Senior home entertainment executives believe PlayStation 3's Blu-ray capabilities can make it a hit this Holiday season.
The Blu-ray Disc Association held an international two-day press event in Hollywood this week to drive awareness for its next generation DVD format. PlayStation 3, which is expected to be the lead hardware driver for this new movie format over the long haul, was a major part of the summit.
"PS3 is an incredible gaming platform that just happens to be a really great Blu-ray player, too," said Steve Feldstein, senior vice president, corporate and marketing communications, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
"Interestingly, there is a lot of crossover between the early adopter, the PlayStation 3 purchaser and the products that are being released early in Blu-ray's life cycle. A lot of the more male-oriented titles that we're releasing, the sales numbers indicate they're being played on PS3s."
Ron Schwartz, executive vice president and general manager, Lionsgate Home Entertainment, said that the Blu-ray installed base has grown at a pretty quick clip because of the PS3.
"The great thing about PS3 is that it's a multipurpose media device that can play in the living room without the purchase of any additional components," said Schwartz. "I'm not certain how people are going out and buying the external HD-DVD drive for Xbox 360. Originally it wasn't HDMI compatible and there were issues that I'm sure have been addressed, but with the PS3 you have everything. I think the PS3 is a killer app and as more games come online it's only going to be good for Blu-ray."
Gordon Ho, executive vice president of marketing, product and business development, Walt Disney Home Entertainment, said one of the things Hollywood studios have to do is get together and educate consumers that the PS3 is an excellent Blu-ray Disc player. Ho said the PS3 was the number one hardware device for its recent five free BR-D disc promotion with the purchase of any new BR-D.
