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Not that old chestnut again. But Microsoft has again stated that they think their Xbox 360 is doing so well at the moment mainly because it lacks Blu-ray.
Or rather, the high cost of adding a Blu-ray drive to the console is exactly why the PS3 isn't smashing all the other consoles in sales, much like what the PS2 did to the original Xbox and the Gamecube.
"For us, our bet was on digital distribution, that was the future — the ability to [play] 1080p movies with no disc, no download required; we have the largest movie and TV library, the largest HD library of any console," said Aaron Greenberg, Microsoft's director of product management.
Whatever it means, it certainly almost rules out Blu-ray ever coming to the Xbox 360, which isn't the most ideal console for playing high quality movies due to noise issues (although with rumours of an Xbox 360 "Slim", anything is possible).
The PS3's history with Blu-ray is certainly a mixed one. While its current and perhaps future popularity will have a lot to do with the HD format Sony created, backed and won against Toshiba's HD DVD, it's past failures are certainly also Blu-ray related. Or more precisely, cost related. The high cost of the PS3, which is still an issue today, has held back the PS3 from destroying its competition.
"Being $100 cheaper is part of the reason why we're nearly twice [Sony's] installed base," Greenberg stated while trying to back up this point.
It's still far too early (and it would be wrong too) to call the PS3 a failure, but Blu-ray has held back the console, maybe only temporarily, but in these brief moments, Microsoft and Nintendo took advantage and have established a firm foothold in the arena once dominated by the PlayStation brand. And that's a good thing, as competition always is.
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Or rather, the high cost of adding a Blu-ray drive to the console is exactly why the PS3 isn't smashing all the other consoles in sales, much like what the PS2 did to the original Xbox and the Gamecube.
"For us, our bet was on digital distribution, that was the future — the ability to [play] 1080p movies with no disc, no download required; we have the largest movie and TV library, the largest HD library of any console," said Aaron Greenberg, Microsoft's director of product management.
Whatever it means, it certainly almost rules out Blu-ray ever coming to the Xbox 360, which isn't the most ideal console for playing high quality movies due to noise issues (although with rumours of an Xbox 360 "Slim", anything is possible).
The PS3's history with Blu-ray is certainly a mixed one. While its current and perhaps future popularity will have a lot to do with the HD format Sony created, backed and won against Toshiba's HD DVD, it's past failures are certainly also Blu-ray related. Or more precisely, cost related. The high cost of the PS3, which is still an issue today, has held back the PS3 from destroying its competition.
"Being $100 cheaper is part of the reason why we're nearly twice [Sony's] installed base," Greenberg stated while trying to back up this point.
It's still far too early (and it would be wrong too) to call the PS3 a failure, but Blu-ray has held back the console, maybe only temporarily, but in these brief moments, Microsoft and Nintendo took advantage and have established a firm foothold in the arena once dominated by the PlayStation brand. And that's a good thing, as competition always is.
More:
