When you go against the grain because you feel you’re right, it can be an amazing feeling when everyone acknowledges your foresight and perseverance. To have a plan and stick to it even in the fact of likely failure can be considered confidence or foolhardiness; with the distinction being made once the final outcome has been determined. We seem to be one step closer to such a distinction with respect to the Playstation 3.
One major multi-pronged criticism of the Playstation 3 has been it’s forced inclusion of Blu-ray technology. I use the term “Blu-ray technology” because I think it’s very important to distinguish the Xbox 360’s optional support of HD-DVD movie playback from the Playstation 3’s mandatory support of both Blu-ray movie playback and BD-ROM storage for games.
The inclusion of Blu-ray on the Playstation 3 was responsible (in part) for: a higher price, slower disc reading speeds than DVD, limited availability early on due to a shortage of blue laser diodes, and causing the standalone Blu-ray player market to reach the market artificially late by hogging all the limited availability blue laser diodes in the first months after launch for Sony’s flagship Blu-ray player, the Playstation 3. When you add in the fact that early Blu-ray movies (still encoded in MPEG-2) looked worse than their VC-1 encoded HD-DVD counterparts and that the Blu-ray spec was outmatched feature-wise to HD-DVD, it would seem to have beeen easy money betting against Blu-ray.
Had you made that bet then, you might be regretting it now.
This rant isn’t the “Ha ha, I told you so!” rant, I’ll save that for the day the HD-DVD Consortium officially announces they’re disbanding. This is more along the lines of asking when we change from “What in the hell are you doing Sony?! Do you even want to win the format and console wars?” to “Wow, Sony nice job beating HD-DVD (and adding significant value to your system along the way)… now that you’re improving your game library, adding some truly innovative features, and addressing some gaps in your online feature set, we’ll see what you can do about that pesky console war,” or something along those lines? They’re nowhere near out of the woods, but they’ve made it a lot further than many folks expected.
I see a lot of people not only not giving Sony props for hanging tough and arguably winning the high-def movie format war… face it people… even the “arrogant ass” can play their cards right every once in a while. Don’t they deserve recognition for their accomplishments regardless of whether you like them or not? Frankly, in my book not losing to HD-DVD yet has been an impressive accomplishment in and of itself!
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In January 2007, I bought a PS3 (20GB). At the time, it was a major disappointment. No good games were out except for the ones I already owned on 360. I didn’t have a good-enough HDTV to take full advantage of Blu-Ray movies. At that moment, I declared the PS3 a piece of sh*t and sold it 3 months later.
One year later, I’m hunting down a 60GB PS3 on Amazon.com because I believe Sony is starting to get its act together. There’s games I actually want to play that aren’t on the 360 and Blu-Ray movies are finally catching my interest (now that I have a LCD TV).
I think seeing this article was a sign for me that now’s a good time to get a pS3 (bought one last Saturday).
I know Dave, Lono, and I are all “on the hunt” now. The time is now right. It wasn’t right before….. But now it is.
Rothbart, you’re a fanboy…. you just happen to be right this time.
I never thought this time would come either…I am also “on the hunt” now…But, they still can’t compete with Live!!!
I think that everyone now recognizes the value a PS3 brings. An original 60 GB system would be great to find. I want one but disc-based backward compatability is very important to me. Let’s hope a Gamestop has an old refurb.
I bought a 60 GB version in March last year at the European release and am continuing to be excited about it. Recently I installed a 250 GB hard drive in it and it actually runs faster now (although I don’t know why), put in a collection of great movies in divx, some music, photo’s from my camera and run CoD4 on it for nights in a row.
It’s a great system for my entertainment addiction and now it’s fully personalised, it would be hard to do without.
What would of happened if the 360 released the exact same day as the PS3 I wonder.
@NoneOfYourBusiness: Do you mean the PS3 launching earlier or the 360 launching later? I only ask because there’s an extreme difference… had the 360 launched later (and presumably had all the hardware kinks worked out) things would look very, very different. Had the PS3 launched earlier and still be stable, I think the first year would’ve sucked (as it did in real life) and the PS3 would be coming into its own smack-dab in the thick of the Red Ring fiasco…
@Doc: I was right all along about almost all of it, you just don’t realize the _rest_ of it yet…
Ha ha!
Time for another song?
‘how to save a brand’?
Right about what? As far as I know HD-Dvd players are still being sold, I’m not saying that one will win over the other, I’m just wondering who this is for? It’s not like you made Blu-Ray or work for Sony or own Sony stock and as far as I know, Sony is still getting its ass kicked by the other two consoles… So what’s the point?
Wait Lono… just wait…
how is the ps3 getting its ass kicked by the other 2 consoles? last i looked it was outselling 360. and wiis just wii even though its gay. why does this say that BD discs read slower than dvds because its faster.
The day the PS3 doesn’t suck in my book is the day that it has enough exclusives to make me want one.
People dis Sony for trying to sell a console on brand name alone, but thats exactly what MS did. They cashed in on thier name and swept the little detail of reliability under the rug, AND STILL DO IT.
Reliability is a huge factor when an eletronic exceeds 100+ dollars on any equipment. Also, where the hell is all thier money going. Ill give that 360 is doing better then PS3, but not half a billion+ better.
MS nailed the online aspect, but everything else has become not based on quality, but on quantity, the quantity of benjamins in your pocket. Thats probably why Nintedo went the route they did. They couldnt compete with Sonys or MS’s wallet and went the “casual” route, just so happens it worked for them.
I have no idea where im going with this.
@Sean (article)
“slower disc reading speeds than DVD”
since when is this true?
just so you know, bluray is more than twice as fast as dvd, check this link out:
http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=6060
Sure owned a 360
Obviously went RRoD
Needed to call hotline
Yeah it took months
It finally went back
So then DVD crashed
Two months of Wait
Hell it came back,
Eventually DVD crashed again
Dumped and traded it,
And I still feel like free
Man, for the black thingy.
Now It’s been a year,
Few games but Cell is there
Until 08 games arise.
Connects to PSP
Kicks ass online
Interrupts barely
Now just have to wait
Soon more things to come
Halo 3? No, certainly not.
Innovative gameplay?
This we will see.
-an ex-360 now Sony fanboy (sorry, I have to admit). Anyone got the same history?
Very nice and true article. While the 360 may still have the highest amount of (good?) games out, the PS3 will really get sweet stuff this year. And of course bluray will probably come to a breakthrough this year too.
I have the Wii since launch, and basically there are only a handful of good, and extremly few really good games. Zelda of course, U R Mr Gay, Metroid, that’s basically the best 3 since launch. At the time the PS3 has a better game library than the wii probably.
@hellooo: Yes, I am right and your link proves it. The PS3’s Blu-ray drive is a 2x BR drive, the 360’s drive is a 12x DVD. Look at the chart on the page you linked to (here’s the chart: http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/dvdvsbr.gif.jpg), now go to the Blu-ray graph for 2x speed. Compare that to the DVD’s graph for 12x speed. The 12x DVD transfers faster than the 2x BR. It’s true. I think you misread the graph as 12x BR is faster than 12x DVD and that’s obviously true, but that comparison would make the PS3’s drive six times faster than it really is.
I think the PS3 has Acommplished a lot in the year it’s been out and still has some work to be done. The Games are improving and will get better and better in the Years to come. The Great thing is the diversity in the Genre’s it brings out even in it’s first year.
The thing the Xbox 360 has on the PS3 is it has a larger quantity of better games and a better Online Experience. In the end though none of that matters when you have faulty Hardware because when your 360 dies on you can you play your games and go play them online on XBL? No you can’t. So the games and online experience become useless without the hardware to run it on.
Now Sony has Blu-ray in the Bag and all they need to do now is get there Blu-ray Players to profile 2.0 and if they want to go the 2 SKU strategy they should have the 40GB version at $299.99 and whatever the future PS3 will be at $399.99. They could stay at that price for like another 2-3 years. The better games are coming and I think Sony’s Biggest hurdle ahead of them is getting there online service up and running the right way.
I do hope the 360 improves one day so instead of being a PSWii Owner I can be a PSWii60 owner and also enjoy the games the 360 has to offer.
@hellooo
Maybe you should reread your facts.
@Wolf26pack
Actually the 360 is improving with it’s hardware, I only wish this was take care of sooner. Here is a little to get the new Falcon 65nm 360.
http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2008/02/05/how-to-spot-a-falcon-65nm-360-in-the-wild/
WOW!! more insights from the fanboys. I love this site, but recently the rants are driving me insane. If I have to look at another bash of a console for the sake of what, rothbart, another knotch in your fanboy utility belt? I know you love playstation I do too, but do you love games? Sounds like you have somthing to prove, I just don’t know what it is.
@ FaMiCuS
Thanks for the Info. I know of the Significant Improvments made by Microsoft for the 360 but I am waiting for the Motherboard that has not only the 65nm CPU but also the 65nm GPU as that is what I have read is where most of the heat comes from. Once that occurs I too will own a 360.
@Too Kings: Did you _read_ the article? It’s almost entirely focused on the PS3, not bashing other consoles… the questions were completely valid.
I generally find when people protest too much over anything pro-PS3, there’s a much deeper reason for that. Another key distinction is when someone’s quick to whip out the fanboy accusations…
So I can’t ask when Sony’s going to get credit for decisions being passed around without it being a veiled 360 bash?
You made me laugh. Sheesh. Glad I can “get” to ya…
Nice. Yes I read the article/rant. It’s not that it’s pro-ps3 it’s that it’s only pro-ps3. I have all the consoles and I believe I said “I love playstation too”. And on the fanboy accusation; 1st, are you denying it? 2nd, I don’t believe I’m alone. Giving cred to ps is already happened on many occasions by many people, guess I just like to play devil’s advocate, and by the look of this article/rant so do you.
“Will it take total and complete annihilation of HD-DVD for people to openly admit Sony made a smart move including Blu-ray in all Playstation 3s?”
No, any way you look at it, it’s a dumb move. It added cost and delayed the system to fight over a small percentage of the media disc market. HD-DVD + BluRay = 7% of media discs. DVD has 93%. So it’s a bad move… even if HD-DVD is dead.
@Too Kings: IMO, fanboys will stick up for their affection in the face of facts proving them wrong… I will ALWAYS look at facts and never claim otherwise. I prefer my PS3 to my 360 and Wii… I’ve said that on MANY occasions. There’s nothing wrong with being a fan and speaking positively about what you like. I always challenge readers to prove my writing wrong when they make the fanboy accusation. Always. So if you can, do so… otherwise, save your accusations for someone else.
@Mark: Jesus dude, what part of “trying to form a new market for high def movies” don’t you understand? When DVD started out VHS was whipping it’s ass up one side and down the other. As it is right now, all these people buying these 1080p TVs are looking for 1080p sources… in terms of movies and TV shows, the only 1080p sources available are HD-DVD and Blu-ray. It _will_ catch on. Were you expecting total market domination in the first 18 months? It doesn’t work like that… HDTV adoption will continue to rise, HD content prices will continue to fall. When HD movies reach the $20 mark, I’m guessing people will _really_ start buying them. Until then, keep track of your 7% figure because it’s only going to grow from here… also keep in mind that a lot of people wanted nothing to do with a format war and aren’t buying ANYTHING until a clear winner emerges.
no seriously bluray processes information faster than dvd. stated in an interview in gamepro with the producers of GT5 polydigital.
Bluray processing speed is probably not a 1 to 1 with DVD. But the fact that it is 12x DVD and 2x Blu-ray makes Blu-ray slower.
For arguments sake, say bluray processes twice as fast as DVD, that would mean a 2x Bluray = 4x DVD in processing, but it is 12x DVD.
I could be way off base there but it seems that is the issue.
@NoneOfYourBusiness: If you’re going to make the point, take the time to learn something about what you’re talking about. Instead of just “making up” values, 2x Blu-ray is 9 MB/s while 12x DVD is 15.84MB/s. That’s a very real difference.
My values were off by a large margin yes, but it still follows the general pattern I said..?
This was probably the best persuasive editorial on the PS3 I’ve read since it’s damn launch. I guess it takes a price cut and a victory in the format war for people (in even small numbers) to side with the PS3.
Interesting fun-fact: I asked both of my co-workers why they got an HD-DVD player. They said, in both cases, “Sony sucks.” I noted that the Blu-Ray Consortium was comprised of many companies and not just Sony but they then wanted HD to win the format war because Sony “are assholes”.
I, much like you Rothbart, just look at the facts, trends, values, and other factors when I judge things. The truth of the matter is that I still don’t have a next-gen console and am in the process of getting a PS3. The Wii came in a close second with Smash Bros. but I want more than one game for whatever system I buy (and I already beat Mario Galaxy).
*prepares for the flaming to continue*
I am a 360 fanboy to the core, but still, to foist a HUGELY expensive proprietary fromat on people is not fair, I NEVER watch movies on my gaming system, and I certainly am nevr going to pay $500 to watch expesive movies for a little more clarity, that is my issue.
I don’t WANT Blue Ray, I will NEVER use Blue Ray, and I will never get a PS3 because that stupid player jacks the price to beyond my interest( no game on the PS3 can be good enough to warrant the price for me)
I like MS and the option to ignore the HD stuff, I can afford their system and the games they have because I don’t have to pay for Microsoft’s little attempt to become a movie company, Unlike Sony.
Ps3 is missing a lot of functions, Voice chat requires a Bluetooth, no Rumble for 2 years after launch, a barely functional online system, Forget that, Ilike Live.
Screw that. Blu-Ray didn’t come out on top because of it’s superior technology…it came out on top because Sony was willing to pay off the various movie studios more than their competition. Plain and simple. Movie studios go where the money is, and that doesn’t just mean sales figures.
http://www.livingwithanerd.com
my beef is not with sony paying off movie studios to win the format war – my beef is that they are going to recoup their losses out of the pockets of every consumer and we’ll be over-paying for it for years.
“Credit?” Credit for sacrificing their lead in the console wars in exchange for winning the format wars? Sure that’s good money sense for the company, but gamers got hosed. Credit for locking us into their DRM-laden formet? Again, good for Sony, bad for everyone else. Credit for winning the format war by including Blu-ray in the PS3? The PS3 had almost nothing to do with it. Sony bought their way to the top, period.
Sony gets no “credit” from me. They win the format war? Fine, whatever. Doesn’t mean they did it in a good way, and it doesn’t mean any of us will benefit.
It really feels like people are starting to get on this whole Sony bandwagon thing. At first all we were hearing was about how much better the 360 is but now it really is starting to sound like things might be going the other way.
HD-DVD can still win the war … if they have the balls to make a serious change in the rules.
If HD-DVD can release a sub $200 burner and low cost media, the PC market will fly and thus …
all it will take is one guy to buy the Blue-Ray disc, rip and torrent the movie …
… then everyone can play any movie in HD-DVD on their lower cost players and avoid the EVIL SONY EMPIRE …
So, if HD-DVD plays their cards right … it is not too late.
This is one of the web’s most interesting stories on Wed 13th Feb 2008…
These are the web’s most talked about URLs on Wed 13th Feb 2008. The current winner is …..
Considering that Sony sits on the Board of Directors at Blu-Ray, I think that it wasn’t so much foresight as it was pushing their own product.
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@rothbart: Yeah, I understand that 7% is only going to increase, but what I’m saying is that it’s never going to go above DVD. Even if everyone decided to go buy an HDTV, which they won’t, and they all decided to buy BluRay players, it’s not going to outsell DVD. Why? Because parents aren’t going to buy HD sets for their kids or their min-vans. So why spend $20 (which it will be at some point) on a BluRay disc when it won’t work in your mini-van entertainment system? VHS was dropped because DVD offered extra features, multiple languages, subtitles, no rewinding after you watch it, smaller size. The only thing that HD-DVD and BluRay offer above that is image resolution, which a lot of people (excluding me ofcourse) don’t find worth spending money on. That’s the mainstream market that will make BluRay beat DVD.
And how is losing at one business for 26 months (assuming they could have launched with the 360 if they didn’t use BluRay) to do well in another business that won’t be widely adopted for another 12 months or more (I’m giving aggressive estimates on that) a good move? By the time that BluRay starts to be ready to hit the masses it will be time to ship the PS4 and that Sony should have waited for.
So again, it’s a bad move by Sony.
@Mark: Why won’t Blu-ray eventually surpass DVD? We have absolutely nothing to base that on… the format is still extremely in its infancy. The same could’ve been said about DVD when it released or even Beta/VHS when they released (who’s going to pay money to own a movie?!) I don’t expect this to happen now or anytime soon, but Blu-ray could very easily take a HUGE bite out of DVD sales as time passes (and HDTV adoption increases.)
Also, OMG you didn’t just mock a company for taking a loss in one division to profit in another did you? What in the hell do you think Microsoft’s Gaming division has been for the better part of a decade?!?! Ha ha… that one made me laugh.
@Mike Gregoire: That’s a short-sighted way to look at it. I wasn’t saying “hey look, they chose their own tech!” It was more the inclusion of the tech from the ground up in the PS3… no split userbase, _all_ PS3s have it. They made a call Microsoft wasn’t willing to do with: hard drives, wireless networking, wireless controllers, high-def movie playback, etc. When you have something in ALL your systems, it can be effectively leveraged across the entire install base.
I really don’t understand the people who claim Sony is more evil than any other corporation out there… I mean seriously there isn’t a format WAR unless there is more than one company trying to foist it’s format on you. I believe if you check your history Toshiba won the DVD war last generation. The REAL evil empire this generation was Microsoft who disliked blu-ray because they use JAVA!! There is a java vm in every blu-ray player, microsoft hates this because it means they don’t get their proprietary software footprint into every living room. The hardware is a non-issue to them, it will become cheaper and cheaper until it is just a commodity. I truly believe this whole format was because of under the hood software and microsoft trying to foist it’s HDi onto everyone. For what it’s worth I prefer java… but then I’m a programmer by trade.
OMG Digg Effect!
Regardless of the console argument, I picked up a 60GB PS3 after E3 because of the price drop/clearance sale and I’ve been fairly happy with it since.
Regardless of how it got to where it is, Blu-Ray is definitely a benefit to the PS3, and when I finally get an HDTV I’ll likely buy a couple considering I don’t have to spend extra for a player.
Bottom line is that the PS3 is on a comeback, which makes the console wars more beneficial for us gamers. Where’s the problem there?
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Credit? For what? Making the system cost 3x what it should have? I wanted a gaming system out of the PS3, not a multimedia entertainment center that happens to play games.
They won the format war, yes. That’s the only credit they get. They lost MAJOR credibility with the gaming arena because they won the format war at our expense.
And for the record, I didn’t buy a PS3 and I will not.
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-Yeti
@Vote4Drizzt: Voice chat does NOT require bluetooth, you can use USB if you want. I’m not saying that’s ideal by any means but people do it and you’re clearly wrong.
Also, you do know that there are PS3 models that cost less than 360 models, right? How you can afford a 360 but not a PS3 is a bit perplexing to me… do you own a 360 Arcade model? Ever look into adding a hard drive to it? Ouch! Pricey!
The availability of games for the PS3 is finally catching up to the console’s ability and feature set. One good session with Assassins Creed, Ratchet and Clank -Future Tools of Destruction or Drake’s Fortune-Uncharted will convince you. These games (and many more coming soon) are written on Blu-Ray discs and the rendering is awesome. I agree, the biggest knock against the PS3 has been (up until now) the lack of available games.