 360 for movie downloads and a Media Center. Not many customers come in asking about a PS3 with Blu-Ray as their main interest.

These capabilities are largely superfluous to the average customer. Once they own the system, Trojan horse it may be, they'll likely try the functionality and then may or may not come back to it.

Blu-Ray disc sales have certainly increased because of the PS3, but so far the trends don't indicate that most customers are leaving their DVD's behind, or choosing to pay a premium for a movie that they may feel isn't really worth it. Blu-Ray may have beaten HD-DVD - great - but with Blu-Ray movies being outsold by DVD's by such a great number, the format still hasn't truly "made it" yet, and may in fact be susceptible to something new and better coming along later.

SACD vs. MP3 Player's anyone?

dhghunter

@IntelSilver: That was horribly written, but it is understandable... And I'm too lazy to rewrite it.

IntelSilver

@jayntampa: Toshiba shares were up because investors got insider info, they were happy that HDDVD was going to be killed off.

Also blu ray prices are not going to go up, the HD market has strong competition still to beating the hurder of SD material. Prices will stand still possibly for a while, but they will drop. Tech drops in price, it doesn't magically go up in price. New fancier players might come out for higher price, but overall blu ray media is not going to become more expensive.

Kyle81

You could also buy Halo 3 at any local 7-11. I've never seen a pile pushed like Halo 3 was.

DrunkRaba

@CarlitosColon:
There are people that don't give a shit about games, like the one you talked to, and there are people who want to buy a console and don't know which one to get. The Blu-Ray in PS3 is a compelling factor.
In fact, to some extent, this might even get non-gamers to buy a ps3. That way eventually the curiosity would make them rent a game or two, and they would realize that they actually rather enjoy video games.

IntelSilver

@jayntampa: btw, I'm talking about the short term -- over the next year or so. They'll phase out the current players and release more expensive Blu-ray 2.0 players ... at some point, they will come down in price, just not soon.

jayntampa

@Kirbytheslayer: Hot Tears of Shame for Life!: You've mastered the art of including YouTube videos in your comments :o)

Kj719

VICTOOOOOORYYY!

-BEST SHOW ON TELEVISION

JackTretton

@Kirbytheslayer: Hot Tears of Shame for Life!: That's the one. And the only Halo 3 ad I remember seeing was everyone standing perfectly still. Now, either Halo 3 _is_ actually about everyone standing perfectly still (with occasional Mountain Dew breaks?) or Uncharted's ad does a better job depicting the content of the game.

Torgen thinks AAA means "Costs $60"

Insomniac and Naughty Dog finally getting some respect is fantastic. Even better would be Sony putting backwards compatibility back in the PS3...

pastepunkjames

Expect Blu-ray prices to go up:
[tech.yahoo.com]

The LA Times also had a similar story, but I can't link it because of how Kotaku auto-formats - just google Blu-ray prices.

By the way, Toshiba shares were also up :P

jayntampa

@ceilingFANBOY: now with 100% more fanboy: Right, however, there are other components inside the PS3 besides just the Blu-Ray. What I'm saying is that, once the market focuses mainly on Blu-Ray, there's no way Sony will be able to keep up with price drops comparing to the players. Sony isn't going to want to drop the price every three months to keep up with strictly the players when nine or ten other companies are all trying to shove their way into making BR players.
Again, I think it'll help in the short term, but I bet in a year or so, if you want a player, a standalone will end up cheaper. Now, for people who might still also want gaming too, the PS3 will still be a much larger value in it's total package. If, say, Wal-Mart decides it wants some off brand $299 dollar player? I'm sure they'll find some way to exploit someone to make it.

Ampillion lives a life much like No More Heroes.

@Kirbytheslayer: Hot Tears of Shame for Life!: Ahhh..This is the one: Guess it's only 30 seconds.

+ Watch video

Kirbytheslayer: Hot Tears of Shame for Life!

@CarlitosColon: Your talking to a group of random people is some amazing research. A noble peace prize is in your future.

Kyle81

The people who think that the Blu-Ray victory will propel the PS3 to long-term victory over the 360 are misguided for one reason: NON-GAMERS WILL NOT BUY A PS3 STRICTLY AS A BLU-RAY PLAYER. Last week I was talking to some non-gamers about how the PS3 is the cheapest Blu-Ray player on the market, and how it makes sense to buy one for movie-watching purposes. I kept getting the same response: "Yeah, but I don't play games." Or, "I would never play any games on it." I tried to explain that they could just use it as a Blu-Ray player, no need to play games on it, but they just couldn't get over that hump. They saw it as a videogame machine, and that's it. I really think that Joe Consumer out there, who has no interest in games, will simply not pick up a PS3 as a Blu-Ray, and that ultimately all this talk about how Blu-Ray will propel the PS3 to victory is wrong.

CarlitosColon

When I saw the pic of Johnny Drama, I knew this post would winz the internetz

Kj719

@Pai Pai Master: Amen to that, brother. Sister? Whichever. 2008 will be a masterful year for all. World peace? Maybe. Happy gamers? Surely.

That will show Jack Thompson! When gaming brings world peace. I like it.

wtg, Sony!

budash2

@Cruithne: I'm assuming you don't watch The Simpsons or Fox at all?

Uncharted had a full one-minute ad prominently on every new episode.

Kirbytheslayer: Hot Tears of Shame for Life!

And %5 = ???

Allen750

@Torgen: I only see ads for Uncharted as a compilation ad for the PS3 in general. I haven't seen any specific ads just for Uncharted. It may be a localized thing where some areas are getting better Uncharted advertising than others.

ceilingFANBOY: now with 100% more fanboy

Considering Sony's track record with media formats, it'd be a pretty poor bet if it had been their strategy. Granted it paid off but who'd have thunk it?

Odin

Oh my god, that picture is classic.

WhoreofSpamylon

Torgen:

Sorry, Halo had it's own freaking soft drink, now that's marketing!
I learned about Uncharted through one podcast, it was they who sold the game to me, I didn't see one single advertisement for it. I know it's unrealistic to have expected the same level of marketing as Halo, but dammit that game was worth way more than it got

Cruithne

@manabu: Well, that's how it worked out for my ps2. Sony knows how to get their product into your house, whether you want it there or not.

rdj

Sony is really have been going all out lately. The future is bright, don't stop the momentum Sony. This is a chance to shine.

Oh and @Cruithne: Hats off to that, sir.

IntelSilver

I happily impulse bought my 80gb PS3 for the same reason the shares are going up (and the rarity of the 80gb, I wanted me some bc ya'know). My HDTV hungers.

Cruz

@manabu: It was certainly one of the main reasons I bought a PS3. Some of us have bought into that whole multimedia hub thang, it's handy having all that stuff in one box hooked to my high def TV.

Cruithne

I'm not sure where people are looking that they think Uncharted didn't get marketed. I've seen more ads for Uncharted than I saw for Halo 3, and the ad was (IMO) better.

Torgen thinks AAA means "Costs $60"

@EdwinJ85: Why does it matter? Why do they have to sell the most consoles in the long run? Why can't they be happy with just selling enough to make a profit? Come next generation, Microsoft won't care what position the 360 came in, just whether or not they made a profit. The pissing match while the consoles are current to say mine is better than yours is just so they can push more sales to make more money. When all is said and done, though, Microsoft will have no hard feelings towards Sony or Nintendo, even if they end up in third place but still making a buttload of money.

ceilingFANBOY: now with 100% more fanboy

Go Viking Quest. VICTORY!!!!!!

mnml10387

LOL, I love that fracking pic... Viking Quest FTW....

N1GHTRA1N

@manabu: No I bought one so I could play PS2 games as well as watch movies :D

NitrousO

To be honest... with the death of HD-DVD I wouldn't be surprised to see Sony overtake MS in the long wrong.

FrigidAir44

well that is why I bought a PS3, so I can watch movies. isn't that the reason why we all bought PS3s?

isn't it?

manabu

@mykalt45: Depends on how good a shopper you are. :D

NitrousO

@Ampillion lives a life much like No More Heroes.: It will be hard to beat the price of the PS3 for a while. As Blu-Ray tech costs go down, the PS3s costs will go down as well. Sony is not obligated to make a profit off of its PS3 because it has other ways of making money off of it, whereas the makers of standalone players need to make a profit just by selling the player. Considering Sony is breaking even on each PS3 now, they can cut the price of the PS3 to remain competitive with other Blu-Ray players for a bit, especially if their costs go down. Yes, there will be a time when it is cheaper to get a standalone, but I don't think that will be for a while.

ceilingFANBOY: now with 100% more fanboy

I still think the main inclusion of Blu-Ray in the PS3 was to combat piracy, with a side benefit of movie format support. If Blu-Ray movies had failed to become the standard, Sony would still have published all their games in the format. As far as I know, all PS3 games come on Blu-Ray discs, even ones that would fit on a standard DVD.

aka Bitter

Wow. I always thought MS would win the second place title this round but after all the PR mistakes of yesteryear sony have pulled a doozy out of the hat.

MS need to respond, and NOW. If they dont do anything soon they have already lost in the long run.

EdwinJ85

DVD's on top of the world, but it has nowhere to go but down.

hypermog

I'm glad the format war ended... that should make the high def transition faster and easier, then maybe EA will quit bitching about this console generation.

oh 2020, the days of budget priced, 100 inch 2,000p screens, how i wait for you.

magic_envelope

The playstation introduced Blu Ray to the market in my eyes. As in it got Blu Ray's foot through the door to beat HD DVD and now that this "war" is over the PS3 has done its job. I don't think it will be a leading force in Blu Ray now.

Sollus

@Sollus: I think the word about Uncharted is getting out there. When we got our first shipment of it in, it was only 2 copies and it took a weekend to sell them. Our second shipment was 4 copies and it sold rather quickly. We have plenty in stock now, but I think it is because they finally realized that Uncharted is a game that is going to sell. Part of the problem with its sales numbers was that it was so short stocked right after launch. I think retailers were afraid to give it a chance. Also, not having multiplayer reduces sales because there isn't that peer pressure of someone buying the game just so he can play online with friends.

ceilingFANBOY: now with 100% more fanboy

@mykalt45:

Sure, maybe you can find a deal here and there that'll run cheaper than $399, but as a Blu-Ray player with a game console and other multimedia capabilities attached, a PS3 is still the better value...not to mention the only players out right now that are future-proof for Profile 2.0.

What the non-Sony Blu-Ray player manufacturers need to plan now is how to not be Sony's little bitches (or at least, be the biggest one in the harem), and find a way to bring the prices of their players down to better value levels, say the $199 price point.

mikejonas

@dynendal: Nice... Mixing two memes. I'm not being sarcastic.

For everyone who doubts this has been their plan all along, including the absurd ad campaign in the beginning and the "lose then win" thing, check this out:

+ Watch video

Firstly, like the baby commercial and This Is Living, the commercial is creepy and weird. Secondly, like many negative things you could draw from the PS3 ads, why would you want to give people the impression the PS2 was in third place? I know that's equivocation, but you have to account for social dyslexia when you make an ad. What IS the third place? Who knows, but it did its' purpose. Sell it to hardcore sony fans to get word out so they could mass market once MGS2 and FFXIII came out... Sorry, I meant MGS4 and FFX... Or... something.

bobtheduck

I'm surprised I haven't seen any 360 fanboys yet . . . well damn now I probably jynxed it.

Now if freaking Sony would get off their asses and market the shit out of this they might get somewhere by the end of the year.

SynKade

I think it'll pay off in the short term for the PS3's sales, but in the long run, I don't see it turning the PS3 into a powerhouse of sales just because it plays Blu-Ray. Once everyone starts sliding over to making only Blu-Ray or multi-format players, the prices will drop faster. And they eventually will start losing out on sales to people who are only after the player. It'll still be a nice selling feature for people still looking for gaming also, but those just looking for a player will eventually go for the cheaper option.

Ampillion lives a life much like No More Heroes.

Hmm, Toshiba's shares went up 6% on Monday just based off of rumors that they were going to dump HD-DVD. I guess it is more important to stock holders to show that you are going to stop dumping money into something that you are losing money on rather than showing them that you are going to start making money off of something you are losing money on.

I asked the question on Gizmodo, but would the HD-DVD player with 5 movies for $85 that CC is running have qualified for Hot Tears of Shame here if it was still a tag?

ceilingFANBOY: now with 100% more fanboy

@Cruithne:

Exactly, I was appalled at the advertising of Uncharted. They should have whored that game out big time instead of barely mentioning it. The game has a mass market appeal and if more people would have known about maybe it would have been a million seller by now.

Sollus

@-EDGE-:
Prepare to lose faith. Many will buy the PS3 for its Blu-ray capabilities.

ritful

@RafiRAF: You fail at pop culture.

njhardcoreguy

"Come on Tarvold, Your my favorite Viking Quest character!"

BauerStyle

i honestly saw this coming but...not this soon...i was thinking near the end of 2008..

Raziel3333

@Touy: You shouldn't regret it. I don't regret getting my PS3 over the 360. All I'm saying is that PS3, like the 2 Playstations before it, will live long and prosperous.

njhardcoreguy

lol whats up with that picture?I think I don't get it....

RafiRAF

@njhardcoreguy: *raises hand*

They had me worried. And I bought a 360 because of it. So far, I'm not regretting it.

Touy

Actually I think Sony's problem has been that they haven't any coherent strategy to speak of. I purchased a PS3 last October and I've been amazed at the power and versatility of the machine in stark contrast to Sony's hamfisted marketing of their product.
Take the game Uncharted:Drake's Fortune as a case in point, brilliant game with "system seller" written all over it, then compare the marketing for that game alongside the kind of thing Microsoft did for Halo.

Sony do seem to be finally clawing their way out of a hole, but we should remember that it was they who dug the hole in the first place.

Cruithne

@njhardcoreguy: This.

Cagalli

If there is a God the "Console War" (Man how lame that sounds) will NOT be decided by the inclusion of "Blu-Ray". It will be decided by games and innovation, at least I hope so or I will lose even more faith in the world :(

-EDGE-

making a huge fiscal gamble to add in blu-ray: hundreds of millions, potential earnings from BD royalties: billions, knowing all along through 2 years of criticism that this was the best move on 2 fronts to totally take a format and regain all those lost sales from the price of a console, priceless.

Suck it hard people who said it was a mistake to put in the BD player in the PS3. Sony is laughing all the way to the bank as we speak.

DrunkRaba

@njhardcoreguy: Lol Go SONY!!!

Jagzthebest

C'mon, did anyone ever think Sony wouldn't let the PS3 live up to the Playstation name? It's going to takeoff faster than designer cupcakes.

njhardcoreguy

By the way, regarding Blu-Rays: I get mine off eBay for $13-$23 new & sealed. It's a great way to enjoy HD movies on the cheap until the prices come down.

Regarding the PS3 Blu-Ray: yes, it will help sell more units. I think we've already seen that in the January NPD, just based on the Warner announcement.

fishhead

I was in Wal-Mart earlier and saw a Blu-ray player for $388. Wouldn't this in face be the cheapest Blu-ray player, if only comparing Blu-ray capabilities.

mykalt45

Sony is a smart company, thats for sure. They picked the last format as well so that has to say something for them. It became commonplace to say PS3 sucked when really it was the software not caught up with the console. Is Sony going to thwart all others? Only time will tell I guess.

Balmung576

DVD will will the battle with Blu Ray.

rebelphoenix

Great news for Sony.

Not only that, but if Sony planned for this, they planned the end of the road, not the journey.

remanance

The circle is now complete.

All three platforms will reach mass excellence. It is a damn good time to be a gamer.

Pai Pai Master

...a full grown ICO.

superbeast1370

does viking quest come out on blue ray? I am totally in.

jc5680

For Fame and Glory!!

[www.uploadandgo.com]

Evo

Torvald! Hahah.

onidavin

wow, "sony" showing off its muscles.

superbeast1370

It has the POTENTIAL to print money!

dynendal

Awsome picture thats all I have to say is totally awsome...

rickyyo

"You...you don't think Sony's whole strategy with the machine has been leading up to this very moment all along, do you?"

Surely not.

kylenalepa

Of course it does, don't be ridiculous.

mitch079

*channels Entourage*

VICTORY!!!!!!

blackadvent