Full FeedCES 2009: Blu-ray format could be in jeopardy, might bring down PS3 with it
It’s fitting that the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) takes place in Las Vegas, because at this show we learn which companies have gambler’s instincts. Sony went all in betting that Blu-ray technology would win the next-gen video disc wars, adding Blu-ray capability to its PlayStation 3 consoles.
Microsoft, on the other hand, hedged its bets with the HD-DVD format. While the console didn’t come packaged with HD-DVD capability, gamers could purchase an add-on drive to upgrade. So at the last CES (2008) when Warner Bros. ended the war by announcing it would no longer support HD-DVD, it certainly looked like a win for Sony.
A year later Sony and Blu-ray still have not garnered that much anticipated victory. One of the biggest obstacles is potential customers doing an end run around Blu-ray by downloading movies digitally. Since Microsoft is equally happy to see you on the Internet as it is to see you on its game console, it jumped on the downloading craze by partnering with Netflix (although Sony refuses to do so, at least for now). Xbox Live Gold members that are also Netflix members can download movies to their console in addition to whatever DVDs they order by mail. LG Electronics has announced a new line of high-definition television that can connect directly to the Internet without a need for any set-top box. It will be able to use video on-demand services including the aforementioned Netflix.
Estimates by Digital Entertainment Group put 10.5 million American homes as Blu-ray equipped. At the beginning of the year, its anticipated figure was nearly 15 million. There is good and bad news for Sony there. An estimated 8 million of the Blu-ray homes are PS3 owners. But at least some of those owners would be hardcore gamers that would have purchased the console without Blu-ray.
The head scratching development is the runaway success of the Nintendo Wii, the least high-tech of the current gen consoles. Nintendo has sold 40 million Wiis worldwide with a console that doesn’t even play DVDs, let alone any high definition discs. Had anyone known a $250 game machine could even compete, let alone potentially win the console war, some different decisions might have happened at Sony and Microsoft. If Blu-ray is going to be the deciding factor in the console war, now would be a really good time for it to start.
Black Friday was a big day for Blu-ray with many stores opting to discount Blu-ray players to more affordable price points. That was buoyed by The Dark Knight, the biggest event movie since HD-DVD gave up the ghost. The Batman sequel moved 600,000 Blu-ray discs in a single day.This week at CES is also key as Blu-ray ‘s backers need a strong showing to convince millions who haven’t adopted the new technology that all the cool kids will be doing it. For better or for worse, the fate of the PS3 and that of the Blu-ray format will forever be intertwined.
This week could tell us whether that marriage will be more akin to Will and Jada Pinkett Smith or Britney Spears and K-Fed.
Read [New York Times] Also Read [Crunch Gear]
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I just have one thing to ask about digital downloads for all those fools, what happens when your hard drive gets fried or a virus? I’ll be watching my bluray discs while you are spending the next 6 months redownloading your digital media on a capped internet. enuff said
on January 8, 2009 at 09:19 PM - LINK@ Charles
“No game takes advantage of Blu Ray.”
There’s plenty of games that take an advantage of Blu-ray and don’t have an install FYI. It’s just stupid that you would say that. FXIII is already confirmed to have multiple discs on 360 version, Rage is too, Ratchet and clank would of been a downgrade on 360 because of DVD, same with Uncharted and Killzone 2 (would love to see kz2 on one dvd with 7.1 surround sound and those amazing gfx). Then we have developers running out of space for their games on DVD. 2k had issues getting a baseball game to fit on a DVD and had to take out content and make it available for download on XBL. What does that tell you? Then Rockstar is complaining about DVD space and how their next GTA game is going to fit on DVD and MS needs a solution. I can go on and on about how games do take an advantage of the extra space without an install. It just takes people like you to take your head out of fantasy world and realize it. If you disagree then I guess the developers who have said this are liars, right? Well, you enjoy the first console FPS on more then one disc and tell yourself games don’t an advantage of blu-ray. Tell me how stupid you feel when you’re changing the disc.
Besides that you sound like a bitter hd dvd owner.
on January 8, 2009 at 09:34 PM - LINKHey blu-ray fanboys. With Blu-ray playhers at under $100 bucks at every factory outlet sote, I’m sure that there is plenty of longevity in that format. Get a life and Roku Netflix box or a free mediapoint player from Blockbuster and enjoy the show. Unless you still want to watch your betamax!
on January 8, 2009 at 10:00 PM - LINKCharles, your level of ignorance is astounding.
on January 8, 2009 at 10:19 PM - LINKCharles/Chuckles:
Show me a single PS3 game that requires an initial installation of over HALF of the game size onto the hard drive. I’ll give you this much… some games require upwards of 6gb for a save file… but that is done over time in relation to your progress in that game, and I can only think of two at the moment, both by BethSoft.
Show me a UMD capable of the resolution and audio of BRd. UMD was merely a new approach to the system. Failed though it may be, the PSP still sells and will continue to.
I feel privileged that you are amongst the 1% of people ‘on here’ or just in general that actually know what they are talking about. Praise you, your knowledge is immeasurable.
I’m done ranting… back to the OK/FL bcs game.
Have a good day Chucknuts
on January 8, 2009 at 10:29 PM - LINKWhy do we even bother reading this rubbish!
I don’t know about other people but I will always want a hard copy of my films sitting on the shelf, but now and again I might download a film from iTunes - Blu-ray is the only viable format that does this…
I bet this guy bought a HD-DVD player - lol!
on January 9, 2009 at 12:06 AM - LINKSounds like somebody is just miffed and throwing a pity party because he was an early adopter of HD-DVDead.
Really, it’s okay to let go of your HD-DVD dreams of what could have been. BTW! I have an XBOX 360 with Netflix and it’s not all that great. Your desire for digital downloads taking over are just sad pipe dreams.
Haytorz (and uninformed articles such as this) make me laugh.
on January 9, 2009 at 12:12 AM - LINKWell… He is right about one thing! Digital Downloads are the future.
Regardless if BluRay has a 2X adoption rate, the future is for the LAZY fatcats out there. Which means, staying at home and downloading their movies. BlockBuster Videos recognized this, and that’s why they moved to mail services, then to downloadings.
Let’s also not forget that there are numerous other formats out there that’ll hurt BluRay. For example, FlashDrives are doubling in their capacity and reducing in price every time we turn around. And though WAY too expensive, a single HVD (Holographic Visage DisK) are capable of holding 1TB. It will only be a matter of time before we realize that BluRay doesn’t have enough capacity to satisfy our video geekiness.
BluRay definately was a gamble that may go the way of the LD.
on January 9, 2009 at 12:43 AM - LINKwell put baraka bravo. couldn’t of said it better myself
on January 9, 2009 at 01:20 AM - LINKDigital Downloads is not in the near future.
I had a 50 Gbps fiber optic connection(yummy) and I was able to achieve the best download quality for the Netflix HD streams and they were still no where near the picture quality of what you get on Blu-Ray. Not to mention the audio is compressed, so there’s another win for Blu-ray.
And I was one of very select few that lived in areas that could get those speeds. The majority o fpeople are still on Cable, DSL, or Satellite. Which range anywhere from 256 Kbps to 12 Mbps. I currently have a 12Mbps connection with comcast at my new residence and using the netflix service on the xbox 360 I get the best connection(all green bars on the ‘signal’ icon that looks like a cell phone service icon) and the picture still looks worse than the over the air HD channels I can pick up with my built-in tuner. And on top of that, I still have the occasional pause so it can buffer. People won’t put up with that.
Blu-Ray is here to stay.
Oh, btw, this article blows. The article does not even touch on the bold claim in the title. Purely for hits. Just the same ol article that I’ve read 30 different times over the last year, just using a current event as an excuse to bring it back up again, but with no new facts.
on January 9, 2009 at 02:02 AM - LINKWhat a lame XXX writer, go find another career. You fail at life.
on January 9, 2009 at 03:47 AM - LINKWell done GamerTell - An other totally inaccurate article.
FROM NOW ON WHEN EVER I SEE A LINK TO THIS WEBSITE I WILL NOT CLICK IT.
I SUGGEST EVERYONE ELSE DOES THE SAME
on January 9, 2009 at 03:54 AM - LINKHere we have another XBOX fanboy whos upset that they bought themselves a HD-DVD player and lost a few bucks. I am in australia and currently our internet speeds and download limit caps cannot handle direct download movies. I am on 16,000kbps connection (approx 1.3mb/sec download speed) and I have a download limit of 25gb, so in other words i can download 4 HD movies a month without any other internet usage. Australia is at least 3 - 4 years away for being capable of having Direct download movies as a viable option.
on January 9, 2009 at 06:40 AM - LINKThis is yet another ridiculous non-story that gets a headline in New4Gamers.com. Not only is blu ray doing extremely well, despite the global economic recession, it is an adaptable technology that will ensure its survival for a much greater length of time than we saw with DVD. Philips, for example, have just announced a 16x layer blu ray disc that stores about 400gb of data, and which is playable on any standard blu ray player. Sony have been demonstrating 3D movies, and PS3 games in 3D, using current blu ray technology coupled with 3D enabled HD screens, which we will probably see in the mass market in the next few years. So, the future very much has blu ray in it. What I’m wondering, with regards this story, is why you’ve published it. Did Microsoft pay you? They must have because if you were an unbiased journalist, you’d have done a bit more research before writing it.
on January 9, 2009 at 08:17 AM - LINKI was walking through the mall Xmas eve and the shelves that display the blu-ray movies at walmart are completely empty except for 1 or 2 expensive box sets….yeah blu-ray is in trouble alright.
on January 9, 2009 at 08:54 AM - LINKProtip: current infrastructure cannot support widespread digital distribution and won’t be able to for some considerable time. Things will get worse (increased caps on use by ISPs) before they get better.
But hey, knowing that would require doing a cursory amount of research, and you’re a GAMES JOURNALIST™
on January 9, 2009 at 09:57 AM - LINKIt goes to show how disconnected these bloggers are with the facts. First off as of April 2008 there is still only a 52% penetration of broadband in the US and even these #,s are flawed because current braodband standards only require a min 156K spd. to be considered broadband. This is usually what is available in rural areas. Ever try downloading a movie with a 156k max connection, well it takes days. The arrogance of people in the cities to think they are the only consumers in this country astoundes me. Point to the authur mentions the netflixs agreement for the x-box and says sony does not have a service. Last time I checked you can download full length movies via the PSN for as low as 1.99 a rental or even purchase them. Granted it is not a subsciption service but the option is there and the artical makes the assumption that no such service exists. Very poorly researrched. I think the people commenting fanboy to the negative comments about the article should read the article again the author is truly a MS fanboy himself.
on January 9, 2009 at 10:23 AM - LINKGuys,
The problem here is not about a game console, is about a format, Blue-Ray. For me, I don’t want to start a new collection that will take space, and in couple of years a new version come out at 4K and my collection is obsolete . I think that digital files is the future. Storage is getting shipper by the day, internet connections faster, a different services getting better.
This is want I want to see:
1. Buy digital movies at full 1080p without DRM so I can use it in any of my Media Servers and with a price break if the movie come out in a new format version or resolution.
2. Monthly Rent Service – pay by month, access al HD movies I want. No storage, no worries if a new resolution or format came out.
The new generation, that what they want. Take a look to the music industry, they didn’t change fast to the new technology. Video have to prevent this! The longer it take the worst is going to be. I love my Media Server, no disk to put in, No waiting time, all my videos and music access from one place, no worries to scratch a movie, kids can use it easy, etc.
on January 9, 2009 at 11:13 AM - LINKWow that was a whole lot of nothing. Thanks for wasting my time.
on January 9, 2009 at 11:57 AM - LINK@Cray
on January 9, 2009 at 12:26 PM - LINKYour logic is awful. You assume that since there are so many UMD’s purchased because of the PSP then it should be viable as the Blu ray on ps3. What you forget that UMD is not a major format as DVD or Vhs was and the handheld and console are different market. You also fail to remember how dvd became a driving force because sony put it in the ps2. And this digital downloading rubbish lets not forget how big high def files are in size. The bandwith capabilities just are not there internationally for it to be considered a serious media format for a while and even if it was imagine the piracy issues that will abound. Too much sony hate on the internet and not enough lauding at what they are trying to establish for future tech.
Oh my god. People, don’t be silly and believe this article. It is total non-logical, no facts to base anything on. This fake news, go to PSXExtreme.com for real news.
on January 9, 2009 at 02:29 PM - LINKWhile I certainly appreciate freedom of speech, expressions of opinions and open discourse, comments that include unnecessary vulgarities or suggest acts of violence may be removed from the site. A few such comments have already been removed.
on January 9, 2009 at 06:57 PM - LINKI agree with Jimmy, go to PSX Extreme for real news…
on January 10, 2009 at 06:50 AM - LINKBrain Allen is just pissed off because his HD DVD player broke so he decided to toss out a stupid article to make himself feel better.
on January 10, 2009 at 04:29 PM - LINKOh man, this guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Feel sorry for the people who read this incorrect information and believe it.
If you want unbiased news/information and great editorials on PS3 and Blu-Ray, go to a quality site like http://www.psxextreme.com . Here’s a link to the editorial that led me to this page: http://www.psxextreme.com/ps3-news/4420.html.
on January 10, 2009 at 06:12 PM - LINK