If they do a price drop, it'll help even more. I think there's a good chance of that.

Yeah, the price to produce the 360 has surely dropped by now (by Nov it will be a year)....OR maybe they could just add the HD-DVD drive to the premium and keep it the same price. Who knows what ole Billy will do?? Releasing the 360 first definately gives them some leverage. More importantly is probably having alot of good titles by then. Halo 3?

I really wish there weren't this format war, because my undying love for having the newest technology is killing me right now. I want an HD-DVD player, but the skepticism about its future is making it extremely difficult to justify the $500 purchase. Damn!

Yeah, I think this fall isnt gonna make it any easier....MS will counter with something (like price break or including hd-dvd drive) AND HD-DVD will be picking up steam with day/date titles like MI3 and Superman Returns. Halo 3 will be a big seller for 360 too.

Im just not buying the fact that the PS3 will push BD over the edge. Both the PS3 AND standalone players are priced higher than the 360 and toshiba A1.

Interesting article in the New York Times today by Matt Richtel about Sony and Toshiba. This HAS TO make you laugh:

quoting Michael Pachter,video game analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities:

Blu-ray is going to decide it," Mr. Pachter said of the console wars. "Consumers will pay more for a Blu-ray drive if we believe it has value."

He added that he thought Sony would prevail. "Sony's going to kill Toshiba because it has to," he said.

That last quote from him sounds like it was taken directly from one of these threads.

No HDMI on the 20 GB version. That means: no way to get 1080p to a TV, no way to get HD sound.

And if the ICT is enabled (which is quite likely to happen in the coming future), you'll really be screwed -- being stuck at 540p would suck balls.

Close. That would be a thought from one of the posters. For example:

Thought: "Sony's going to kill Toshiba because it has to"

Post: "PS3 is Blu-Ray's savior"

Ouch....and its still $500?? Damn.

MS and Toshiba really have an opportunity now. Looks like PS3 and BD's achilles heel is the price. They should run with that.

the blu-ray peanut gallery has been awfully quiet since this announcement last night... are they all hiding out in the video game forum?

My homeboy Jimmy hasn't been posting as much.

In fact, I haven't seen much Blu-Ray rah-rahing in the last 13 hours ;)

Honestly, I prefer for HD-DVD to win since I obviously bought a player.

I just don't understand what BR is holding on to at this point. The hope that they're going to sell a shitload of software?

it's interesting that HD-DVD is/was the underdog and it's been beating BR to the punch on everything. Sure the player is a bit buggy for some people but it's great for me thus far.

ha! jinx!

That's been their whole problem all along: trying to be everything to everybody.

The gamers have to pay extra because it's a BR player and the movie watchers have to pay more because its a game system.

Supporters say it's a bargain because it'll be an expensive console, but a cheap Blu-Ray player. The problem with that is it assumes you've chosen Blu-Ray and pretends that HD-DVD isn't an option. Throw a $499 HD-DVD player into the mix and the crystal ball clouds...

Methinks they weren't expecting it. Has the 1st model of new technology ever come out so cheap?

Not just quiet here, but also on blu-ray.com forums as well.

No one's jumping for joy over the price anymore. My favorite thread hasn't been posted to for a while either: See gaming board - but PS3 new pricing at $399!:

I don't think so... I read somewhere yesterday that it was a low entry price for new tech. They mentioned that new DVD players were in the $1000 range when they first came out.

I remember my parents buying a used Sony Betamax player (after it was clear that VHS was going to win) for $400. I remember they bought a Fisher VHS machine later for something like $800 (and that was ~20 years ago!). $500 is a great price point... ironically BR is probably to thank for it.

The Blu-ray camp may feel that they can win out with what they believe to be a superior product (although I'm currently left thinking that those technological advantages carry more weight from a PC/archiving perspective than watching pre-recorded movies) and the marketing muscle of the companies behind it.

HD-DVD seems like it's doing pretty well, but it's too early for it to have enough traction for Blu-ray to throw in the towel. The battle won't really start until closer to the holidays.

Merrill Lynch & Co.'s Tokyo-based analyst Hitoshi Kuriyama wrote in a report in February the PS3 will cost about 74,000 yen to make

74,000 yen is about $665 at todays exchange rate, but was around $650 at the time of the original article.

How easy would it be for studios that support only Blu-Ray to change direction and support HD-DVD? I'm sure they'd lose the money invested in BD, but would it be a difficult decision for them, at all?

I don't know what to make of this... on Bloomberg, it says what you're quoting:

However, the actual Meryl Lynch report from 17 Feb 2006 doesn't mention any of that. It does say 17 Feb 2006 (corrected) so maybe it did have that quote in it?? If there is another version of the ML report, I can't find it.

At least we know what the expected MSRP is going to be which is really all that's important... although that may change by November (who believes what Sony says regarding BR/PS3 anymore?).

I'm going to let someone else answer this but i don't think it would be that horribly difficult. They have the masters ready.

I hope Fox produces HD-DVD sometime this year.

BTW, anyone notice good ol' Jimmy345 is suspended? I'm gonna miss his always useful comments.

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat??? Did i miss a thread??

*sigh*

so does this mean I'm going to have to track his ass down if i get it? :)

yeah, but it looks like new member Jimmy Smith is picking up the fight where Jimmy345 left off.

I've also noticed a JimmySRU lurking around too. Multiple personalities?