Is Blu-ray a Microsoft victory?

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blu-ray.jpg 

So Sony have won the format war for HD TV content distribution. The Blu-ray disk has beaten HD DVD to become the new standard. The first Sony media victory since the Microfloppy of 1982.

But it has cost Sony dear. Difficulties mass producing Blu-ray drives in 2005/6 delayed the PS3 getting to market. And when it did the high cost of the drives compared with DVDs contributed to Sony having to charge a premium price for the console, which stunted sales. These factors may possibly result in Sony coming third in this generation of the console wars. For certain they haven’t dominated like they did in the last generation with PS2. A very high cost to pay.

Meanwhile Microsoft did not build an HD drive into the Xbox 360. This enabled them to get their console to market more quickly and for a lower price. So they have maintained a significant lead over Sony in this generation of console. By having the HD drive as an external add on Microsoft hedged it’s bets. It didn’t bother them or effect them commercially whichever format won. They would just make external drives using whichever format won. And so they will.

Of course none of this has any impact on Nintendo. They, quite literally, are playing a different game.

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52 Comments


  1. heh only partially correct. while sony was hindered with the developmental costs during 05/06, for both bluray and cell, it is starting to get into a more profitable region. the costs of bluray drives and the cell have been slashed by close to a half. And lets not forget that if bluray succeeds in becoming the sole HD-format (and all signs point to yes at this point) MS will eventually have to adopt it as their own, and guess who they’ll have to pay for a bluray license…


  2. 1. You mean their first victory since CD and DVD. They’ve done well in picking formats. And even then, Sony isn’t the only one in the blu ray association.
    2. YOU do know that the PS3 is on par with 360 and PS2 sales, it hit the 1 mill mark in UK quicker than the PS2 and it outsold the 360 in 07. PS2 didn’t dominate ASAp either.
    3. IT DID AFFECT THEM, they lost money from the HDDVD drives.
    4. Yes, and if they make external blu ray drives, the Blu ray association and Sony will just make royalties off each sale….


  3. It is very simple, and I truly believe this. PS3 will have more overall sales then the 360 this year. The PS3 is the cheapest BluRay player to date…. ppl know this.

    360 had a head start on the console war

    Now

    PS3 has a head start in the format war


  5. You always know where to find the SONY fanboys… Rushing to SONY’s rescue.
    The bottom line is, SONY got cockey coming into the NEXT GEN gaming arena based on the PS2’s dominance, and there are plenty of press releases and quotes to back that up… Jack Tretton “People will buy it even if there are no games…” Well, that didn’t happen, and SONY had to recalculate all of it’s sales forecasts.
    Now NINTENDO and MICROSOFT have a nice headstart, and SONY is playing catch up, and even if it continues to slightly outsell the Xbox360 as it did recently, it will be a a long time (years) until it can even dream of coming close to the same installed base as either competitor.
    They put a lot of stock in Blu Ray, and it ultimately cost them.
    Microsoft only backed HD-DVD to create some competition and confusion in the next gen format market, and it worked… It took this long for what looks like the end of the format war. Well played Microsoft.


  6. and you can tell microsoft fanboys when you see them…
    point is no other system in history that came out at that price actually lived for longer then 6 mon-1 year. sony has. Blu-ray was a gamble that paid off. sony is gaining ground and selling faster then ever. sony GAMING business made money this quarter. so its a good thing thay added blu-ray becausee xbox will be in last this gen just because of that….


  7. All Microsoft did was make Sony work to get Blu-ray as the standard. They didn’t sink anywhere near the amounts of money as Sony did into the format war. This may put them behind in the long run but, MS has a huge foothold in the market, and even if the PS3 does outsell it this year, its not like the xbox markets hit a brick wall and none are selling. sony is still playing catchup, and will be for awhile.


  8. “and you can tell microsoft fanboys when you see them…
    point is no other system in history that came out at that price actually lived for longer then 6 mon-1 year. sony has. Blu-ray was a gamble that paid off. sony is gaining ground and selling faster then ever. sony GAMING business made money this quarter. so its a good thing thay added blu-ray becausee xbox will be in last this gen just because of that….”

    that’s not ironic at all.

    For those of you that don’t know, this gen only has 2-3 more years left in it. Even if sony continues to grow like it is now, by the time this gen is over it will be about even with the 360, and that’s considering they had an overwhelming dominance in market saturation last gen.


  9. ”For those of you that don’t know, this gen only has 2-3 more years left in it. Even if sony continues to grow like it is now, by the time this gen is over it will be about even with the 360, and that’s considering they had an overwhelming dominance in market saturation last gen.”

    Well that might be true for Microsoft. Seeing as the first Xbox did not live a very long life. Hopefully they do support the 360 longer than they did the first Xbox. Also in about 2 more years you will see games coming to the 360 that will require 6 discs. We are already seeing 4 disc games. Can someone say ‘short life span’


  10. either way.i have all 3 systems. i hate microsoft. vista blows and 360 was a greed(not great ) machine. wifi extra, hd/bluray extra, hdmi extra, not jus that the freakin power cord is the size of half the 360 add a new hd drive and you got 2 360’s at least ps3 gave you everything. and b4 you go nuts brand new the ps3 is cheaper than 360 wit everything the ps3 has. 360 w/hdmi 450+$99 wifi+179.99 hd drive=728.99b4 tax and u still dont have memory slots.. in less words since ms wanted to be lazy and greedy at the same time and vista has ruined my media center


  11. Sir, did you do any fact checking? Have you not heard of CD, DVD, or flash memory sticks? One(CD) being the the most successful media format ever created. That is poor journalism.


  12. yes we can say short life span, as in heavenly sword. Games across all formats including 360, Ps3 and Pc are getting shorter.
    The bigger space that the blu ray disc provides means more content needs to be created which increases the cost and time taken to develope games.

    I remember when cd started being used and developers just used the massive space to add in fmv etc, filler that didnt add to the actual game. Games are about gameplay not HD graphics and cut scenes.


  13. yes, this generation will be over for nintendo and microsoft in 2-3 years. that is about the forecast they set out for themselves. sony forecast 10 years for the ps3, meaning about another 8-9 years for that system. if you read about what developers say bout the system and if you look at what is just coming out for the console, the 10 year forecast doesn’t seem at all far fetched. what’s going to happen when microsoft and nintendo release another console at high prices in 3 years, and the ps3 is still going strong? what are all those ps2 users going to buy…? i am curious to see what happens over the next few years. meantime, there are some sweet games to play


  14. “yes, this generation will be over for nintendo and microsoft in 2-3 years. that is about the forecast they set out for themselves. sony forecast 10 years for the ps3, meaning about another 8-9 years for that system. if you read about what developers say bout the system and if you look at what is just coming out for the console, the 10 year forecast doesn’t seem at all far fetched. what’s going to happen when microsoft and nintendo release another console at high prices in 3 years, and the ps3 is still going strong? what are all those ps2 users going to buy…?”

    Who wants to buy games for a dated system? I’m guessing Nintendo and M$ are going to release cheaper systems next time around after the success of both the PS2 and wii, which sold really well because they were the cheapest (PS2 also had the luxery of a large game library). The bad thing is that the cheaper systems that M$ and Nintendo make are still going to look as good as or better than anything on the PS3 by that time. That’s not even counting other hardware innovations made in that time to enhance the play experience.


  15. In the history of consoles noone has lost anything because of multi discs. Let’s see..the PS2 had tons of multi disc games and that used to be called “value”.

    How a game being on a few DVDs this gen=dead console I’ll never know. GROW UP people.

    As to the new console arguement…$$ says we get xbox720 in 2010 and the 360 keeps right on selling along side it.


  16. Rod,
    Here is an article on failed Sony media standards. There are a lot of them! https://www.bruceongames.com/2007/10/19/another-failed-sony-media-standard/

    I think you will find that the CD dates from 1982, the same as the Minifloppy.
    The DVD was not a Sony standard, their film disk standard, MultiMedia Compact Disc, was dumped.
    As for flash memory sticks, the Sony standard has been an expensive joke. The world uses SD and Compact Flash.

    So more like a poor comment than poor journalism.


  17. Well so far as I see it the PS3’s only competition was the PS2, since they were still selling strong months after the PS3 had hit the market. So either way u look at the situation Sony is making all that money they lost with the cost of PS3 back and then some with more then enough support with a last gen console.


  18. Let me try to explain again.
    There were two wars.
    The format war which was between Sony and Toshiba.
    And the console war which is between Sony and Microsoft.

    Sony won the format war by using the PS3 as a Trojan horse to get Blu-ray into homes.
    But in doing so they damaged themselves in the console war. So that Microsoft, who only sold a fraction of Sony’s total in the last generation, are currently ahead on sales with a lead that will take a lot to whittle down.

    So Sony has gone from being first in the last console generation to being last in this. Mainly because of Blu-ray.
    Therefore Blu-ray is a Microsoft victory.


  19. Some people have mentioned royalties.
    In this instance it makes no difference to Microsoft, they will just be paying the Blu-ray consortium instead of paying for HDDVD.

    It is worth noting that Microsoft and Sony have a long history of paying each other fees for licenses.
    Sony launched a Microsoft designed MSX computer in 1983.
    Microsoft sold all it’s software on the Sony standard Minifloppys for many years.
    And Sony still pays Microsoft for the software it uses on all those PCs it makes.

    On balance after launching their Blu-ray add on Microsoft will still be getting more money out of Sony than vice versa.


  20. “As to the new console arguement…$$ says we get xbox720 in 2010 and the 360 keeps right on selling along side it.”

    yes id “LOVE” to buy there next system.

    if MS makes another system that soon then there gona lose out on a huge fanbase. theres no way the average gamer can shell out 300 dollars + extras on a 360, play it for 3-4 more years then throw it away and buy the “NEW” console that will cost another 400-500 dollars + extras that they most likly will throw in.

    now on to the point of this whole threadish thing.
    grats MS on the past year, with blu-ray winning, ps3 does have a head start in the format wars, ppl will buy it for movies now since its a cheap blu-ray player and the games are extra, vice versa with movie goers. in the long run, the ps3 has something for almost everyone. i can see it topping out in the future.


  21. well then again BluRAy is a Sony victory for the console wars, for the simple fact that:PS3’s will sell alot more now that there is only one HD format, and if Sony was able to outsell the 360 in 2007 when: HDdvd was a more liable threat, there was no games for PS3, and the system was more expensive. Then I cant imagine what the sales figures will be this year, why with a continuous price cut, quality promising games, good hardware reliability, full multimedia support, and whats that last one um..um……..oh yeah it plays Blu Ray movies too, the only HD format available.
    I dont see how Microsoft won anything out of this, with all that wasted PR, hardware add-ons,and software development that put into HDDVD, not to mention public image (to be in the looser team has got to mean something in the realm of business). If I were Microsoft the last thing I need to care about is what it gained out of BLuRay’s victory, they need to come up with something better the HALO 3, or XBOX LIVE.


  22. I am deleting all comments that insult me, everything that contains bad language and post that just say they agree with something.

    So don’t waste your time doing any of these.


  23. Bruce, you still haven’t answered how your faulty logic equates to a MS victory in the aspect that by the end of this year, there will be more PS3’s in homes than 360’s according to analysts. It’s already the top “current gen” console in Japan (the Wii doesn’t count), and is going to be overtaking the lead in Europe within the next 4 months in spite of it coming out less than 1 year ago there.

    Here’s what I see: You’ve got a poorly thought-out, unreasoned argument slanted towards Microsoft just because you want to be contrarian. You provide no sources or numbers, no facts to back up what is a fallous opinion.

    But here are the facts for you: Sony has outsold the 360 in spite of not ONE system seller being out there. No MGS, no Final Fantasy, no God of War, nothing. Meanwhile, MS completely blew their wad last year with Halo 3, Mass Effect, etc. and has next to nothing due out this year.

    These are facts. So please, by all means, enlighten us on how the fact that Sony will overtake MS by the end of the year; enlighten us to the fact of how the PS3 will outlast the 360 because the PS3 utilizes technology that will stand the test of time; and enlighten us on how as people migrate from the PS2 to the PS3 it will completely blow MS out of the water is a “victory” for Microsoft.


  24. If MS had taken that extra year to improve the design of 360 instead of rushing it to beat sony they could have saved billions of dollars. I for one am happy to have waited the extra year for the PS3, they got it right, a truly hi-def game system right out of the box. Hi-def movies, games, hdmi, I mean look at MS trying to redisign thier system on the run, meanwhile the ps3 design will just get smaller and cheaper and sales are starting to rise as people see the value of an all in one system.


  25. When the 360 surpasses it’s install base from the previous generation by a substantial margin then you can say what you want about Blu-Ray and its impact on Sony’s PS3.

    However, the fact remains that 360 sales have slowed down considerably. Sales have declined in 2007 compared to 2006.

    MS had the better online service/better games last year yet they still were outsold in 2007 worldwide by the PS3.

    Now all the big franchises associated with Playstation make their way to retail in 2008 and 2009. Add that on to the BR victory and what do you have? Probably history repeating self.

    If anything Nintendo made out like a bandit because of the PS3’s initial price.


  26. How could it be a victory for Microsoft?

    1. They backed the wrong format and over 300,000 people have bought their soon to be useless hd-dvd add-on drive for the xbox 360. Swinging over to an external bluray drive is admitting failure backing hd-dvd and a big F U to existing external hd-dvd owners.

    2. XBOX-360 games will forever be stuck on the smaller capacity DVD since nearly all of the current install base have only that drive.

    3. Its been thought that Microsoft wanted to back an opposite side to bluray to cause confusion in the market so that neither would win and digital downloads would takeover putting microsoft back in charge. This obviously won’t happen any more.


  27. Your logic is sound, Bruce. But I believe that now that bluray is going to be THE disc format for viewing HD movies, the value provided by the playstation 3 as a multimedia gaming console/bluray player will cause it to eventually pull ahead in the console war. Unless, of course, Microsoft starts giving away bluray player add-ons with every xbox 360 sold.


  28. I own a Xbox360, but just saying,
    Microsoft is so frekin smart cause they knew that 1 of the formats were gonna lose, so therefore they decided to bring out external highdef players. This way, the format war didn’t effect the xbox360 sales in anyway.


  29. The 360 didn’t sell worse last year than the year before. They overstocked by around 2 million, which remained unsold into 2007, and were lost from the total sold in it. When u take the 2 million off 2006 and carry it over to 07 it evens out.

    He explained pretty well how blu-ray winning is an M$ victory. M$ didn’t make it’s console rely on a format winning. All they have to do is release a blu-ray player, and they’re equal for media playback.

    it’s good for M$ because they had lower costs and got to release a year earlier. It’s nearing the original xbox’s units sold in it’s lifetime, and may well pass it by the end of this year with another price drop.

    You have to remember sony went from the overwhelming leader with almost 6 times as many consoles sold than any competitor, to last place. How can you call that a victory?

    On new systems, They’ve been coming out every half decade since the original playstation, there’s no reason to not expect that trend to continue.


  30. sony is still going to make money off the blu-ray format, since it’s their format, while microsoft neutrally doesn’t gain, or lose any money since they don’t own either fomat. However, the lack of disc space on a dvd will hold back the 360, while the ps3 will have plenty of space in the near future. As for the wii, the games are last-gen anyways, when it comes to graphical quality, so developers will just treat them like last gen games when it comes to storage capacity.


  31. “So Sony has gone from being first in the last console generation to being last in this. Mainly because of Blu-ray.
    Therefore Blu-ray is a Microsoft victory.”

    wrong again. The expensive of Blu-ray only benefited Microsoft in the short-term, when the PS3 was being launched and production costs were high and people weren’t buying the console. Yes, the ps3 was the trojan horse to get a BD Player in people’s homes, but Sony was thinking long-term.

    There isn’t a AAA-game available to date for the PS3, yet it outsold the 360, which probably had the best year it will ever get, releasing its trump Halo 3. I can only imagine what will happen to the console war when the AAA titles for PS3 ARE released.

    Following Toshiba’s announcement ending this war (most certainly within the coming weeks/days) MS will claim digital distribution as the true successor format to the DVD. Shenanigans i calls it; a download won’t replace a disc for many years to come…


  32. “Who wants to buy games for a dated system? ”

    Apparently lots of people do. Look at how well the ps2 is still doing.

    This whole prediction is way off to say the least. As we can already see by the collective voice of the people via the internet it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see the ps3 is finally getting quite the respect it needs while the 360 is getting quite the opposite. It’s finally getting the light shinned on it for what it truly is, “a rush job.” They already have a bad reputation for the cutting the last system early. This system will be the last straw for many especially if they cut the system early without even gaining a bigger install base while sony keeps up it’s amazing record in their console history, which equals respect. Also if m$ cuts their system early a large amount of people will already own a ps3, be fully content with it until the true expiration date of this generation, which should be around 5 years, and by that time we should see the ps4 because sony has a record of releasing systems in 6 year intervals. The whole 10 year thing is not the time within they release another system, but the time they will still be releasing games just like the ps2 is still getting new titles and selling games. The gap should be closed by the end of this year with it’s truly highly anticipated exclusives, and the bluray success(even if the 360 adopts it will make the add ons even more expensive than they already are to equate to the ability of a standard ps3), and by 09 Sony should easily topple the 360. While the wii will remain for the majority a system a divided consensus of people due the the range of people who own it, who own the system but they rarely play or purchase the amount games or accessories, which within the real money is to be made.


  33. ^^^

    read my post. It wasn’t outsold at retail. It was outshipped at distributors. check the NPD numbers for sales (retail sales) and you’ll see. M$ and Sony only report sales TO distributors and retailers, not consoles purchased by the consumer.


  34. With all due respect, Sony had a hand in DVD. It was MMC and SD not MMC and DVD like your response framed it to be. DVD is the product of unifying the two. Sure, it’s based off SD, however, they do have patents inserted into the design which they earn royalties off of, just like any company part of the licensing terms for any kind of format or codec.

    Further on your response to royalties, you fail to acknowledge that HD DVD uses Microsoft’s proprietary HDi in contrast to Blu-ray’s Java based interactivity layer.

    I understand what you meant with your article, and it’s a shame you had to clarify it, but I think people are misinterpreting the piece because your main point has absolutely nothing to do with the current outcome of the format war. And it’s even more confusing you make the point now since it’s one that’s been obvious since the first 6 weeks into the PS3’s lifespan. The reason escapes me why you decided to write it now, and probably “fanboys” too, which are interpreting it as some jab at Sony and/or some damage control for Microsoft over the recent Blu-ray victory, and causing them to throw their dukes up.


  35. I don’t usually comment but Simon (comment #4,) your post was simply on point. I had a Dreamcast and loved the games but ultimatly always wanted my brothers PS2 because it could do DVD’s and games.

    I really hope PS3 does the same thing as that’s the system I have picked up as I don’t have enough scratch to pickup both and Xbox 360 and a PS3. Not to mention RROD is a scary thing for a +300$ system that can’t do high definition movies.


  36. Well it seems the fanboy article has attracted a lot of, well, fanboys. There’re a lot more people commenting now, but whether that’s a good thing or not is up to you. You’ll have to spend a lot more time reading comments now.

    I think Blu-ray is a Sony victory, but that Microsoft is also probably better off in the long run. If HD-DVD had won they would have had to put rescources into supporting it. This way they can continue to push digital distribution and still make use of a HD format.


  37. Uhhh…. Okay, so you MS fanboys want to explain to me how, last year MS sold just over 10 million units and this year sold what 7.4 million units? The PS3 sold 10 million units worldwide and almost 4 million units in U.S. The numbers:

    http://www.vgchartz.com/

    So how is a 20% drop in 360 hardware sales good? Especially in the year it had ALL the ‘system sellers’ (Halo 3, Bioshock, Mass Effect), isn’t that a little backwards? The hardware sales didn’t match the software sales.

    0.58 Million units in Japan over 2 years? They can’t expect to beat Nintendo/Sony with numbers like that. Japan is the 2nd biggest video game market behind the U.S., that’s a big chunk of the market to lose out on. Also someone already pointed out that PS3 already made 1 million units in record time in the UK. UK and Australia are 360’s top selling places outside the U.S., how can losing one of their markets potentially help them?

    It’s great that MS fans are so hardcore, but, how many XBox fans had to rebuy a 360?

    Also, it was mentioned that it cost a lot to develop Blu Ray, so what? High risk = high reward. If you don’t gamble then your not really trying anything new.
    Is 1.2 Billion in RROD chump change? That’s no small amount. I’m sure that compares to development cost for Sony.

    Also you guys seem to assume Sony doesn’t know what they’re doing, but, the facts show otherwise. They were behind in LCD TV’s by a ton to Samsung, yet this year they beat Samsung and now have the top selling LCD’s in the world. They’re sales for PSP’s have been matching DS’s in Japan every week and they’ve already sold 31 million worldwide and PS2 chugging along (Over 116 million units sold). It’s not how you start the race it’s how you end it.


  38. @rod

    I think he wrote it to just counter blu-ray winning being somehow a great victory for PS3, when it’s not going to have as huge effect on the console war as you’d think. It’s been obvious to people who put two and two together, but not everyone has put much time into thinking about it.

    He’s just trying to bring to light that a blu-ray victory isn’t the same as a PS3 victory. The first couple responses to his article make it obvious that his point definately has a reason to be made at this point in time.


  39. This is a seriously inaccurate and most of all, DISTURBING claim made by Bruce the author, in no way shape or form did Microsoft come out on top by there competitor out selling them, with consoles or the format war. Fact is, Microsoft backed up HD DVD to cause confusion which we can be safe to assume was the prime motive between backing a less than worthy format, other than there VC-1 codec which they desperately tried to incoperate into HD movies (HDi) sadly it failed, because the java construct embedded inside BD is Java, which they found to be much complex but the consequence of that is they allowed alot more freedom and more quality to come from the Java based interaction.

    Anyhow you have to remember the main patent holders and the board of trustees who decide ones fate on the BD. Two of the biggest hitters are Apple, a WELL known rivaled company of Microsoft, and of course Sony who is also on there way, while all the long duking it out with Microsoft. Plus an add on is completely worthless.


  40. Bruce, I get you I was just talking to a friend about this the other day. Even though Sony has won the format war, I think they may have another set of competition issues on their hands. What happens if MS (and they will) releases a new BD SKU that is cheaper than the PS3? Sony needs to hit hard and strong with their PS3 marketing, because once MS releases their BD SKU, Sony will lose their key differentiator.


  41. In no shape, way, or form does this mean Microsoft is the benefactor from this out come. the only reason HD DVD was supported was because BD didn’t want to incorperate HDi, and used the Java construct instead. Now, since Microsoft is PRO digital media, and digital downloads this really has no affect on future plans for microsoft, neither did the HD DVD add on, or a future Blu-ray add on, most of your argument is totally invalid because the only real gain would have to be founded in an INTERNAL Blu-ray drive as Sony’s Playstation 3 already has done.

    An add-on would be the least cost efficient thing to do, lets say Consumer X wants to purchase a Blu-ray player, Consumer X doesn’t own an Xbox, nor PS3, but Consumer X does his research and sees that Xbox is $399 plus Blu-ray add on (don’t dream about a $150 Blu-ray add on, think realistically please) but Consumer X sees that PS3 is at its lowest Sku is also $399, has everything in the box ready to go, which do you think the consumer will choose?


  42. “Microsoft and Sony have a long history of paying each other fees for licenses” So true Bruce. Once Sony paid MS a “large undisclosed amount of money” to make a Windows Update that removes the Sony virus/rootkit they made install from some music CD’s.


  43. Stand alone Blu Ray players are now cheaper than a PS3, so you won’t see people buying a PS3 just to play Blu Ray anymore. I own all three systems because they all have their perks, but I wouldn’t trade my 360 for the other two combined. Look at the multi platform realeases they are either better on 360, or just as good, period. 360 is releasing games in 1080p, and have been, where is PS3 on that? As for PS3 lasting ten years, they can make it last as long as they are willing to make games for it, but it won’t be so hot in 2-3 years. Also, I would have my GTA4 for my 360 if they weren’t still working on the PS3 version. PShome looks cool, but is rather hokey if you ask me, I don’t want to play the sims anymore, I just don’t.


  44. I don’t care if they will do good or bad
    and I own both consoles (so NO fanboy),
    BUT, as far as I know, is the external
    “whatever-format”-drive not capable of
    streaming game-data, so “only” HD-movies…

    Correct me please if I am wrong…

    “Gamers unite.”


  45. It’s True recent games that have cross platformed are bad for PS3. But this comparison is much like comparing early PS2 games to the ones done years later.

    The Xbox360 has had some great things:

    1) Xbox live even though you pay, it is undeniably good.
    2) Better cross platform games so far
    3) Great software/sales – Halo 3, Mass Effect, Gears, Bioshock.

    So again I’ll point out if those advantages were so great as you claim then how come the hardware sales don’t match? Look at the sales here: http://www.vgchartz.com/

    -PS3 over 10 million in one year (Yes, SOLD, not shipped). Beat out XBox sales for it’s FIRST year out.
    http://kotaku.com/357883/ps3-hits-105-million-sold

    -Wii over 20 million in one year. Beat out Xbox sales for it’s FIRST year out.

    -DS sales = UP
    -PSP sales = UP
    -PS2 sales = more units than XBox360
    -Xbox360 sales (A year extra and ALL tactical advantages included) = DOWN = FAIL

    And your right that Blu ray players are going to come out cheaper. But that still doesn’t change the fact that for the PS3, having it internal, is added value. It doesn’t matter that players will be coming out cheaper, because people who will be shopping for HDTV and a game system will see the inherent advantage of just getting a PS3. MS can do an add on, but, it only goes to show more value for the PS3. It also doesn’t matter that XBox360 is ‘better’ now either, because that could change in a heartbeat.

    http://n4g.com/News-112969.aspx

    http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=1&cId=3166090 (7 of 10 on PS3, 3 exclusives)

    http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=1&cId=3166087 (3 of 10 on XBox360, 7 exclusives)

    List doesn’t include, FF13/versus, Alan Wake for 360 and other games.

    Also you forget to point out that while Xbox 360 has a better line up of games it ALSO had a year head start. PS3’s 1st year lineup kicked the crap out of the first year line up of XBox360.

    Sorry this article and some comments here only go to prove that BOTH are very shortsighted. Sony has always been about the longrun. Like I said it’s NOT how you start it’s how you finish. This scenario is nothing new to Sony, it’s EXACTLY the same as the PS2 when it first came out, it also was doom and gloom and defective machinery, lack of software etc.

    If you fanboys want to cover your ears and eyes and pretend to be blind then that’s great for you. I suggest google and actual FACTS however. I may be a ‘fanboy’ to you, but, at least I google and actually put up some NUMBERS.


  46. The Times agrees with me in this article: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article3405959.ece

    “Both Sony and its consumers still have to pay a price. For the company, it comes from building the expensive technology into a games console, which Sony executives concede is being sold at a loss. Nintendo has seized market share with its cheaper Wii, while Microsoft’s XBox360 is also performing competitively. Where Sony dominated the second generation console markets, outselling Microsoft’s Xbox by five to one, its present share globally is estimated at 20.8 per cent. “


  47. Who cares what the Times said.. Tom #45 is right on.


  49. MMM KAY, that article is a bit simplistic. For instance it doesn’t say how much money the Blu-ray consortium are paying Microsoft for using the VC-1 Codec. Yep, that’s right, Microsoft make money on every PS3.


  50. #45 said..

    “This scenario is nothing new to Sony, it’s EXACTLY the same as the PS2 when it first came out, it also was doom and gloom and defective machinery, lack of software etc.”

    Is it just me or this comment is hypocracy at it’s best? It seems people want to forget that the 360 atm has the same track record the Ps2 had at it’s begening. First one out, hardware failures..but at least no lack of software. I would love to include the Dreamcast in last generations race but Sony PR killed it before it really had a chance with deceptions and lies, they tried the same strat this gen but the Xbox is no Dreamcast.

    In the end, we have a healthy market with great comnpetition, this is what we want as consumers. To think otherwise, throwing numbers to prove one console is better, wanting one console to rule them all, is just childish and immature.

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