Xbox 360 head wrong - Blu-ray doing just fine

Recently, Xbox 360 product manager, Aaron Greenberg, indicated in an interview that the Blu-ray is not the future. He also goes on to take stabs at Sony for some of its decisions regarding the PS3.

Apparently, analysts and vendors are in fact stating that the Blu-ray is definitely no DVD; in fact according to them it is actually doing much better than the DVD did back 11 years ago.

[sonarus]

Thats enough N4G for one day. I'll be back when there is real news

[Breakfast]

Thats until we fill the comment section with spam.

xbox is the best

[Fishy Fingers]

I dont understand this. You moan about this "news" yet you clicked on it and proceeded to comment on it.

Doesn't interest you, dont click on it.

[mikeslemonade]

PS2 didn't come out until 2 years later after DVD was first introduced and PS3 came out within months of the first blu-ray player so that should be the reason why the acceptance is about twice as big.

[ReBurn]

The PS2 was not responsible for DVD's success like the PS3 has been for Blu-Ray. The first generation of PS2's had horrible DVD drives and the quality of the playback was terrible. There were many DVD's that it wouldn't even play. Remember the DRE problems?

Sony didn't release their own DVD remote until a year after the console released, and early adopters had to have a memory card to store the updated DVD drivers so that they could watch many movies. It also didn't support progressive scan until much later than most standalone DVD players.

Sony did it right with the PS3, making the remote available from the start. They learned a lot from the early PS2 problems.

[Karum]

You mean you'll be back when there's another anti blu-ray article right?

clown

[prunchess]

The article on that site makes some valid points, maybe you'd like to address them?

[Sarcasm]

"We believe that we shouldn’t force consumers to pay for things they don’t want"

It should read instead

"We believe that we shouldn’t force consumers to pay for things they don’t want, we just force them to pay for things they do NEED like our $99 wifi, and over priced HDDs, and xbox live"

[dcbronco]

Once again Mike Ferro proves he's a complete fanboy Ass Clown. While Blu-ray may have had 17% of the disc sales on one title, the rest of the Blu-ray titles sold next to nothing. With most of the top twenty selling less than 5,000 disc.

While UMD is only a PSP format, the PSP continues to sell well while most studios won't make movies for UMD anymore. The studios that do, release only some movies on the format. And even Sony is rumored to be moving away from UMD on the next PSP.

And while he keeps pushing Blu-ray on the 360, Blu-ray is a major factor in the Sony's move from first to third place with little hope of moving up. So it would be really smart for Microsoft to jump in that sinking ship. So while you say it's nickel and diming, I say it's not forcing overly expensive products on your customers. I don't want Blu-ray or HD DVD. I refuse to over pay. And guess who is nickel and diming you more than anyone? The studios. They bring out a new format every time the previous one becomes less lucrative.

Lastly, let's address the Singulus point. You and the stupid analyst are stating that Blu-ray is doing better because Singulus had 4 more machines ordered than DVD at the same point in their lives. Gee, let's think about that. In DVDs second year you played DVDs on..... a DVD player. There was no Xbox or PS2, just DVD players. And even when they released, some of the games still came on CDs. Also, there were not as many studios and not all of the studios there were participated in making DVD movies. Besides Warner, if I remember correctly, most were only doing some of their movie or just starting to do movies on DVD. Disney wasn't doing DVDs at all.

Now with Blu-ray, Sony forced blu-ray on you with the PS3 and bought off most of the studio support from day one. At this point home movies are by far the leading income generator for the studios unlike when DVD came in. More than 40% of what the studios make on movies comes from DVD. So Blu-ray came into a market with the table set for it. But all it can do is sell 4 more machines. You call that successful?

Mikeslemonade, you're exactly right. If DVD had complete studio support from day one and a consoles that used the disc, it would have need far more than 21 machines.

[IcarusOne]

If you consider 3% of the market to be just fine.

Look at the sweeping trends moving us toward all things digital. Blu-ray needs at least five years to catch on. Downloadable media is only going to get more and more prevalent. I'm officially advising my friends NOT to switch over to Blu-ray. Stick with DVD a little longer. The era of HD downloads is at hand.

[Genesis5]

Well if you consider .5% for DD catching on. You might need a math lesson.

Hey where does Greenberg get his inside information from? Bruceongames perhaps.

[prunchess]

your willing to pay all the additional cost involved with Direct Downloads just to push the console of your choice? Would you rather delete a game from your hard drive once you've finished it or would you rather trade it in for something new?

You have a new format available, that if integrated into a model 360 would give this machine an extra edge. Just think of all the uncompressed data that it could hold.

MS want Direct Downloads, they stand to make the most money from it. Personally I would always prefer a disk over data. I bought Warhawk on disk and Gran Turismo. As long as disk is available, I will purchase the disk version.

Blu Ray is the future, my fellow gamers. Give up the hate and embrace it.

[Patrick]

He is right. The 360 doesn't need a Blu-ray drive. If you 360 fans don't want one.. thats ok.. Blu-ray isn't hinging on your acceptance. It doesn't NEED you. They would love to include you in enjoying HD movies in all their glory but it is successful and will continue to be so, without you. The world doesn't evolve around you. FACT is Blu-ray is taking off faster than DVD and is doing well. Sure the prices are high compared to current DVD prices.. but why wouldn't it be. Do you really expect companies to spend money making something better and then sell it for the same price as the lesser quality product? That just delusional fanboy thinking. But prices will come down more. Blu-rays will continue to sell. DVD will be around for a while still but thats not unusual. Point is, The Future really is Blu with or without you. Sorry to break it to you.

[Stubacca]

I take it you DON'T have a Blu-Ray player then? You obviously know nothing about High Definition either. Blu-Rays are the way forward. In just 5 months, we've seen them triple the retailer acceptance and reach millions of consumers.

Currently, Blu-Rays and Sky HD are the only ways to make proper use of a HD TV (which is the only type of television most companys manufacture these days). People spend thousands of pounds on HDTVs and a Blu-Ray player (PS3 or otherwise) is the only real option for people who think quality counts.

"They bring out a new format every time the previous one becomes less lucrative." -Obviously. Otherwise we'd all be watching VHS and listening to Vinyl.

My problem is that you are the ultimate fanboy. You claim that Sony PUSHED Blu-Ray on the consumers. Not really. If you don't want Blus, don't buy them. At least Sony gave us a choice. M$ have called the shots for all their little fanboys like yourself. If I was you, I'd be furious at M$ for not giving their dedicated and loyal fanbase the choice of physical HD medium. 50gb for movies and games.

If you're not bothered about it, then don't worry. Don't get involved in the D revolution. But for me, I now know I'll Never buy a 360 (not even the elite) because it'll never be a truly HD system.

Go play your X-Box Arcade on a SDTV. I'll stick with my mighty Blu-Ray collection on my 1080p Viera.

[DaTruth]

When your XBOX 720 red rings on you, do you think it's gonna come back with all your movies and games on it. All your movies and games will be wiped from the drive and don't expect them to give you seven extra downloads like PSN store.

@stubacca: I was just at Walmart today and even they don't sell SDTV's anymore. Everybody's gonna to buy HDTV's and not watch Hi-Def content.

[Beast_Master]

You do know that for 85% of original ps2 owners, it was their first DVD player and it helped DVD to become the new media format much sooner than it did? I know for me and most of my friends it was true, and I still have my old TV in my bedroom with my PS2 hooked up as a DVD player.

[JoySticksFTW]

@Reburn: PS2 was a whole lot of people's first DVD player. Was it the greatest quality? nope.

DRE and no progressive scan... but people bought it for games with the bonus of watching movies.

I always thought VHS would be good enough for me, until I bought my PS2 and borrowed a DVD from a friend. It was all over after that :)

With PS3, I work with people who only bought ther PS3's as blu-ray players (the best one for the money).

[Snukadaman_]

So there was another ps3 version without blu-ray?

[Electricear]

So many people here don't seem to realize that a HD download of Blu-ray quality is going to be relatively Huge, and until the world is wired to handle files that large, companies remove 250GB or less download caps and we have triple digit terabyte drives to store the stuff on HD downloads are simply not going to supplant a physical medium for anything other than limited area rental purposes.

[dcbronco]

If I was a fanboy I wouldn't own any Sony products, I do. I base my decisions on facts. While I watch HD everyday, on cable(while it's not real HD, it's better than standard), I refuse to overpay for content. Blu-ray will only be for games in five years. Don't be surprised if it starts to disappear this January.

Just because people spend money on something doesn't mean it's successful. People bought Laserdisc too. They bought UMDs, Betamax, the original Divx, Mini-disc and Zip drives. Big deal.

Bringing out new formats is not always the best thing. For uninformed people, they believe CDs sound better than vinyl, not the case. Even Mini-disc have better sound than CDs. My problem is Sony making an overly expensive format. Overly expensive in every way. From making the blanks to duplicating the disc. And then they want me to pay extra just because they want a larger share of the royalties than Toshiba. I don't think so.

By the time Blu-ray prices come in line where they should be, DD will be readily available and all of the Blu-ray adopters will be buying again. Because while some people complain about the availability of broadband, more than half of America will have it at a cheap price in five years.

And Sony definitely pushed Blu-ray on people. There are very few games that need more than a DVD9. And the Blu-ray in the PS3 is too slow for games. They have to have installs just to get close to the load speeds of DVD. And what choice, buy the $500 dollar machine with missing features or the $600 machine. They both include Blu-ray. And the both cost Sony over $800 to make. So how well does that work out for Sony.

Well let's see...it worked out so well they started to make several new models with features taken out. They added free games and movies to get people to buy consoles. They offered as many as 8 movies with each player just to get someone to buy one. I bought a DVD player for $500 the week they came out and nobody was offering anything free. Blu-ray and the Cell have sent Sony from number one to number three in one generation. And cost them billions in money they will neer recover and couldn't afford to lose. And if 50 gbs is needed so badly for games, look at PSN and tell me how many games available for download are close to 50 gbs. You're completely ignoring the evidence in your face.

So I'll wait for HD downloads. Especially considering 4k will be the new standard in the next 5-10 years. I'll continue to play my Xbox in 1080p and wait for a reasonably priced HD service. If studios had any character they would offer licensing agreements and charge a small fee for new higher quality codecs of their films. That would be no different than having accounts like Netflix except that you have the movies on your hard drive. If they make money off of rental services like Netflix, they would make it from licensing agreements. Enjoy your overpriced movies.

[Rick Astley]

Aaron Greenturd needs to die already.

[LITTLE BIG PLANET IN]

I dont wish him death,I wish him torture!10 hours playing Too Human should do the trick :D !!!

[FAQS]

at 1.1.
Q: what?
A: AHAHAHAHAH, that was great man! It's the most Horrible torture Ever!!!!

[Narutone66]

"May his armpits be infected with lice from a thousand camels".

[DARKKNIGHT]

wait you guys didnt know?

360 will Pwn in 2009.
bluray sux its the same quality as hddvd. hddvd is the future.
360 failure rate is 1%.
dvd is fine for games.

LOL. microsoft, and its fanz as a whole, are a bunch of idiots.

[Pain]

M$ a never ending Cancer.

[Why o why]

anyway he works for MS and its their culture to downplay what they dont have. Its ingrained in their being so much its almost like when MS interview you they will ask for your opinion about one of their competitors or one of their products. You answer with humility and honesty and thats a big fat X on your interview slip accompanied with a condescending 'Riiiiiiiiiight' .........................next

[kratos-i-am]

No wonder the Xbox is so ugly, it probably mirrors his looks!
Though seriously what did you expect him to say? Microsoft is getting it's a** whooped on all fronts where it's second in gaming, second in browsers, second with Silverlight, second with media software (itunes), hated or disliked by consumers (I'm a pc... need I say more?), and newest OS is being rejected by business and some private consumers (IBM + other companies trying to avoid Vista + future MS operating systems by releasing their own OS), Oh and don't forget google going after their Office programs! Oh and HDDVD!
MS just wants to be the leader in something! I guess they feel providing a video download service would become as popular as itunes is with music. They need something considering even their own OS marketshare is being eroded by Linux, and Apple. lol everything they touch seems to fall apart!
Feel sorry for them as they feel like a once popular pop singer which was big in the 80s and 90s but hasn't been able to keep up!

[prunchess]

They only want Digital Downloads for everyone so they can cash in on those of us that buy second hand games and movies. Just another nickle and dime move by another MS fat cat used to increase revenue and share price.

MS fanboys don't fall for this sh!t Greenberg is spouting. Tell MS that you want a disk, not some data that you download that can never be re-sold!

[IcarusOne]

When you say Xbox is 2nd in gaming, you mean it's behind the Wii, right? Because I know that no sensible, informed individual would claim the PS3 is "whooping xbox a$$" when Sony's console is dead last of the three in terms of units sold.

I'm still waiting for my PS3 to do more than just play Blu-rays and fold proteins, so I understand why you Sony flamers are so bitter. I would be - if all I had was a PS3.

[Mr BlueScreen]

I don't know what you do with your ps3(if you have one) but it certainly does more then play blu-ray movies.
All I have is a ps3 and I play damn good games on it. I also surf the net, play music AND play online with my friends for FREE.
So as far as I can see, the xbox is DEAD last and the ps3 is First. As far as sales go the ps3 is still whooping the 360 butt. ;-)

[Why o why]

just sell it. You obviously dont buy games so just sell it. You are insignificant to sony's cause and prolly wont be missed, i hear theres a site called ebay; use it

[robotnik]

I hate his stupid smile

[LITTLE BIG PLANET IN]

lol it is cheesy :P

[Rick Astley]

This fat child molestor is the father of N4G member Icewake. PM him if you're gay and want tips on how to suck a penis dry. Just look at his forum signature for proof that he completely and utterly supports gay rights. Bloodmask is the leader of this Gay Movement on N4G. We must do everything we can to stop them once and for all.

[Shane Kim]

bahahahah Rick please stop it, Im laughing my @ss off. :D

[LITTLE BIG PLANET IN]

WoOot!!!!

[CliffyBee]

I love Greeny! He reassured me that both of my games were uber l337 lol.

He was wrong :( WHY CANT I MAKE A GOOD GAME??! :'( *sad*

[MvmntInGrn]

Bluray is perfectly fine, it'll survive.

On a side note I think this guy could easily have his picture next to the word "scum" in the dictionary, hes so incredibly annoying.

[VP of Troll Corp]

Why do people care what Microsoft says about SONY?!

It's not like this do-moss is gonna say "Yeah, that SONY. They really made us look stupid by putting Blu-Ray is PS3. We were dumb with our HD-DVD. Blu-Ray and PS3 are the future. Damn SONY is so smart! Maybe we should copy them too."

Of course he's gonna bash his competition! Do you expect him to complement SONY and bash himself? NO!

WHO CARES?!

[claney]

Lol, i wouldnt mind it if they said that at all, i would find that very amusing and it would make me like Microsoft a little more, but still not take them seriously lol

[Mozilla89]

Sure, I think we're a while away from downloading anything and the fact that some internet providers like comcast are starting to put restrictions to how many gigs you can download a month will hinder it even longer. Blu Ray will become profitable eventually, will it catch on like DVD? Dont really know but it wont be a failed format I think it was released a little ahead of its time.

[Thoas]

Aaron Greenberg will be like every other Blu-Ray player owner on Dec 9 when he's waiting in line to get The Dark Knight on Blu-Ray. How else can he watch it in True 1080p with uncompressed sound?

http://i289.photobucket.com...

[DailyAddict]

Sony is on the Board with the Blu-Ray Association. Incorporating Blu-Ray into the 360 means that every attachment that's sold Sony actually profits. The last thing MS wants is them doing anything that benefits Sony.

More importantly, Blu-Ray for PS3 has advantages that a Blu-Ray attachment for 360 would never have. For example, by being integrated into PS3, all games are built right on the disk (more storage). For 360, since it would be an attachment, devs would not build games on it because only a very small percentage of gamers would even own it (how many HD-DVD attachments sold? Like only 200,000?). Think about it much like the 360 not having a mandatory hard drive. Devs don't take more advantage of it for fear of alienating gamers that don't have the drive.

So, a Blu-Ray drive for 360 would literally be just that: a Blu-Ray drive only built for movies. It definitely wouldn't be priced at $200 like the HD-DVD add-on and my guess is that the cheapest they could get it would still be around $300-$400, which coincidentally puts it at the price of a PS3 and I would assume that even if a gamer didn't want to purchase a PS3 if they had a choice between the two it makes more since to get the console. And before anyone says that the PS3 would be more expensive than a standalone Blu-Ray attachment, take a look at all the standalone Blu-Ray players now. The ones that MATCH the PS3's Blu-Ray specs and capabilities are typically $800+. The cheap ones don't offer even a fraction of the features (no HDMI 1.3, no 7.1, limited surround sound, 1x speeds, etc.) and that's exactly how Sony wants it. They want the PS3 to be the best Blu-Ray player so Microsoft at a loss could possibly make an attachment for $400 that matches the PS3, but when gamers do a side-by-side comparison it only makes more sense to just buy the PS3 if they are the same price. Why get a player only when you can get a console too?

So, when you think of it that way, having a Blu-Ray attachment would actually probably increase PS3 sales unless they miraculously were able to get a $200 Blu-Ray drive that matches the PS3, which I don't see happening. If no one else can do it, they can't either.

End of story people. It won't happen.

[GlossGreen]

picked up Iron Man on Blu-ray, just as many, many other people have. Titles like this are what drive sales. Back when DVD was new, it was The Matrix that sold DVDs. Before that, sales weren't all that great. All it takes is a few blockbuster titles and then sales take off, like they just did. Expect a bright future for the format.

[theEnemy]

Speaking of The Matrix,

The Ultimate Matrix Collection [Blu-ray] will be released on October 14, 2008.

Tomorrow. :)

[MvmntInGrn]

Really? wow I gotta have that.

[Panthers]

I just want the first one. Ill wait for that.

[VP of Troll Corp]

Wow who disagreed with you?

You are 100% correct!

Probably just another...um...censors...err.. .person who likes Xbox...yeah that's it!

[MorganX]

Matrix yes, reloaded and revolutions No. There's a reason they won't sell you only The Matrix. Selling the trilogy bundle only is truly making us buy something we don't want.

The Thing is awesome on Bluray, as is IronMan. Up Next: Dead Space (10/31), Sgt Osiris in Tropic Thunder (11/18), WANTED (12/2), and the big daddy Dark Knight (12/9).

I'll also be picking up Cool Hand Luke, Young Frankenstein, and Kill Bill 1 & 2.

Sony is in a good position. Though MS will most likely win the Holiday Season, there will be many, many new HDTV owners. In February 2009 the US goes all Digital TV and HDTV sales will most likely boom. More and more users will realize the Home Theatre Pocket Rocket that is in their PS3. Dolby Master Audio and 1080p Bluray Movies.

[LeGenDx]

when people said "blu-ray is useless etc etc" ahh the good old days

[felidae]

lol @ the pic of A. Greenberg.

priceless!!!

[Gantrfaxx]

Blu-ray is doing fine. What, am i supposed to play games that come on 3,4... dvd's. No thanks, i had enough of that in the last gen.
Also i don't want to have all the HD movies on my hard drive, i would need 1 or 2 TBs of storage space to store all the movies i intend to own in HD. And what if one or more of my hard drives broke. I don't even want to think about it

[Shane Kim]

I really loved this statement

"We have no plans to integrate Blu-ray into the Xbox experience, ..We believe that we shouldn’t force consumers to pay for things they don’t want. We also believe that the future’s digital, and that’s why we’ve invested in a massive library of entertainment content."

Hahahaha, don't force consumers to pay for things they don't want? I thought that's all you did.

[demolitionX]

the funny thing is that Sony has bigger digital content (games + movies) than box live.

[PirateThom]

If there's one thing that can be said about Microsoft, they're all talk and no action.

It was Microsoft who claimed digital downloads are the future, but they have a SKU with no hard drive and their downloads are capped, the biggest XBLA arcade games require special permission just to be the same as the PSN versions.

Meanwhile, Sony have Blu-ray but every PS3 has a hard drive and there's no limit for downloads (so you can have games like Quest for Booty, Siren: Blood Curse and Burnout Paradise) and rather than the Marketplace model of renting movies, Sony actually allow you to buy some for keeps.

Microsoft will claim one thing and offer the very minimum, they always have done. Meanwhile Sony offer more and are somehow the bad guys with a lot of people.

[Rhythmattic]

Well if he thinks Blu-Ray isnt the future..... then what is it ??? How about a medium that works NOW !

"We believe that we shouldn’t force consumers to pay for things they don’t want"

You dont need to force Xbox owners to buy a Blu-ray, But how about giving them the option ?

IRONIC.

[dabizo]

I live 6 miles from my exchange - how the hell am I supposed to download HD movies that are like 20gig! It would take me a year LOL

I agree downloads are the future, just like everyone was telling me a year ago... so how long do I have to wait for these downloads? another year? 2 years? I tell you what works for me today - watching HD on Bluray, playing HD Games on PS3 :)

[Sharingan_no_Kakashi]

I'm pretty sure even Microsoft is tired of Spleenburg. You'd think that after the many times Greenturd has been wrong about stuff he'd just shut up. Some one should get a court order or something to make it legal for Microsoft to tape *bleep*nerd's mouth closed....for life.

[Lumbo]

"however, with the US switching to HD sometime in 2009, Blu-ray’s success seems inevitable."

Another goon who confuses the us aerial broadcast going DIGITAL with going HD .. *facepalm* The rest is pretty spot on.

[ONYX737]

I wish it were going HD or at least wide screen the left and right sides of my tv are going to waste

[juuken]

And yet bluray sales are increasing.
Every time I see this guy's picture, I want to smack the screen.
Typical Microsoft.

[Sharingan_no_Kakashi]

Are you the same Juuken that use to have that anime pic?

[juuken]

Um...yeah. o_o;

[Sharingan_no_Kakashi]

It's just that I'm use to seeing your name on N4G with that pic by it lol.

[sonyfanonly]

BLU RAY IS THE FUTURE AND SINCE WHEN DID IT RELY ON A FU^^IN NERD TO DECIDE THE FUTURE OF THE PRODEUCT I THOUGHT IT WAS THE CONSUMERS AND THEY HAVE SPOKEN CLEARLY ENOUGH THAT BLU RAY IS THE FUTURE

[edhe]

Ahh.. you were so much better.

If Sony hadn't trojan horsed Blu Ray then maybe we'd all be enjoying discs at lesser prices, affordable players and online communities galore already. At least you forced the BDA to up their game significantly.

[PirateThom]

If HD DVD was so much better, maybe people would have actually bought it.

Alas, Blu-ray already had all the studio support.

[Mr_Potato_]

It was so much better that it failed miserably. There's a reason blueray won, it was the best format.

[edhe]

Wow, you guys really don't let go much eh?

If Bluray is such the better prodcut then why is everything after profile 1.0 aimed at making it comeptitive with the original hd dvd standard.

Sony managed to push out millions of bluray players to homes and convince the studios that that was the route ahead, but if the ps3 wasn't pushing blue ray then maybe customers would've found the connected nature of hddvd more intriguing than the simply larger version of dvd that bluray is.

can anyone verify that all bluray players are profile 2.0 yet and that there's nothing coming that i won' tbe able to use down the line if i get a 2.0 and they upgrade to something like 3.0?

[Mr_Potato_]

I know what you feel. I hate losing too.

[Coke-a-Cola]

Microsoft is out of touch .......... Like the Nazis to deep into Russian soil without winter jackets.

[DJ]

Microsoft has a chance to circumvent the mistakes they've made with the 360 if they decide to (finally) support Blu-ray. Yes, it will boost Sony's profits, but it will also help dwindling 360 sales as well. The platform finally has HDMI output, but no true HD video content to speak of, which is pretty sad. Consumers are demanding it, so why not include it?

[pixelsword]

...what would make anyone think is opinion on technology is valid?

And YES! the 360 had (still has?) a 68% failure rate.

http://www.gamedaily.com/ar...

I tried to report it on N4G, but a bunch of fanboys shot it down.

[Narutone66]

of the xbox 360 console. Now with the revisions and updates to the hardware, it is more like 33% failure rate. It's still a lot compared to other electronics appliances. MS should have a massive recall, but they shut the user with 3 years free warranty, which to me seems like a bribe.

[Mr_Potato_]

I republished it to help you. Please approve it quickly before Xbots get on it.

The truth must be known. Go and approve our story, there's no reason the real failure rate is hidden.

[enjoi187]

11 years ago the economy wasn't sh!t.....blu-ray is not going to do well

[Mr_Potato_]

Numbers and facts seem to tell you're wrong. Blueray sales are excellent, even better than DVD at the same time (twice better actually)...

[GWAVE]

Studies show that during times of economic decline, the demand for affordable entertainment increases. People do LESS travelling and MORE working, meaning that they might only have a few hours a day to goof off.It means that they're stuck at home, so home entertainment becomes extremely desirable. Can they go to Six Flags? Nope. Can they go on a weekend vacation? Nope. Can they spend $25 on a Blu Ray? Yep.

[TheExodus]

Nearly 3 years into it's life cycle & Blu-ray's attach rate is still no where near the 14:1 that DVD amassed in it's 1st year on the market. No one can honestly say that Blu-ray is being adopted faster than DVD without just outright lying.

[monfa]

6 months ago if a new release was not available on regular DVD at blockbuster I was always happy to own PS3 and walk up to the Blurays and get my 1 of 2/3 copies available.
That time has gone , now they have tons of copies and the rack is just as empty as the regular DVD racks.
Looks to me bluray is doing much better then some people like me to believe.
And most internet providers will probably be adding caps to their service if/when DL media really starts to take off which in my case here in Totonto where we do have a cap will guide me to the local Blockbuster to pick up 5 extra movies with the money I save by renting physical media.

[tk]

Why not go back to CD's for the XB720?
Why then did MS release a HD-DVD addon. Is this an admission that the HD-DVD strategy was wrong as well? You can't have it both ways.

[Oner]

Actually there was some info I read a while back that detailed how M$ only wanted HD-DVD to screw with BD but at the same time wanted HD-DVD to lose as it was based on some Linux code (so why would M$ want ANOTHER competitor to then gain more ground than the other!) only to try and push Digital Downloads so they can benefit and no one else. This is off memory, but I will try to find the info for source reference.

[villevalorox]

i hate this dildo! he can suck a big 1. him and bill gates. and peter moore

[Mr_Potato_]

But but but... HDDVD and digital downloads. ;)

[GWAVE]

I actually feel bad for 360 owners. It would have been a brilliant move on MS's part to include HD-DVD in every system, and it would have KILLED Blu Ray (the 1-year head start would have been perfect). Also, it would allow developers to make bigger games on the 360 instead of relying on multiplayer or multiple disks to push the game.

Instead, Microsoft played "me too" (as usual) and threw the HD-DVD drive in there at the last minute. They claimed that HD-DVD was the future. They claimed it would dominate Blu-Ray and would dominate the PS3. Then, HD-DVD died. What was their response? "Digital downloads are the future! That's what we're going to support!"

What a joke! I feel bad for 360 owners who have to suffer because of Microsoft's blind pride and blind obsession with dominating a market via wads of cash. I also feel bad for people relying on DD to supply enough HD content. Analysts all across the board are showing that broadband speeds are only going to get SLOWER and MORE EXPENSIVE within the next several years.

[Blitzed]

He's that moron that recorded himself in the tub while bashing the PS3.

[imaballa]

How are you going to compare Blu-ray with UMD.
How can UMD fail when it was never meant to be a standard for anything.. its like comparing the Nintendo DS cartridges to DVD.

The only thing the UMD was ever meant to be used on was the PSP.

[Cynical-Gamerzus]

This was a very good article ...
the point was made clearly by what i hope were facts..

[BaSeBaLlKiD721]

“We have no plans to integrate Blu-ray into the Xbox experience, ..We believe that we shouldn’t force consumers to pay for things they don’t want. We also believe that the future’s digital, and that’s why we’ve invested in a massive library of entertainment content.”

where are those digital download MS are talking about?? i see MS keep talking about it while sony is the one doing it already

[divideby0]

xbox 360 team is the last place I would look for advice or their thoughts about making a reliable hardware platform with leading edge technology. I gave up trying to tally their oops with their hardware plan..
besides they will never say anything good about BR for either movies or games...they got egg all over themselves backing a failed new dvd format compared to BR...BR is showing its muscle with movies and games...

[WINZLOW]

dont forget the red ring of death

[WINZLOW]

still a sore loser from supporting hd dvd

[gumgum99]

I have nothing that wasnt said already other than the fact that that pic of Greenberg might make a good avatar...hmmm.

On a side note though,: maybe its me, but Aaron must've been smoking some funny s**** when discussing the state of blu-ray and DD.

but don't take my word for it, listen to the interview yourself.

gotta love that laughter of a MS employee.

[dash--]

look at his stupid grin. i don't think he believes what he's saying

[TheExodus]

In the last 2 years Sony has given nearly 16M of us free Blu-ray players with our PS3 purchase & the format still hasn't managed to muster up an attach rate of 1. We all keep pretending that the problem is that players are too expensive, but exactly how much cheaper can they get than free?

H*ll, I picked up Bright Lights, Big City today for $9.99, on DVD. Studios make their money on catalog titles & catalog titles simply aren't worth the $10 to $15 HD tax it costs to own them.

[nycredude]

Let me ask you a questions. Would you pay an extra 20k to 30k for a BMW compared to a Hyundai? Cause that is exactly the case with bluray. And that is the beauty of it, you don't have to buy it, especially for an old movie like Bright Lights, Big City (which was a good movie btw). But for a new movie with a lot of effects like Transformers or Iron Man I would definetly pick it up. That's what I do, pick and choose what I spend my money on.

[PirateThom]

I have both the DVD and Blu-ray versions of Escape from New York and the first three Rambo films.

The difference between the two is night and day, even with the DVD being upscaled, the black is pure, the detail is so much improved. Escape especially gets a new lease on life, it looks like a brand new film the transfer is so good.

I think the sheer difference is enough to make catalogue titles viable.

I refuse to watch Blade Runner on anything but Blu-ray now, that's how impressive it is on an HD format. Ever seen the DVD versions of Total Recall? They're a blurry mess, even the more recent ones. Blu-ray fixes Total Recall!

[sephy 9 2 5]

you're bringing up DVD's first year attach rate (was it 14:1?) when anyone who recalls 1998 and 1999 knows DVD had a less than promising outlook.....? Like it matters honestly if 14:1 was indeed a fact at that point in DVD's life. Anyway I'll easily concede Blu-Ray's attach rate is still low regardless.

Also where's your information source that disputes how Blu-Ray sales are tracking compared to DVD? Nobody is making up numbers.

[TheExodus]

@nycredude: I'd never own a Hyundai, but I did pay nearly $15K extra for the GTI badging on my Rabbit when I could have had a BMW for the same coin. I'm not averse to paying a premium for things that I value, Blu-ray just isn't one of them.

Problem with Blu-ray is that none of us find any reason to upgrade our movie collections as we did from VHS/LaserDisc to DVD & like we did with our music collections from Vinyl/cassette to CD. Blu-ray may benefit big budget action/adventure & science fiction titles, but it doesn't really benefit comedies, dramas or romance. Frankly, I just don't believe it's possible for Blu-ray to survive as the format of choice for less than 1/2 percent of the films released per year which is what the Dark Knights & Iron Mans are.

@sephy 9 2 5: My previous comments are riddled with links to DVD's sales history. DVD had a slow start if you compare it's progress against VHS, but DVD was launched as an alternative to LaserDisc & actually vanquished LaserDisc to a dark corner of Suncoast within it's first few months on the market.

[nycredude]

Do you care to show some proof backing up your numbers, or are you just spewing garbage out like every other doom saying anti hd fanboy? You don't want bluray or hd-dvd? Maybe if you had a better tv than some POS 480P 21 incher then you would care more. Studios are nickel and diming you? Never mind that bluray, or Hd-dvd for the matter offer superior video quality plus 7.1 uncompressed pcm HD sound that dvd couldn't start comparing to. Give me a break. You may not want it but when someone pays thousands for a new hd tv and a nice system you want to see what you paid for, and let me assure you that dvd won't show you!

What are you going say next? That there is no difference between dvd and bluray? Come on get real. Besides no one is forcing you to buy anything. You still have a choice.

[DaTruth]

That's funny, I just told AgentVX that we wouldn't see him in these threads when they inevitably came. I wonder how he missed this.(lol)

[CaitSith]

He looks funny!

If you agree: you get beer and Jessica Alba (who doesn't want her?)
If you disagree: you're attracted to him and find him sexy as hell, and will leave me assuming that you're either:
1. gay
or 2. an Xbox fanboy and would tap him

[BLow]

Not a fanboy or anything but if digital downloads are the future then how come there isn't ONE 360 game(not Arcade or Xbox titles) you can download over Live. PSN has some PS3 titles. I own both and it amazes me everytime I hear this from MS.

[40cal]

Blu-ray movies. They look and sound great. Anyone who has not heard 7.1 ch. of sound has yet to live.

[OldGamer]

I stopped buying dvds and only buy blu-ray. I guess i'm just one of the few that can afford them.
It's nice to have a good job and money to blow on frivilous sh*t.
But i'm old, so...whatever.

[Crazywhitie]

The only way MS should even go after the Bluray Market is if they can put that Drive out for $99.99.. it would make sony have to drop the price of the PS3..

[40cal]

You are 100% right. Sony has Blu-ray (physical media) Sony also has the PSN with full games ready (Digital Downloads) like GT5P, Burnout, Warhawk, and Socom. Also full PSP games through the PC and PS3 stores and soon to be straight to PSP. Also movies, TV shows anyone?

Microsoft says that digital downloads are the future, while Sony is showing it to us right now, along with Blu-ray for larger media until bandwidth steps up.

[-LETS-ALL-GET-ON-]

Blu-Ray is the future of all entertainment.

Blu-Ray + Cell = The Future Of Gaming.....

Goodnight xbox. Zzzzzz....

[knightoftears]

Basically, this moron is trying to justify why HD-DVD didn't work because the XB360 decided to support it and epically failed. Why can't he just get over it...everything new takes awhile to catch on. Cd's didn't catch on after cassettes for awhile, then dvd's didn't catch on after vhs for a while...now we have HD content. Regardless of what Sony supported, MS is just pissed that they chose wrong and their only option is Blu-Ray at this point.

Sure, HD downloads will be convenient, but get ready for your ISP to start limiting your usage when you download 25-50 GB per day. HD files are huge, so if you want to download a 25GB+ file, go right ahead, but alot of people still have cable or dsl connections and don't have the luxury of FiOS or faster, which means it will take them alot longer to get the files, so the ISP's servers will get flooded and they will have to charge more or limit the amount everyone downloads. Comcast is going that route already, they are limiting their customers to 250Gb per month.

[gersh]

Typical, especially coming from the leader of Xbots.

[joevfx]

compair a products sales of a brand new product and a production of for a decade on a weekly basis. You need to compait how they are sellign for as logn as each is out. liek how many units was dvds pushign when it was out for a year and how many was blu ray. I have been saying this tiem and tiem again, blu ray is on a higher sellign curve then DVD. and is growing. wait till Dark knight comes out, you will see HUGE blu ray numbers.

[Dawn_Of_Ashes]

Aaron Greenberg is a lame 360 fanboy sucker. He will never say something good about sony.

[FFXI101]

It's funny he said that. What about the hard drive upgrade? people who want a bigger HDD for 360 would have to pay much more than people who hpgrade theirs on PS3(PS3 allow you to use any SATA notebook drive, it actully give you more options with cheaper price and not force you to use SONY products) Also what about online? SONY didn't force people to pay in order to play online, but if is on 360 you'll have to pay for it. Let's not forget the wireless connection, you'll have to pay amost 100 to get a wireless adapter. so I don't see how Sony is force people to pay for whay they don't waht. 360 on the other hand is different case.

[Neo604]

they bullsh1t to keep thier fans happy.

[cndgamer]

He got a smile that only his mother could love, heck she told me last nite that she only love him cuz she's feel bad. Sad

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

There is lots of denail on this site, I hate to see what happens when it all comes crumbling down.

[M3 Superhero]

Tru dat^