More news on the HD-DVD VS Blu-Ray front...

[BabyHeadCrab]

http://kotaku.com/gaming/hd-dvd/rumor-360-hd-dvd-players-now-cheaper-245746.php

It seems HD-DVD players in day-to-day retailers are being clearenced out of stock. I can't say I blame them, no games take advantage of the high capacity technology, and the drive jacks up the price of an Xbox360 to about what you might expect for a Playstation 3. I guess the entire post-release-hdvd was just a fundamentally flawed marketing decision.

The only problem I foresee is limiting people like the Fable Devs to low capacity when the 360 really does have the gaming power of a top of the line DX9.5 PC. But will this really give sony the edge in the format or console war? Bah, who knows. It's just kind of a let down to me being a 360 owner on so many fronts that they failed on affordable high capacity game storage. It's the only deturrent I'm sure for several next-gen devs against the system.

 

[CptStern]

read an article saying retailers plan to phase out hd-dvd by 2008

recently microsoft said they wouldnt add hd-dvd fuctionality into the new 360 because it's an "unproven" technology

 

[Vigilante]

If xbox 360 games are in HD-DVD format why the hell do you need to buy an HD-DVD player for it? The drive in the system now can't play HD-DVDs?

 

[CptStern]

it never could ..and xbox games are on dvds not hd-dvd

 

[Vigilante]

Oh..that's stupid.

 

[CptStern]

but that's why the ps3 is so much more expensive: blu-ray player

 

[DEATH eVADER]

Sony are making a loss from the PS3. You do realise the Blu-ray drives on their own costs about 700 quid D:

 

[Gray Fox]

But what happens if they win the format war, on one hand that could make them a lot of money on the other hand, with streaming internet media gaining such momentum, is it really worth winning the format war at the expense of your gaming market share.

 

[smwScott]

This just goes to show that the 360 wasn't a console built to last, just like the original X-BOX. The X-BOX was released a full year after the PS2 and the 360 came out a full year before the PS3 ... that's a 2 year difference right there not counting the fact that the PS2 is still getting good games but the X-BOX has been abandoned. Sony consoles typically have very long lifespans, so even if the thing does cost a bit more you're probably going to get more for your moneys worth, not to mention what are IMO better exclusives.

Also, to those saying that DVD will be adequate for 360 games, you're just wrong. God of War 2 shipped on two DVDs, one of which was a dual layer DVD9. If 360 games don't start shipping on multiple DVDs then they're going to be severely gimped.

 

[Warbie]

The 360 will last as long as it makes financial sense to keep it going - the same goes for any console. The PS2 lasted so long because it was hugely popular, and that's the only reason.

It'll be interesting to see how the PS3 fairs. I personally doubt it'll come close to matching the success of the PS2, and as such don't expect it to be around as long (especially if blu-ray loses the battle). Sony will drop any product without hesitation if they think it'll save them $s in the long run.

Capacity wise we'll most likely end up with games on a few dvds for the 360 - not ideal, but far from a big issue.

 

[smwScott]

Of course they will. I obviously wasn't trying to say that Sony makes consoles that tend to have a long lifespan out of the goodness of their hearts. No, that's just part of their business model. Both of their consoles have outlasted their competitors ... and from the looks of things the PS3 is set to continue that trend.

Blu-Ray has every advantage right now. For awhile I wasn't sure but now I think the future seems pretty clear.

 

[Warbie]

... and from the looks of things the PS3 is set to continue that trend.

This is what it all comes down to. Personally, i'd like to see Sony knocked down a peg or to and for the playing field to even up a little - which has certainly happened in the last year. Time will tell, but it's looking very unlikely the PS3 will dominate in the same way the PS2 did.

 

[VictimOfScience]

Capacity wise we'll most likely end up with games on a few dvds for the 360 - not ideal, but far from a big issue.

I think this is an understatement. Isn't Blue Dragon 4 discs??? And this is pretty early in the system's life, so bigger and better games will definitely start spilling over and that will eventually get quite annoying I predict, esp. if every game is 2 discs or more.

 

[dream431ca]

This is what it all comes down to. Personally, i'd like to see Sony knocked down a peg or to and for the playing field to even up a little - which has certainly happened in the last year. Time will tell, but it's looking very unlikely the PS3 will dominate in the same way the PS2 did.

Unless Microsoft screw up big time..it's getting there by releasing the so called "elite" console. I wonder why they just didn't add an HDMI input and a built in HD-DVD and sell it for the same price as the X360s now. The PS3 has a very long road ahead of it. I agree that the PS3 is built to last a very long time....Blu-ray is out selling HD-DVD's 3:1 right now so I doubt Blu-ray is going to go downhill. Time will tell.

I think this is an understatement. Isn't Blue Dragon 4 discs??? And this is pretty early in the system's life, so bigger and better games will definitely start spilling over and that will eventually get quite annoying I predict, esp. if every game is 2 discs or more.

4 DVD's!!?? They could fit that game on to one PS3 disk....maybe sony did do the right thing with there high capacity disks. Who knows..will see.