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Time to get a PS3, I guess.
While technically not game related, I'm going to report this since 2 of the big 3 console makers have a vested interest in this.
In case you actually do live under a rock, Blu-Ray won. Toshiba has announced that they will no longer be producing HD-DVD players anymore. Now technically the boys in Redmond could shovel a metric buttload of money at HD-DVD resources and keep it alive for a while longer, but I doubt that will happen. You see, that sound you are hearing is the sound of all the fence sitters rushing out to grab a PS3 or Blu-Ray player. There is no point in backing HD-DVD at this point.
If you are one of the ones left out in the cold with an HD-DVD player, start shopping. Those HD-DVD's still in retail channels just got the plague and stores will be trying to get rid of them fast. There is no future in stocking a dying format (try to find a UMD disc) so you can expect prices to drop quickly.
In case you actually do live under a rock, Blu-Ray won. Toshiba has announced that they will no longer be producing HD-DVD players anymore. Now technically the boys in Redmond could shovel a metric buttload of money at HD-DVD resources and keep it alive for a while longer, but I doubt that will happen. You see, that sound you are hearing is the sound of all the fence sitters rushing out to grab a PS3 or Blu-Ray player. There is no point in backing HD-DVD at this point.
If you are one of the ones left out in the cold with an HD-DVD player, start shopping. Those HD-DVD's still in retail channels just got the plague and stores will be trying to get rid of them fast. There is no future in stocking a dying format (try to find a UMD disc) so you can expect prices to drop quickly.
This format war has been extremely aggravating to me. To begin with, I don't think an HD media format war ought to be fought with consoles. They just blur the lines; and worse tie in fanboy fanaticism. A few weeks ago when BluRay 2.0 was released, Ars Technica ran an article about the PS3 as the most future proof BluRay player. In it they said that there were 3.5 million BluRay players sold, 3 million of which were in the PS3(possibly in the US, can't remember that detail). Oh, and the PS3 was the only one compatible with this new specification.
Which brings me to point two, the format war was never really about merit. It was all sensationalized hype. I personally was happy to pick up my HD-DVD add-on because Paramount's offerings appealed to me much more than anything that BluRay offered. I have one non-Paramount disk, and that's Batman Begins. I love the movie, but the moment I put it in the player I got pissed off. Rather than open straight to the menu, or to the movie itself (as some disks do), it fed me a line of propaganda for HD-DVD. Ironically enough, one of its catch lines was that when you plug in the disk, the movie just plays, which it did... after their 60 seconds of bullshit. I don't really think I have to cover the hype that Sony has used to rationalize their use of the disks (either for game data, or for movies).
But the point that really irks me is that because of the hype, and the media attention, and the money sunk into the two, neither media really had a chance to mature. There are a number of things that both are strong in, and weak in, and yet the decision was made with most people not able to tell you what the differences are between the two formats. HD-DVD had small(er) disk size, less studio support, and a smaller installed user base, but BluRay has slower read speeds, more restrictive DRM, and a fluid specification.
Had this war been more about merit and less about PR, it is possible that the two could have coexisted in different areas of the market (even beyond video, but in data media). Can you imagine a format war over website design? If php faced off against asp, if java applets were competing against flash?
I am definitely watching price tags on disks, I'd love to get a small library cheap. But I'm also confident that Microsoft is going to release a BluRay add-on for the 360. To be honest, I think that would be the cheaper price point to enter, but I don’t' know that electing to do so is a better idea that getting a PS3. The console war, after all, can be looked at with many of the same arguments listed above.
Format wars are never about merit. If they were, there wouldn't be a war. Look at VHS to DVD. There wasn't a war, VHS couldn't compete with DVD. Look at Betamax and VHS. That was a war where the inferior product won due to propoganda and market saturation with VHS players.
The same thing happened here. PS3 forced Blu-Ray into gamers homes, and offered a decent price point if you only wanted a stand alone Blu-Ray player. I stand by what I've always said. Sony released a cheap Blu-Ray player that just happens to play games. They got market penetration from the Sony fans that bought the PS3 thinking it was the opposite.
HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray mirrored the war between PS3 and 360. Both formats do things better and worse than the other. Unless you are a number crunching technophile, there was no real technical benefits to owning one over the other, same as PS3 vs 360. To the average Joe Moviewatcher it was six of one and half dozen of another as long as it was HD.
Now that the war is over, maybe those Sony fans can finally be rewarded with some good games. I know a couple have been trickling out, but at this point in the 360's life, 360 owners had plenty to choose from.
I agree that MS will drop a Blu-Ray add-on and that will likely be the cheaper way to go if you already own a 360. I'm still going with the PS3, however. I was going to pick one up eventually anyway. Uncharted is out with GT5 and Little Big Planet on the way, so if I have to buy a new disc player I may as well get one that plays games I want to play on the side. My 360 will still be my main console and will be what I play multi-platform games on (Achievements > No Achievements), but it will be nice to be able to play others that I'm sure I'll never see on the 360.
First of all,
I was waiting on the war to come to an end so I would know which format to invest in. (Seeing as how I know some who spent hundreds of dollars on HD DVD).
I do feel like Sony embedded a gaming console within their blu-ray player.
I bought my PS3 at launch. As of today, I have zero games for it. If and when the blu-ray ad on comes out for the 360, my ps3 is getting kicked to the curb.
MGS4 is supposed to head to the 360 eventually...it might sound selfish, but I want some GOOD exclusive games.
Uncharted isn't enough.
Is MGS4 confirmed to be coming to 360? Last I heard it was just a rumor. That's one of the games I was waiting for and if it's definitely coming for 360 I may have to hold off for MS's Blu-Ray. GT5 is a system seller for me, but unless they can give me a wheel as good as the one from Microsoft it's not going to be a Forza topper and may mean I actually give the PS3 a miss after all. Or at least delay the purchase for a while longer.
It's all a rather moot point for now, anyway. I still only have SD, so a new TV is in order before I buy something for HD content.