Sony needs to get Blu-Ray out there to make anything of the format, but at the price for the PS3 or a stand-alone Blu-Ray, they won\'t be getting my money. When the Blu-Ray DVD player is down around $200, I\'ll think about getting one.
Until then, I\'m happy with Netflix and used DVD movies.
Believe it or not, there are consumers who do not throw money away on every high tech gadget that comes down the pike.
It\'s a risk to inflate their PS3 cost with the Blu-Ray, but they\'re looking at it more as a way to move DVD players, not game systems. PS3 = something of a last hope for the overall health of Sony, which is not doing so hot as a company save for that PlayStation thingy.
-Dan
This is an interesting post. Oh how so many forget it was the PS2 that made DVD players affordable and as widespread as they are today. A 299 console with DVD playback, could play PSOne games, cd\'s, not to mention all the horsepower of the PS2 to play those games essentially snapped the market in two. Of course there was the nay-sayers who stated a stand-alone DVD player was far better, but for 299, you could get Sony\'s package or a standalone player -- and the price was the SAME. It\'s going to be about the same with blu-ray only a bit more expensive overall, but a standalone player or a PS3 is an easy choice to make if you\'re in the market for one or the other just as it was for DVD.
The only hurdle for Sony will be convincing people that they want or need to upgrade. The change from VHS to DVD was a no-brainer. People always hold on to old technology - there\'s still people today who buy records and 8-track tapes and there\'s no convincing them. It\'ll be up to the early adopters and Sony\'s marketing to make the push worth it because you\'re not just asking people to buy a PS3, you\'re asking them to buy an HDTV with 1080p as well. Worse yet, just as Riku said, the change from DVD to Blu-Ray is significant on paper, but the eye won\'t see that much of a difference except on the receipt.
One final note I wanted to bring up when it comes to making purchases and people complaining about prices though, although I know 599 is steep for many, Sony wants to keep this console out there for a long time, they don\'t want the PS4 to roll out in four years I\'m sure. With that said, if people are willing to blow 1000+ every 2-3 years on PC upgrades/new hardware, people will flock to buy PS3\'s.
