According to analysts, the Blu ray Vs HD DVD battle to become the high definition format of choice has had a knock on effect on console sales. What’s more, now that the war is over, with Blu ray being declared the winner, the PS3 could see a massive increase in sales thanks to Sony’s forward thinking.
You cannot have failed to at least read some of the demise of HD DVD over the past week or so, even if high definition DVDs hold no interest for you. The HD DVD format was already doing badly against Blu ray, and once retailers such as Best Buy and Wal-Mart dropped it, Blu ray had victory almost guaranteed.
Toshiba has now announced that they are dumping the format with production of both hardware and software being discontinued. So where does this leave the console war, which is still raging, and has no sign of an ultimate victor as of yet?
It seems that most analysts agree on the matter: that this will unsurprisingly be good for Sony and the PS3, and bad for Microsoft and the Xbox 360. The Nintendo Wii doesn’t come in to it, as it uses its own optical discs.
Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter told GamesIndustry.biz:
“Longer term, I think it’s a huge boon for Sony, as most retail clerks will be instructed to push Blu ray along with sales of HD monitors at holiday, so we should see a large increase in PS3 sales year-over-year at holiday.”
Screen Digest’s Ed Barton and Richard Cooper, agree:
“With the format war over, and the end of the consumer indecision resulting from it, video consumers are likely to purchase the PS3 as the most cost effective, future proof Blu ray player.”
It’s already well known that some consumers have bought a Playstation 3 purely on the strength of it being a low cost Blu ray player, particularly in Japan. Now, people who have wanted to get on the high definition ladder, but have been unsure which format to choose, can buy a PS3 safe in the knowledge that the technology will be hanging around for a while, at least until Direct Downloads become the present future.
So where does this leave Microsoft, who backed HD DVD with an official Xbox 360 drive? First, expect some price cuts, as every HD DVD player is going to be going to bargain basement levels very soon.
Then, you can fully expect Microsoft to switch sides and release an external Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360. They may even now take the plunge and launch a new Xbox 360 model with a Blu ray drive fully integrated, putting it on a par with the PS3. I would say it’s all a question of when, not if.
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