HD DVD: No Way For It To Come Back Against Blu-ray

CNBC, Julia Boorstin, Jan 04:

For years, everyone's been waiting for an indication that either Sony's Blu-Ray or Microsoft and Toshiba's HD DVD format would emerge triumphant and the other would go the way of the BETA deck.

Today, finally, a crucial tipping point in this battle in which the $20 billion dollar home video market is at stake -- Warner Bros has decided to distribute its high definition DVDs exclusively in the Blu-ray format, ditching its previous plan to distribute in both HD DVD and Blu-Ray.

Hollywood must be breathing a huge sigh of relief. All of Hollywood needs a format to win, and fast. This is bad news for Microsoft and Toshiba, the two main proponents of the HD-DVD format. At this point there's no way for HD DVD to make a comeback. The question now becomes, how quickly will Universal and Paramount/DreamWorks start distributing in Blu-Ray?

[MrSwede]

"Hollywood must be breathing a huge sigh of relief (I think I can hear the Disney and Fox execs from my office)" :) I liked that one!

[gtgcoolkid]

i can hardly believe it myself. this dumbass war has been going on for so long and then suddenly boom.

[Omicronn]

Everyone has been waiting for Warner.
I actually thought they might go HDdvd and make the war go on longer, but with pressure from Hollywood, they made a choice.

I dont care for either side,because they made us look like idiots for so long.
But the consumer wins.
And this is the end of it finally.

[mikeslemonade]

I predict in a month the Blu-ray Association will have another exclusive partner joining the bandwagon. The war is over the troops are coming home.

[TANOD]

BLU RAY FTW

[CRIMS0N_W0LF]

M$ are far from finished.

Their pockets run too deep....

[DrPirate]

2.1: This is true.

If anything, Microsoft wasn't a "huge" proponent of HD-DVD. If anything at all, they were probably being paid to support it, so it doesn't come at a loss at all to them. Whatever money they may have put in is pennies compared to the money they are making now on the 360, PC, and Peripheral (Mobile PC, etc) fronts.

[TANOD]

SONY has a total asset of 100+ B

MS has a total asset of 64 B

MS and TOSHIBA re bth finished

X360 too as well as HD DVD

@the BOT BELOW

MS total asset is 63+B

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/...

SONY's total assets is 99+B

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/...

SONY's total current assets = 38,647,146 ( 70% of MS's total assets)

SONY's long term investments =33,054,256 (53% of MS's total assets)

the net income is irrelevant as you can see SONY has more than enough cash in hand to finance anything

MS is a much smaller company than SONY and has barely any future investments. MS income is based on comtemporary progress not long term like SONY's

[Maddens Raiders]

I'm glad Blu-Ray has won and that the PS3 benefits as well, but I don't want M$ to be finished. Who else are we going to pick on and compare screenshots and footage with on 300 comment threads? What will be the measure of Nex-gen powerhouse supremacy w/o another HD console around? Do you just want to pick on wiitards only? That seems a little unfair. 8D

[Reanimator]

You are confused if you think SONY has more money than Microsoft. These are 2007 numbers (remember that while SONY products sell for more money, they also cost more to make, hence the Revenue Vs Net Income differences below:
Sony Vs Microsoft
Revenue- Sony 70.303Billion MS 51.12Billion
Op Income- Sony 608Million MS 18.52Billion
Net Income- Sony 1.071Billion MS 14.06Billion

In business, revenue or revenues (turnover in Europe) is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers.
Operating income is the difference between operating revenues and operating expenses, but it is also sometimes used as a synonym for EBIT and operating profit.[3] This is true if the firm has no nonoperating income.
Net income is equal to the income that a firm has after subtracting costs and expenses from the total revenue. Additionally, in the US net income is often (though ambiguously) called just income.

[Omicronn]

MS never loses, they have pockets of petty cash that most companies use to run a whole business.

But HDDVD lost, end of story.
Bluray and Sony win.

Suck it up everyone, Sony won a big war with this.

Beta Bluray (as some bozos call it)is the leader, HDDVD needs to make consumers happy and make a merge of some sort with bluray and figure out if they can do a firmware upgrade to their machines by next year so people didnt waste a ton of money for nothing when they made the WRONG choice.

[Lord_Mike]

Microsoft ain't finished but they lost.

[mikeslemonade]

Madden Raiders just made a classic post. That's a pretty clever one.

[MaximusPrime]

Attention HDDVD and their devoted supporters.

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[RudeSole Devil]

Awesome

[joydestroy]

ahahaha, fer realz

[Omicronn]

No offence,but that was seriously offensive...
Rub it in, but after 4 slides, i had to stop it, thats sick.
Very bad taste.

[bizi6498]

but so deliciously deserved...

Time to kick some xbot ass and chew bubble gum!
Not ready to make nice for quite some time I'm afraid.

Bubble up dude.

[Daishi]

What does this have to do with xbots? This wont even have an impact on games until next generation considering it may start as soon as '09 (it would be very interesting if we had 3 to 4 consoles released in 1 holiday season)

[Boink]

does that mean this stuff is going to fill up the news section for the next week or so?

[DrPirate]

I hope not. This is only proof that it's been a slow week for news.

Nothing interesting came out of December, and it seems January is going to be slow too.

Don't fear though, CES08 is coming up in February, plenty of interesting gaming news will arise from that.

[MrSwede]

@Boink: Yes. But after that it'll probably slow down since there's really nothing more to it. No more war!

[gamesR4fun]

We still got the ol my console has better games thing...
tho that looks pretty bleak for m$ too.

[mintaro]

unfortunatley, at this point there is absolutley nothing hd-dvd can do to come back. *cue the music*

[joemomma]

yes blu ray has the better name and specs. Hd dvd can never win.

[d3l33t]

CNBC = trusted news source

[mighty_douche]

if you were stupid enough to buy a HD DVD player or backed it purely because of your console of choose shame on you.

M$ need to learn people want them in their office, not their living room.

[sticky doja]

My 360 goes in my living room quite nicely, it fills my hdtv with gaming bliss.

[chfthnder26]

how is it that hddvd has been dead when from the beginnig when bluray cant even do the same things that hddvd can as far as extra features i really feel sorry for those people that bought blu ray players that cant be upgraed

[Arkham]

Now all you need is a PS3 to complement your setup and you're HD future-proof *and* in gamer's heaven.

[gamesR4fun]

lol ya we got the ps3 running in the living room no better way to stream our vids to hd and watch our b/r and dvd movies.
The360 for the most part sits in our bedroom and still see's a fair bit of usage mostly just games tho things too noisy for movies...

[Shankle]

"if you were stupid enough to buy a HD DVD player or backed it purely because of your console of choose shame on you."

Shut the f*ck up you pathetic fanboy. Would you like to explain to everybody what might have been a better reason to back a certain format? I only supported blu ray because I wanted a PS3. Many 360 owners only supported HD-DVD because of their add-on drive. Why would people make different choices? Because no one knew who would win. As a matter of fact I wish sony was backing the HD DVD. It has more features and has a better, less corny name. But this is how things are.
Don't you dare claim that you're better than other people because you got lucky.

[actas123]

Calm down, BR came free w/PS3, if PS3 had a B add on I don't think I was going to sell like it did. In other words, microsoft and apple created a layer of people that buy anyting they throw at them. Apple did a better job because their items are actually reliable (but overpriced) However, MS screwed up when they made 360...
The mentality of this layers of people are actually the reason for the manufacturing crisis the US has nowadays, it makes this companies too lazy to make something excellent, because they know that "Americans will buy it"... if you don't believe be, look at Ford motors. They used to be one of the best innovative COs in the world, and now look at them, stumbling but still still alive, why? because they have customers that are willing to take responsibility for their laziness and buy their cars...

[Maddens Raiders]

and someone sent me this news in-game. Wow. I really can't believe it. Kutaragi your a damn genius man. Thank God this suffering is over for consumers! Blu-ray for all. Drinks on me everybody! Kutaragi for the Nobel. (j/k)

Thanks Shadowflare ; )

[mighty_douche]

Shadowflare's headline on the PS3 made me look!!

Where is the f*cker? i got some bubbles for him!

[MaximusPrime]

Shadowflare?

Lol, he got the news from me. ;)

[MaximusPrime]

@8.1:

here you go:

http://www.n4g.com/NewsCom-...

[mighty_douche]

6 degrees of seperation!

[Maddens Raiders]

Thanks Maximus! I saw Mighty Douche jump off soon after I got it. Figured it must be real big news -- holy shyt and it was!!!!!

[EZCheez]

And Douche and Prime you guys are right up there with him.

I'm giving you guys bubbles for that, and for belonging to the smart group. A.K.A. the people who have already bought a PS3. A.K.A. the people who always knew this sort of stuff was inevitable.

You guys know what I mean. Play Beyond and all that sort of stuff.

[Shankle]

You really think that? I just kinda think that douche at least is a petty fanboy, but you clearly are as well, just for saying "play beyond". You guys are so annoying.

[m9105826]

Shankle... I don't recall anyone asking you your opinion. Let Sony and Blu-Ray people have our day in the sun, God knows we get shat on enough. This time, we win, and we're going to milk it for all it's worth. As the victories keep coming, the gloating will be less and less each time.

[Salvadore]

Tosbiha: Oh sh1t, what do we do Microsoft?

MS: I am just going to go and get my car keys....

3 months later...

Offical: MS has joined the Blu-ray camp.

Edit: Awesome ending heyheyhey

[heyheyhey]

lol that made me laugh, and heres the continuation:

M$: hey papa sony let me set up camp here

Sony: hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ok fine but only if you agree to a few things

M$: like what?

Sony: heh heh heh..... you'll see

one month late and M$ is a memeber of the BDA and has to bring the rest of the members cookies every day and lick the dirt off their diamond-encrusted shoes and they have to sing im a barbie girl on fridays while wearing a gimp suit and playing ps3 games on a sony bravia TV

[Sangheili85]

I see it this way..

Toshiba - What do we do now MS?
MS - what do you mean "we" I got my internet HD movies up a running.
Toshiba - But you said you support us!
MS - Yeah, About that.... Hmmmmm
Toshiba - Did you use me?
MS - Well i wouldn't use that word but along those lines..

2 weeks later..

Sony - Hey MS wanna join BluRay?
MS - haha I'm rich B!tch! i need no one!

[f7ss1]

so will blu ray become as common as a dvd in the next few years?

[mintaro]

probably, it seems like people are taking quite a shine towards blu-ray

[sak500]

Maybe, if the standalone hits 100$ this year.

[iLemon]

Now that competition is out of the way, I'm sure the prices will go ahead and drop.

[pwnsause]

I told you that forum rumor was true,
http://forums.highdefdigest...

[Blademask]

[edit]

I feel like i just got trampled by the mob. my inbox is like full..

nevermind.. Game On guys...

[mighty_douche]

Cant a Sony fan get a "Ahhh Mennn!!!" they've had pretty much nothing for the last 9 monthes, i think a little bragging is prefectly in order!

EDIT: You Pu55y! lol...

[Real gamer 4 life]

let microsoft learn a little leason here. The sole reason that blueray won this format war was because they over looked the quick cash and whent for the future. I remember early in the ps3 life cycle it was constantly bashed by the media and microsoft critize sony for releasing a high priced unit. But sony always stood there ground, and looked into the future. There was people declaring the ps3 as a failure and saying things like sony should already start making the ps4 and scrap the ps3. Sony use the ps3 as a trojan horse and it paid off. and now 2 years later they realize that they made a mistake and try to make it up by intergrating a hd-dvd player into the xbox 360, a little to late for that.

[mighty_douche]

i completely agree! Anyone who goes down the "cheap road" when it comes to media is a fool in my opinion, i look for longevity in my hardware, not whats cheap and available NOW!!!

[gamesR4fun]

no way would they have had such a consistent higher buy rate if it wernt for all us ps3 owners wanting to tap the best hd experience in the world.

[IGNFTW]

ROBBIE BACH SOLD HIS STOCK

[vloeistof]

now that sony does not have to worry about blu-ray anymore they can now focus on games yeaaah

[Devr]

Quick, someone prevent the guy who hacked the Blu-ray website from killing himself!

[MaximusPrime]

cool bluray commercial. one of the best

[Shankle]

Lol that's awful. Why can't they get the sony bravia team in on this kind of thing?

[MK_Red]

"Point of no Return" is reached :)
If only Paramount wasn't so greedy and hadn't accepted that 150 mil bribe.

[pwnsause]

well, they are gonna have to abandon ship soon.lmao, paramount is looking very dumb, BTW, the chances for microsoft adding HD-DVD on the 360 is now at %15, they cant adding that drive to the 360 when they heard the news that warner went BD exclusive, maybe a BD drive but not HD-DVD

[tatotiburon]

well finally the war is over and now i can wait for Star Wars Saga in Blu-Ray....last month all news was a xbox 360 game or wii game getting de GOTY award, PS3 fans deservs good news too.well this is not games news but is still news. Don't call themart, zhuk and other xbox supotters, they all are INTO GAMES, no movies. This news are good for SONY and the 80% install base that bought a PS3 only for movies

[heyheyhey]

oooh a new xbot and look at that he's already making up bullsh!t

[fopums]

Im pretty sure they are more into spreading fud over the internet then their beloved xbox's :(

[Maddens Raiders]

...this doesn't look good son. What do you have to say, hmm?

Jason?
FirstKnight?
Elite/Top Gamer/The Real Deal/Jayda2kballa
mesh1
zhuk
codzreal
daytona
iron wolf
Bladestar
Mr. Marbles
Jokes on Your entire life

What do you have to say about this obsolete piece of crap equipment MS has now shafted you with again. How much was that HD-DVD player? Oops!

JOY

[RonDeMuerte]

It's no surprise they've gone into hiding!!!....and The Mart always does this....remember when they first showed Killzone 2 at E3 07......hahahaha you couldn't find him anywhere!!!!!.....out of all X-bots, (I still think he's a rambling idiot) at least Power of Green doesn't hide like a little girl.....

[ITR]

Knowing MS:
We'll see a Xbox360/HD DVD combo and or something about their next gen console coming out next yr.

Either way I use BD players and HD DVD players everyday at work. I still like HD DVD players better.
I like the features. I'll have to wait till profile 2.0 in a BD player to even get what the HDA30 has now and it costs less.

So I'll be at least 2 yrs before prices come down far enough for me to buy one out right and also be profile 2.0.
Either way I'm not supporting either now since HD will probably got betamax and BD won't be complete for another yr or so from now.
Hell maybe another format will start up by then...I wouldn't doubt it.
Hell in two yrs we'll have 28-100mb DL speeds...so most folks will probably just DL HD movies anyways...by then.

[dragon376]

I know rumors was going about this happening, but I didn't expect this so soon... This is HUGE for the HD format... This is.... the end of the war format...
As a PS3 owner and a Microsoft not so much fan, this is also big for PS3/Sony, and pretty hard blow to Microsoft...

[P4KY B]

Even though i thought HDDVD had the superior software. BluRay had the superior hardware and the superior marketing.

Now lets hope we've seen the end of all these damn articles and get back to some proper games news.

[Thursday]

There is nu arguing that Blu-ray is the technically superior format, and I for one am glad that this has happened, since switching formats isn't something that I enjoy nor look forward to. We would need a new medium much faster if HD DVD was the victorious format, simple math.

I have a HD DVD player for my Xbox 360, and a PS3, so I can play either format, but I do prefer Blu-ray.

[power of Green]

"Blu-ray is the technically superior format"

You're Fucin crazy. lets not go overboard it was a great victory for Sony but lets not make up BULLSHIT alrighty...

[RonDeMuerte]

So if HD-DVD is the cheaper and better(According to you) format........then why is it failing so miserably????

[TrooGamer]

Its over please accept it.

[Lumbo]

more data per layer storage ability, higher possible bitrates due to higher data density at the same drive speed, thats technological superior.

The amount of superiority isn't the point, the discs are.

Now you will repeat a list of SOFTWARE features the HD-DVD players have right now that are better then some of the BluRay Players, but thats not a problem with the discs, thats pure firmware stuff that can be patched without any problems, whereas the physical superiority can't be patched away by HD-DVD. You can not "patch" higher density per layer into a disc, neither can you add higher bitrates. But you can easily add features like PIP and "web-connect" to the Players. ;)

[BLlNK]

Get over yourself. Bluray won for a reason. Go play in the fanboy boards.

[Thursday]

Name one way in which Blu-ray isn't technically superior.

[sticky doja]

I've got a one word answer for you: PS3.

[sanjay09]

yea it is superior than now dead HD DVD :P

[chfthnder26]

you know power of green i have been asking blu ray fans to give me a reason y blu ray is supposedly more superior and they have yet to tell me i guess they like just cuz it is a sony product which is stupid to me honestly i think that most bluray fans have never watched an hddvd movie cuz they would know that they dont have to leave the movie to see the menu or that they can download extra web enabled features for god sake they are still trying to get pip for bluray now to me that is pretty pathetic sense hddvd has had it from the beginning

[heyheyhey]

you want a reason why blu-ray is more technologically advanced? well since you ask:

Blu-Ray single layer= 25gb hddvd single layer= 15gb
Blu-Ray dual layer= 50gb hddvd dual layer= 30gb
Blu-Ray theoretical limit= 1000gb or 1TB
hddvd theoretical limit= 200gb
blu-ray= PiP (picture in picture)
hddvd= no PiP
blu-ray= extra protective layers to make disks scratch-resistant
hddvd= no such layers

that enough for you blind xbot?

[ITR]

Heyheyhey:
No pip for HD DVD???
They had it from day one!
BD only had it in profile one by putting two sizes of the movie on the disc. By profile 1.1 this was fixed.

As for the simple firmware updates. Ask the many customers that bought a bdps300 and can't update to profile 1.1. What do I tell them go buy a PS3 or just wait a yr for profile 2.0.
If you have to buy a standalone right now you might as well wait a yr for profile 2.0.
Well unless you want a PS3.

I could careless about the space on the disc..it was always a mute point considering other formats coming out soon can do more then 1-2 terabytes per disc.
All I cared about was features on the disc and currently HD DVD has the most.
It won't be until profile 2.0 and then finally the BD format will match features already on the HDA30.

The only thing I like on BD is the disc coating...they should do this on DVD's too.
Glad I didn't buy that HDA30 this Dec...damn WB...

[Stray_Wulf]

PowerofGreen says: "24 - ^^^
"Blu-ray is the technically superior format"

You're Fucin crazy. lets not go overboard it was a great victory for Sony but lets not make up BULLSHIT alrighty..."--

LMAO dude u just keep getting funnier every week, in sort of a pathetic way lol. Do you not realize already that everyones laughing at u for ur extreme fanboyism? what r u gonna say next? "Oh sure PS3 won but its still not superior!!" lol damn man... i really think u need a life

[Tarmgar]

Sony and all the backers of Blu-Ray had "Balls of Steel!"

[tatotiburon]

and again this is bad news for Microsoft because...????...The Xbox 360 with HD-DVD built-in is only a rumor, Microsoft isn't selling HD-DVD movies, Microsoft only sell a HD-DVD add-on if you want it or not you still enjoy the best game exprience in the market (all 2007's GOTY are in Xbox 360 and one in Nintendo Wii) so?? once again this is bad news for Microsoft because???...yes more people will buy a PS3 'cause is the cheaper BR player and also play games, but wich console will sell more games? yes you're right kids, Xbox 360 will sell more game, money to Microsoft pockets and you kid probably say "nahhh i can play xbox 360 on my pc like Bioshock" ok that's truth but you need Windows for it and more money to Microsoft Pockets. Microsoft loves money and if they want they can launch a BR player add-on for fill up their pockets.....so and again this is bad news for microsoft because....???

[Lumbo]

So what will they do with all the useless HD-DVD addons they have in their warehouses, will they turn in a profit by just sitting there, as honestly no one who is not completely insane is gonna buy one now. Microsoft was invested into the HD-DVD tech (ok, not as deeply as Toshiba, but nevertheless...) and all that money is now down the drain.

It always is a financial loss if your system of choice looses a "format war", no matter how much spin you add to it, MS backed the wrong horse there, and thats it. And additionally their backup plan to drag this format war on and on by bribing key studios to switch sides to HURT all hd disc medias in general and reap in cash via digital distribution failed, too. The Warner shift will end the War quickly and therefor result in a single format on the market, no more consumer confusion and therefor solid sales.

[sanjay09]

if i am correct the only place 360 sell games is NA and some in Europe and the gap is closing in NA and its bad new for Microsoft is because they supported HD-DVD

[heyheyhey]

wrong again mr.xbot ps3 inst the cheapest BD player anymore- there are BD players selling for $299 which means that people only interested in movies will buy those players and gamers will buy the ps3- and who will buy the 360 ah yes delusional grannies who thought that is what their grandkids wanted because M$ employees are moonlighting as store clerks and are feeding those poor grannies M$ BS (ok that last bit about about store clerks is a joke but everything else is true)

[Arkham]

It might be bad news for MS because:

- Their HD add-on may be obsolete sooner than expected
- A Blu-ray add-on would give Sony a one-up in terms of standard functionality, negating the price differential between platforms
- Said possible Blu-ray add-on would suggest that MS made the wrong choice to begin with.
- Sony benefits from a possible (now probable?) Blu-ray standard.

It might not be bad news because:

- MS will re-re-emphasize that their platform is currently the most popular choice for *gaming only*. Their system is all about the games: the best-selling games, the most games, etc., etc...
- They will be able to focus on their strong suits and batter the "Games only!" refrain into people's minds.

There's no doubt this announcement is causing concern in the MS camp, but the console war's not over. It's going to be a harder year game-wise than 06/07 but an even tougher year media-wise for the 360. I think the worst that can happen to the 360 camp by Dec'08 is a veritable tie in terms of installed user-bases.

I do suspect that if Universal follows suit before September, there'll be hell to pay in Redmond, WA.

[gamesR4fun]

Ya but lets face fact is b/r winning will help move ps3's Good part of the reason Sony's been so reluctant to get the price down on the stand alone players...
And ya well see some killer games on the 360 in the next couple years but with every exclusive release the ps3 widens the power gap between it and the competition.IMO at this point M$ can drop out in a few years or jump the gun on its next console... Personally I hope they stick it out and wouldnt be surprised to hear Bill Gates mention something at his speech soon. If its not about the next xbox then they'll be going into the hand helds with a vengeance...

[Yosking]

We all knew this was coming, this is just one more nail in HD-DVD's coffin....MUAHAHAHA POINTS (hddvd/360) LAUGHS!!!!!!

PS3 ROCK ON!!!!!!
*guitar hero theme**

[unlimited]

its over ..Sony celebrating with all their studio backers right now..

[THE_JUDGE]

now send what you said to Toshiba so we can really end it.

[dragonJP]

Everybody's going back to the bargaining table. Just because Warner went Blu does not end the format war immediately. Paramount and Universal aren't going to just give up overnight, and could conceivably hold out for awhile, dragging this out. Sony now has the leverage to negotiate a single format with Toshiba to completely and swiftly end this whole mess.

[Reanimator]

MS stated back in 2005 that they would support the HD format that "won", but decided to initially go with HD-DVD due to lower costs. They stated they could (would) make another add-on if needed. Also, in reference to this "Ultimate-360" rumor, Gates also stated MS would probably have to release an upgraded system in a few years, to make up for hitting the next-gen market first. The PRIME GOAL was to establish a firm foothold in the gaming market, which they have. How the 360 was designed was all about costs, and to release a PS3 equal would have been prohibitively expensive at the time of release (2005). That's why the HD-DVD was not incorporated into the 360. It would have cost MORE than the PS3, since it would have been manufactured and released over a year earlier, before the manufacturing costs of HD-DVD were able to come down. That's the main reason the PS3 was delayed twice, for the manufacturing costs to come down. The "Ultimate-360" may not be real, but we should expect something similar real soon. It will maintain compatibility, but significantly increase performance and media capabilities (IPTV).

[HarryEtTubMan]

haha Sony knows what they are doning in the format war and the console war. Microsost is fighting the biggest Titan they could even go to battle wioth. A Blu Ray playing PS3 will be 250$ in 2 years.... be very afraid... its gonna beat the 360 bad. Its the Playstation 3.

Dark Knight on Blu Ray for the win baby!

[joydestroy]

all those that already saw Blu-ray as the winner, say I...

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII II!!!

[macalatus]

To all the proud PS3 owners out there, this video is for you!! And oh, MS fanboys, feel free to check this one out too, as it also has a message to all of you!!

[Mercutio]

NO TIME FOR LOSERS ! COS WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!

[NoxiousD]

WoW!!! omfg i can't beleive what i am reading. I always liked blu ray better i freaking bought blu ray movies lol and i am not being a sony fan boy i own both systems!! Blu Ray my friends and I knew were going to win, this is just incredible I say. I just wished Transformers would have went Blu Ray but we may get it sooner than we thought.

[heyheyhey]

for sure man i NEED transformers on BD RIGHT NOW!!!

[DFresh]

You got that right and on those deals you mentioned earlier.
Paramount was paid $100 million dollars to go Blu-ray exclusive for 2 years and the deal should wear out in February of 2008.
My friend and future computer animation mentor Mike Mynn who works for Dream Works told me their just waiting for the deal from Toshiba to end come so they can go Blu-ray exclusive.
So really once Paramount waits for the contract to end both companies will go Blu-ray exclusive because Paramount owns a large part of Dream Works so there you go kill 2 birds with one stone.
I'll tell you why Sony will always win every single format war and hear me out they own 2/3 of the movie industry in stock which means they have 1st pick at choice of movies before anyone else.

[nice_cuppa]

microsoft should license blu-ray for 360 and make it cheap as hell.

want a cheap player get the xbox360blu

[Arkham]

Not likely. It'd most likely be perceived as a sign of desperation and defeat. Bill Gates is an obsessive-compulsive egomaniac. As far as he's concerned, he is *never* wrong. I would be greatly surprised if this supposed CES'08 bombshell has anything to do with Blu-ray.

If the consumer doesn't think it, the media certainly won't hesitate to describe MS as "playing catch-up." Look at how quickly and definitively the major mass media outlets have caught onto this story. I mean, they hardly ever talk about HD-DVD or Blu-Ray and now they're going bug-kcuf over this story.

[NoxiousD]

any one wanna guess who the next to cross over is? i am saying paramount!!!

[resistance100]

My money is new line cinama.

[Arkham]

Nah, New Line Cinema is owned by Warner.

I doubt Paramount will break its exclusivity deal, so I'm calling (and hoping) Universal. (They've got the classics that I want.)

[Maddens Raiders]

Peter Moore is the smartest man on Earth.

[Lord_Mike]

Xbox 360 ultimate with Bluray drive FTW

[Tyrael]

First, congratulations to Sony for finally getting it right in the format department.

And second, I would like to bid a warm farewell to HD-DVD. The competition between both formats, although a long and painful process, has allowed prices to drop significantly lower, significantly sooner than expected.

[caffman]

congrats blu-ray but does it mean anything for the average 360 owner? Unless you got a hd-dvd drive not a great deal. I have always said if I want a blu-ray player I'd get a PS3. Just haven't got round to it. I can see a 360 blu-ray add on within a year

[Stray_Wulf]

More movies for me then :D ...but i kinda feel bad for HD DVD now, sucks for them...

[DJ]

Canceling their CES Event proves this.

[Spinitus]

now we can break out the popcorn and sodas and celebrate lol. Blu-Ray FTW.

[Xbox is the BEST]

Transformers was the number #1 selling HD movie. When you compare the Blu Ray players out there this should never happened. 8 million BR players out worldwide and not one movie sold 1 million to date. Very slow adoption if you ask me. WB will come crawling back to HD DVD.

[RudeSole Devil]

Once that contract was singed WB is now Sony's bit_ch. HD-DVD just need to move on.

[scrillakiller]

shut up already and go back and cry.ur delusional.anyway hd dvd is done mr hopes.trade in garbage with the movies prepare for the futue cuz its blue

[RudeSole Devil]

Sony will for sure win the format war, but what really confused me is why Microsoft let this happen. Sony will also win the console war, because no matter what people say the Xbox 360 really needs a larger format to replace the current DVD 9 drives leaving Blu-Ray Microsofts only choose. On top of that developers need to really start papering for Blu-Ray being the next-gen format for future consoles drives, and PS3 will start being the industry primary SKU when developing cross platform games. Microsoft where's your balls when it really mattered.

[gamesR4fun]

Things might of ended differently but fact is from the start M$ was only interested in seeing both formats lose. Now the 360 is the next dreamcast... only worst because it actually is the inferior machine.

[The Milkman]

One thing Xbox 360 is not the next dreamcast in no means. The Xbox 360 at the moment still has the best games for it right now. Yes I do believe the PS3 will gain more power and is possible for it to be bypass the xbox 360. But as of now thats a no.

The format war and the console war is two different things. I come to like to have all three companies to succeed. Which Microsoft has made good profit from the Xbox 360, Nintendo has made good profit from the Wii, and Sony I believe is soon to make good profit from the PS3 especialy for supporting Blu ray. Thats how I like to see it, Because as long as all 3 companies compete we are all going to get a piece of the cake.

So gamesR4fun you realy dont get the picture. I knew that right when you said MS wanted both formats to lose. You are not open minded enough to understand. Your probably like 12 hugging a console for no reason. If your not 12 grow up man seriously go get laid stop educating yourself with crap paper from these fanboys on this site.

If fanboys had it their way, this is what this site would look like.

http://futureconan.ytmnd.co...

Help stop the cause.

[Raargh]

Bummer. Still, I hope HD DVDs keep coming out for a while, I like them better then Blu-rays. Format wars suck for the consumer man, I'm glad I waited.

[baseline]

For those who want the inside scoop from some of the industry's most respected analyzers and also for the tech differences between HD-DVD and BD, check out: www.thedigitalbits.com

This guys really now their stuff, they've been around since the Laser Disk days.

[Figboy]

Blu Ray: "It's you and me, HD DVD..."

HD DVD: "No, Blu Ray, it's just me!"

Blu Ray: "At the end of this day, one shall stand, and one shall fall."

now if only i can get my Transformers on Blu Ray in the next few weeks (you're crazy if you think that Paramount didn't have a "get out of jail free" clause in their HD DVD contract). considering that the Paramount announcement came only a few *DAYS or so before the release of Transformers, it's not unreasonable to think that in a warehouse somewhere, there are a *BUNCH of already manufacturered, packaged, and *BOXED copies of Transformers on Blu Ray. after all, it takes a few weeks to manufacturer discs, and an unceremonious dumping like Paramount did means they couldn't cancel the order immediately, meaning some discs were probably manufactured by then.

which brings me to this: Warner Bros. gets some points for not leaving HD DVD users in the dust like Paramount did with Blu Ray.

Warner Bros is still releasing their titles up until *MAY, four months from now, as opposed to just dropping HD DVD like a bad habit. it's a very classy movie, granted due to the fact that they're still under contract with HD DVD, but still nice for HD DVD users nonetheless. they get to enjoy a few more HD releases until it's over (as well as the movies they already own on HD).

[blade206]

remember when m$ said we are giving the comsumer a choice well are they going to make a blu ray add on or was that just talk

[Pika-pie]

Great! Excellent to see the the superior format win over cheap and cheerful.

HD-DVD can pull up a chair next to other failures like Laser Disc and Betamax. I dont feel the least bit bad for Toshiba, they got what they deserve for paying off Paramount and pushing low end inferior budget players. Justice has been done and we can all now buy Bluray movies in confidence.

[jorellpogi]

It's opportune time to hoard BLU-RAY movies and create a decent library. It's finally over, good for us consumers.

[sak500]

WTF, MS cannot make a bluray addon ? Or why wouldn't they if they think its feasable? Idiot sonydroids, do u know SOny Vaio notebooks use MS's windows? Who ends up making money? And that is more than what Sony will make on the addon bluray player for 360.

[Jandre02]

IF they do make an XBox blu-ray add-on, it will sold by Sony :-D.
And it would cost craploads of money.

[prowiew]

I dont understand what this war got to do with the console wars. I love fanboys "puppets". They are the al qaeda for their companies. Whatever the company decides they are happy! Die for microsoft or sony. I have said it before in my predictions, 2008 will be the year of the whinning fanboys. It already starts.

ps. Now that the format war is over, its time to end the console war in 2008.

[HardcoreGamer]

I hate it when you cant have a normal debtate, all the xbox fanboys are gone hiding,

PLEASE COME AND DISCUSS

[Dogswithguns]

win some or loose some.... blu-ray is clearly better.

[achira]

nice that blu ray won. now ps3 will win too.

[ROCCOZILLA]

next in line were coming for you xbox!prepare to die.play b3yond

[Lionsguard]

it's time to buy HD-DVDs now since they'll all soon be rare, hard to find artifacts.

[GodGinrai]

"I hate it when you cant have a normal debtate, all the xbox fanboys are gone hiding"

This is not a bebate....it was a debate until that tanod guy posted..and then after that it just seemed to turned into a ps3 fanboy victory dance for blu ray.debate isnt a word i would use by any stretch of the imagination to describe what ive been reading here mate.with regards to the topic tho im glad BR won.it seemed like the better format technically and now that whole format war is over i know what to get for my pops on his 50th in may.Im not up to speed on standalone BR players,or hd-dvd for that matter(not really a home film person myself...i prefer going to cinemas ...gotta love the BIG screen!)...can they play dvd`s and upscale them? he`s got a ton of dvd`s and it would be a bonus.with regards to the fanboys here......i own a 360 ,wii ,ps2,DC,pc,apple g5 (for making music)..in no way am i a fanboy when i say this (shoot...im buyin a ps3 eventually when the good games come...eventually...)...but you are all really sad.im embarrassed for you when you type the things you type..im glad no 360/wii/or any other brand loyal gamer has responded to the nerdish jibes your type come out with.posting stats... adding links ....TYPING IN CAPS..this is my 3rd and last post.when i get my ps3 im not going online with it simply because i hope i never have to hear a fanboy rant in person. bad enough seeing it splattered all over this website.im also going to stop checking the news on this site because for some reason the more i read on here the less i want a ps3.do your spam/bubble thing all you want .i know it will make ya`ll happy...R4G is a ps3 fanboy site ,i think if you own any other console than a ps3 you should just leave this site alone .cvg,ign,games radar and edge are all better sites than this trash.im out.

[JenovaXD]

I'm glad Blu-Ray won.

[ravenguard88]

Why does everyone think Microsoft is in on the HD-DVD pie? Why is Sony the only mentioned proponent for BD? This articles is missing some professionalism, and it's going to lead to the same old my console is better than yours crap.

[Si-Pie]

I dont know the answer to this either. From what ive read in the past microsoft didnt really support either side but just went with HD-DVD to draw out the format war. Dont microsoft want to push digital distribution???? There is nothing stopping MS anyway from releasing a blue-ray player add-on. I really expected Blue-ray to win and will now pick up a PS3 later this year when the prices drop again .

[thepill88]

For those of you saying that Microsoft was not in on the HD-DVD format are retarded. I guess the $150 million payoff in September for WB HD-DVD exclusive wasnt an investment...

[Si-Pie]

I dont think calling people retarded is helping anything is it! Just going to cause contention. However of course Microsoft has a stake in HD-DVD as they have a HD-DVD addon for the 360 out there which basically will be rendered useless now. But Microsoft isnt developing HD-DVD they just backed it and I think they did that only to draw out the format war. Wasnt long ago I read sony was inviting MS to join the Blu-ray camp. Im glad one side has one because it will give people the confidence to commit to buy a player.

[sonyfanonly]

ah the xbots are beside themselves about this soon paramount and universial will switch

[NoxiousD]

I would had never bought that add on for my 360... yes i did think about it, but made a better choice.. Sticking the Blu, now to watch my TMNT disc lol

[The Milkman]

I had the feeling that blu ray would probably win. But I wasnt sure yet so I decided just to play it safe and see the outcome. Because you cant ever 100% sure sometimes.

[bombzombie]

Still, Hollywood’s not out of the woods yet. Though Warner’s move gives Blu-ray a clear advantage over HD DVD, there’s no guarantee the masses will embrace either disk format. It’s up to industry marketers to devise a way to convince consumers that it’s a good idea to keep buying movies on discs, rather than rent or download them.

Those strategy sessions are increasingly at the heart of CES, a show that used to focus on the nuts and bolts of electronics. Hollywood dealmakers descended on Las Vegas in force this week to hobnob with technology and retail executives in the hotels along the Strip and, they hope, hit upon a formula that will reinvent the business of entertainment.

“It’s become more important to us, especially as it relates to digital distribution,” Tsujihara said. “Longer term we believe that the growth for our industry is going to come from transitioning that standard definition player base to higher definition, and transitioning some of that to digital distribution as well.”