Much like the UMD effect! Excellent observation.

I like the idea of Sony bundling a Blu-Ray movie with the console. It would increase format awareness same way the Spider-man UMD exposed people to the UMD format.

The way I see it is if the 360 and the PS3 both launch at the same price, then the PS3 has the better value. What better way to launch a new format than to release it as a component of your newest monster of a system? I mean the PS3 would sell millions WITHOUT the blu-ray. Adding blu-ray is pure genius. It's a trojan horse.

I used to work at EB back when PS2 was released. Back then none of the gaming stores ever sold DVD's. Sony announced DVD playback and BOOM! We suddenly started stocking DVD's. Just hope everyone realizes that the PS2 was a HUGE factor in the success of DVD. DVD was taking off on its own, but Sony helped greatly. As a matter of fact I remember my Blockbuster just barely had many DVD's at all.

Comparing UMD to Blu-Ray is beyond silly...

Here are two GameBoy Micro commercials from Japan:

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/mario20th/...dia/tvcm3.html

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/mario20th/...dia/tvcm4.html

Not really. They are both new formats that Sony has a stake in. Push them with their respective consoles and insure success. no other movie company thought UMD would be worth it, but Sony pushes out millions of systems with it built in and all of a sudden people are lapping it up, now all the studios want in on it.

I think packing in a Blu-ray movie is genius. Since Sony owns a home entertainment wing, they can afford to do this at no loss to them.

As with the DS the color options in Japan kick the crap out of the US selection. Is it any wonder things sell better over there when you see the effort they put into the Japanese versions? Their commercials focus on gaming, shows a very cool Famicon Micro and ties in with Super Mario Bros coming up on its 20th birthday.
I'm sure the US commercial will show about 5 seconds of the actual product and consist of a bunch of nerdy Posers sitting around talking about how funky fresh and phat the new Game Boy Micro is and how many hot 13 year old chicks will like them because they have one.

Does the US get a NES faceplate or blue and pink options? No, we get camo and flames. I guess thats more xtreme.

Anyway, still not worth $100, but a Famicon or NES version could get me at least thinking about it.

I do think that the portability angle pushes it at least somewhat into apples-and-oranges territory. Most people who'll own a PS3 already have a means to play movies on their televisions. Most people who own a PSP don't have a means to watch movies on the go.

It's not a way to watch movies on your tv... it's the only way to truly take advantage of your HDTV for the forseeable future.

Which most people buying a PS3 won't have. From what I've seen, hardcore gamers != hardcore A/V enthusiasts.

The majority of the people buying a PS3 will, at least in the short term, not be playing it on an HDTV. I vaguely seem to remember seeing some study that in households with an HDTV, video games tend to not be hooked up to it, but some other smaller TV in another room.

Well, in that case WTF is the point of complaining about the 360 not coming with HD component cables in the 299.99 version?!

Also, whether or not people have them now, my point is that people WILL want to have them once the PS3 comes out.

That's quite an investment, $400 PS3 + at least $700 for an HDTV, $2,500 if it's 1080p. Are most people going to drop at a minimum $1000 for a new console?

Give me a break. Do you work for Sony? The PS2 wasn't a "HUGE" factor in the success of DVDs, and the PS3 isn't going to make everyone rush out to buy an HDTV either. Also, if you actually have an HDTV, you should know that there are many other ways to "truly take advantage of [an] HDTV" right now. Many cable systems now have several HD channels (including some or all of the major networks), as do both Dish and DirecTv. There are also OTA HD channels in most major cities. This is not to mention the fact that many Xbox games already support HD, and all Xbox 360 games will. I take advantage of my HDTV every day without a PS3 and, due to the fact that my PS2 has been collecting dust since I got an Xbox, I doubt I'll get a PS3.

Maybe not huge in the US, but the PS2 was huge at least in Japan in terms of being people's first DVD player. And it was at least a factor here. I was in college when it came out and it was tons of college students first DVD player.

But I agree that Blu-ray won't be as big an incentive due to people not having HDTVs, but its still at least some added feature, that at least some people will be able to take advantage of. Which again is more than can be said than the 360 which adds nothing to the X-box but better graphics and $100.

Blu-Ray is a format that would exist whether PS3 used it or not. UMD wouldn't exist without the PSP. Blu-Ray is for HD movies in general, not specifically for PS3 movies. UMD was designed for PSP movies.

Would you compare UMDs to Sony/Microsoft's decision to use DVDs in this generation? Of course not. Comparing Blu-Ray to UMD is stupid.

$400!?!?!

I won't be going anywhere near that thing until the first price drop, as I can't see myself buying the "lite" version.

Very cool looking.

Yes indeed. A white Micro with an NES controller faceplate would also be very much desired.

Yeah, but I'd still be extremely hesitant to buy one. Give me an NES DS.

I agree to an extent.

The only comparison I can see is getting Spider-man with the PSP let buyers see how good the movies looked on the PSP.

And similarly, at least for gamers with HDTV's, if they pack in a Blu-ray movie people that buy the PSP will be able to see how good they look on their HD-TV.

And thus Sony would be likely to win people who already have HD-TVs over to Blu-ray since that will be their first exposure to high definition DVDs in most cases.

Sorry, I forget you can't have a discussion around here without being a fanboy or working for someone.

I have all three systems this gen, and if I can somehow afford it I plan on having all three next gen. Therefore, I am impartial as to which one "wins" or "loses".

The fact of the matter is that the PS2 WAS a factor in the success of DVD's. Back then you had the early adopters and slowly people were accepting it. PS2 put a DVD player in many homes that otherwise would not have had one.

I also don't understand what your problem is with my argument. Both MS and Sony are pushing their respective systems as HD revolutionaries. If that's the case, then Sony wins hands down. You state all the ways to see stuff in HD, but most of the programming available right now is crap. I know that's subjective, but that is my opinion. I'd much rather use my HDTV for movies, and not just whatever happens to be on at the time.

Six months before the PS2 was released in Japan (and over a year before it was released in the US), we had already reached 500,000 DVD players being sold each month. DVD was going to make it whether PS2 used it or not. It was more than just early adopters at that point.

As I said above, the PS2 made a difference mainly in college kids who didn't have a DVD player yet. At least in my experience being in college when the PS2 came out.

A lot of college students aren't into movies enough to shell out the $$$ for a player then, but wanted a PS2 and killed two birds with one stone.

I definitely remember a few people that got into DVDs because of the PS2. I think the PS3 will have a major impact on Blu-Ray winning the HD-DVD format war.

If HD-DVD players (either format) are $500+ as rumored a PS3 is going to be a bargain to many since its a powerful gaming system and a full function Blu-Ray player for the same price or less.

I'm definitely a believer in the fact movies helped with the success of the original PS2 (it wasn't the only factor, but it helped) and the PSP. I see no reason that it won't be a big help to the PS3 as well.

In response to Josh, that's true, but I'm guessing that the same demographic this time around won't have a high adoption rate of HDTVs. The improvement of the HD movie format won't be noticable compared to DVDs if you only have a <32" SD CRT.