Sony claims Blu-ray “winner” in format war
Well, now we know where all the money Sony is sinking into the PS3 is going- so Sony can claim to be the winner 2 months into a long, long race. They may not have won the console war over the holidays, but did win the format war. I guess the attach rate for BR movies is much better than that for PS3 games…
Look, we all know this is PR. But heck why wouldn’t Sony use all the ammo it has at its disposal? MAYBE this ends up being one of those situations where Sony only has to win 1 battle (console or next-gen DVD), and that will eventually tip over the other battle too.
For example, let’s say that the early install base lead plus the larger number of content providers (which is more significant IMO) does eventually lead to Blu-Ray winning and HD-DVD folding. How will that impact the console war? Will Microsoft rush out a Blu-ray add-on player? Will the perceived value proposition of the 2 consoles change?
OTOH, if HD-DVD had taken a clear and early lead, maybe that would spell doom for the PS3 on the optical drive tech alone, since it is saddled with an expensive, obsolote technology. BUT…surely Sony was counting on PS3 sales giving Blu-Ray an early lead for the first year or so, coupled with greater studio support…maybe this ends up being a fairly good gamble for Sony to make. It’s rare to see such a huge company make such a bet-the-company type move, it will be entertaining to watch the outcome unfold.
One thing I think is clear- I think the HD-DVD camp is going to have to do something to answer the volley. It’s a war of perception here- the perceived winner will eventually become the true winner. So Sony is rightfully tooting its horn right now. Either the HD-DVD hardware makers or the content providers will have to do something to answer and try to establish their own momentum. If Microsoft doesn’t want to discount the 360, it should have a fat $100 rebate on a 360/HD-DVD bundle or something like that, throw in a free movie as well. The regular player makers are in less position to subsidize, except with free movie deals.
I think when people talk about the influence of porn, the greatest influence porn had was on videotape in general because before then you had to sneak into a XXX theater, there were no other avenues, no internet, etc. So while I think porn has some influence here, it’s not going to be the ultimate decider or anything.
None of this really affects me one way or the other. I’m not going to buy a player until they’re under $200, and the format war will probably have ended by then…