Sunday, January 28, 2007

The One Way the PS3 Can Become Gaming Caviar


I know what you're thinking. I just got done slamming the PS3 and now I'm saying it could become gaming caviar? (The pic on the right is from a trip to Napa last August with my brother. If you go, skip it. Stick to wine. Trust me.) That's right, the PS3 STILL could become the next-gen console winner but it all depends on one thing, and it doesn't even have to do with games.
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So what is it? A phone call from Hideo Kojima after console purchase? A free toaster with every PS3? Nope, believe it or not, its the included Blu-ray player (waiting for you to stop laughing).
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Okay, your lack of faith in Blu-ray is understandable. Up to this point the whole Blu-Ray/HD debate has been about as relevant as who has the creepier fast food mascot (the Burger King King nudges out Ronald McDonald by just a little). But Blu-ray is the only chance the PS3 has to be competitive. Sony isn't going to clean up on console exclusives, not with so many multi-platform releases. They certainly aren't going to be competitive online (see Xbox) or when it comes to innovations (take a Wii). That leaves the PS3 with the only edge it could possibly have, the next home video movie data storage unit, the Blu-ray.
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The DVD will be replaced at some point, whether we like it or not (I'm in the Not category, considering my substantial movie library) and at this point in time the Blu-ray looks to be the format that will eventually do the job. Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, 20th Century Fox, MGM and of course Sony and just a few of the big guns backing Blu-ray and if they're backing it, it typically means Blu-ray exclusive. Those companies alone might just be enough to make a difference in this particular showdown but its two other companies that will turn the tide - Walt Disney and Apple. I never, ever bet against Bill Gates, but if he's got to compete against Mickey and the iPod? Um, uh...let me think it over.
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Even if Blu-ray replaces DVD's, Sony still needs a few things to go its way for the PS3 to be successful. It needs you. It needs consumers to decide that DVD's are out of date and it needs you to buy an HD TV to make that Blu-ray player worth it. Basically, they need you to get high tech before the PS3 is out of date. Will that happen? Maybe, if you see yourself doing those things in 3 - 5 years, which is possible. Gamers, who are known to be technophiles, might turn to the PS3 as their primary movie format if Blu-ray wins out. Non-gamers could see it as a cheaper alternative to a Blu-ray only player or (after its price drop) as a nice two in one system movie/gaming system.
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Of course, all of this is pure conjecture. Who knows what will happen five years from now? Heck, five years ago, I didn't even know what an MP3 player was and didn't have a cell phone. Now I couldn't imagine my life without either one (okay, I could live without the cell). For Sony it comes down to this, its Blu-ray investment has to pan out. If it does, hello caviar. If not, hello cheese and crackers.
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Does the PS3 Blu-Ray player work? The PS2 was my first DVD player, but early versions of that hardware choked on about 40% of DVDs I put in it, so I hurried and sold it before the first price drop (ching!).

The Blu-Ray is, to the mind of this gamer anyway, the very picture of Sony's arrogance. Charging an extra couple hundred bucks to forced-sell me a movie player I don't need, and which may be obsolete in a year or two, is basically a big middle finger in my face.

Clearly, Sony has overestimated the loyalty of its user base. Foisting redundant technology on gamers because they think they can reminds me of Bush talking about his "political capital" in 2004 - sheer jackassy badness.

Anonymous said...

The Blu-ray player works just fine...on the one movie I own for it, which happened to come with the system. I'm not in a big hurry to pay $30+ for a flick that looks just as good on DVD.

As for whether Sony counted on its brand name too much, lets check with the Magic 8 Ball. (Shake, shake, shake) "Future looks cloudy"

Terry Terrones