Impact of European PS3 delay on HD format war

sam_smith

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I know there is already a thread about the PS3 delay but i felt it was going a bit off topic, with most of the talk being focused on how Nintendo/Microsoft will benefit from it. I want to know what people think the impact will be on the HD format war.

Obviously this delay is a huge blow to Sony, seeing as they planned PS3 to be the 'stealth' route of getting Blu-Ray into people's homes.
I was going to sit on the fence as regards this format war to see how things panned out, but I think I may now invest in an HD-DVD player when they launch in Europe this Christmas and then see what happens with Blu-Ray.

Sam
 
Still a long way to go.

When there are more HD TV in the home then we can worry about which format will win. I think they will both be around for a while as a lot of early adopters will end up with both players and will pick and choose which version of a film to buy.

It won't be is Region 1 better than Region 2 or 3. It be is the Blu-ray transfer better than the HD-DVD transfer and if there's no difference then it will be price. And of course some films will only be on a particular format as well.
 
Well, seeing as most of the HD DVD supporters have spent months telling us that nobody is interested in playing HD movies on a "kiddie's toy" then it shouldn't have any impact at all! :rotfl:

Seriously though, it leaves me (and probably a few others with a dilema). Do we wait even longer for the console-cum-Bluray player that would have allowed us delay picking a side in the format war (because we would have got one anyway as a console) or do we jump onto a dedicated player (format to be decided) before Christmas?

You could probably argue that it's bad for Blu-ray in Europe but at the same time it's probably good for Blu-ray in America if it means more units available in the US as a result. Sony have obviously decided to concentrate their fire in America as this is where the Studio support and ultimate outcome of the format war will be decided.

Once again we shat on in Europe. :thumbsdow
 
How it affects the format war in Europe I suppose will greatly depend on how much consumer interest there is here in wanting hi-def disc over on these shores in the first place.

If interest is large then a £400 HD DVD player option or 360 HD DVD drive is going to look more appealing in comparison to the Samsung and Panasonic players costing upwards of £1000, and without the PS3 this winter Blu Ray is likely to have significantly reduced exposure in the media as- regardless of whether many would choose to use the PS3 as a player or not - there's no doubting the console is to be used as the key component in at least trying to raise awareness of the technology and get people asking what “this Blu Ray stuff” is all about. So although they may not have lost sales of consoles that might have been used as players amongst a wide majority, they will certainly lose some exposure.

Sony have obviously decided to concentrate their fire in America as this is where the Studio support and ultimate outcome of the format war will be decided.

Absolutely. They've never considered Japan to be as significant in the format war as America, and this I think highlights why they're giving 400,000 PS3 units to America and only 100,000 to Japan. It's dangerous though as such a deployment of units might well ensure Blu Ray's long term success but at the same time it could severely damage Sony Computer Entertainment and strip them of their market lead title leaving Nintendo to take back the crown in the East with the Wii nudging the PS3 into second place and in Europe allowing for Microsoft to take the lead.

They might well be proven the fools for underestimating Europe. Our market is actually the biggest games market now, and as far as HD goes, 2006 has really been a great year for raising awareness of what HD is having seen HDTV broadcasts launch and an enormous surge in sales of HDTVs. Does the HD boom here mean we're ripe for being presented with an HD disc format? We'll have to wait and see but I've said this since the beginning that Europe is not to be ignored in this format war because we're big enough and keen to adopt new technologies in such a way that the performance of HD DVD or Blu Ray over here could have a significant impact on each formats long term global outcome.
 
We could end up with significant regional differences in the take up of the two formats.

Suppose, with the delay to the PS3 and then because of a mass of reported issues due to the rush to produce as many as possible, the PS3 never really happens in PAL regions, whilst the HD-DVD camp ships some quality product at a good price. :devil: Interesting times ahead I think.
 

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