"Blu-ray not an advantage for PS3"

Microsoft UK boss Neil Thompson has become the latest critic of Sony's decision to include a Blu-ray drive in its next-gen PlayStation 3 console as standard. Thompson was responding to a suggestion that the PS3's Blu-ray capabilities give the console an advantage over his own company's Xbox 360.

"Do I want to make people pay £200 extra for a machine with discs that have storage space I don't need? My answer's no, I don't need to do that today," blustered Thompson to GamesIndustry.biz. "And I don't think I'm going to need to do that for quite a while. I'm not sure the market has moved to high definition [movies] yet," he added. "And if and when it does, then the way that we've constructed the offering we've made [360 users have the option of purchasing a separate HD-DVD drive for their console] means we'll be able to go whichever way we want."

[ChefDejon]

will eventually have to pay that 200 eventtually...........

[sak500]

There is no fixed format set for the HD standard till now. Also downloadable HD content will start becoming more and more common and people dont need to go for expensive players to watch HD. 360 already streams movies and other stuff from the PCs. It also has downloadable movies/TV shows etc in HD and SD for USA and they would definately make it available for rest of the world. So no reason to pay for 200$ now for something which may or may not become standard in future. And for the time being games are not utilizing more than 10-15 gb on the ps3. Most of it is filled up with useless CGI.

[nix]

GOO GOO GAA GAA GOO GOO GAA GAAA........

keep talking dude! keep talking! there's still hope that you might be able to make the buyers of PS3 change their mind!

sorry xbox fans if i hurt your feelings but now MS bosses are over-doing it! i think by now people knows exactly what PS3 stands for.

[Darkaber]

Has MS got nothing better to do in there time rather than moan about the ps3..

PS3 for the w1n tbh you know it makes sence.

[techie]

They do keep on talking about what the 360 doesn't have, rather than what it does. Reminds me of Phil and rumble though...

[THAMMER1]

He needs to start focusing on moving the 360 forward and less on this ours is better than your type stuff.

Oh and one more thing if blu Ray becomes the standard and they release an add-on drive i just mite buy it. The only other option is to buy a PS3. This will all come to a head in 2009. No need for gamers to argue over it any more.

[Babylonian]

We just need to stick to stick with DVD, hey why not VHS. Why buy a HD-tv, black and white tv will do just fine. And who needs USB sticks anyway, I still use my floppy disks.

Please if you want to live in the stone age than be my guest. But the thing that makes us humans unique is the ability to develop new things as time goes by. And it is good that people come with new things.

I could ask the same question to mister Microsoft-guy: Why do we need Windows Vista, my Windows XP is just fine.

Now back to my point, I think it is very good that Microsoft developed Windows Vista because it brings new developedment in the world. If we didn't make any developedment, would we reach the skies and even go into space or even PLAY GAMES like we do now.......
Any new development is good.

Think about it.

[r1000]

I %100 percent agree with your statement and always felt that way.... But good luck on this board...

living in the stone age is what 85% of the people on this board seem to "want" to do

Sony incorporates features into the PS3, but people love to bash it when it could be called "PROGRESSION"

[nix]

yeah... let's go back to stone age.. i liked those floppy disks!! q:

[rowdy 1]

Sucks. Get an APPLE

[Bullseye]

Well, personally if i could purchase a PS3 at a reasonable price, then i'd see it as an advantage.However, i would have to pay a premium,therefore it's a disadvantage.Still MS have very little to crow about since they made a massive mistake of their own by not including hdd as standard.At least Sony had the foresight to include hdd for all,which means it can be used for games.When all is said and done, Ms is up against the 'brand' that is Sony and i can't see that as an easy hurdle to overcome,blue ray or not

[level 360]

In a few months?/years time Blu-ray would be the just another format, as far as technology's concern and with MS not using it would probabaly be a good thing since it could adapt any new type of add-on player ( besides HD-DVD ) to the XBox 360...

[Bebedora]

...through a USB cable?

[Bluemayhem]

Whats with Microsoft since the EU launch? Did not want to admit it before in order not to upset anyone including myself, but this constant negative retoric is seriously starting to sound quite desperate. Someone needs to put a mouthguard on this MS UK dude.

[gta_cb]

firstly i do think that MS is doing the right thing with not limiting the comsumer to one standard format like Sony, im not saying Sony are wrong for doing it, especially when it seems to be helping the DVD war towards Blue Ray. but with an option of the add on, people without the HDREADY tv wont need the player and then wont be forced to pay for more then what they can actually use.

i agree with level 360 (9#) with the next gen console set to release about 2011/2012 (Microsoft's next XBox...maybe 720 lol or whatever its gonna be called) there will prob be yet another new format with even more storage space. If MS does the same as they have now (an optional ad on drive) then they will still give the consumer the choice, but jif say Sony does use another drive which is better then Blue Ray, and doesnt offer an ad on. then wont they be forcing people into buying the new format again? and people wont wanna change there entire movie collection twice in 10years or how ever many years untill the next PS comes out (saying that cos with the next XBox coming around 2011 that mite force the PS4 to come out sooner)

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

Hey I got an Idea PS3 fans why dont you go sign a petition and cry about what Neil Thompson says about the PS3. Hell maby if you cry loud enough, kick and throw a big enough fit maby Microsoft will get him to take it back. Waaahh waahhh wahhhh bobobobo sniff sniff sniff, go here http://pampers.com get you some diapers to catch all that BS in your shorts.

[nix]

i think the PS fans take the rambling of Neil as seriously as you take sony's executives'. so just chill!

[rowdy 1]

That was the most retarded rant I ever heard. What a Doofus

[artman]

well, I want it... why not? same as PS2 when DVD were first time released. do we need it? not yet yes... later we will...
is he thinking the right track? no wonder x360 seems doesn't design for long term period.

Btw I'm happy with my PS3 bluray disc... I can afford it, so why not?
while my trashed 360 burst out, and I just dunno what to do with it~ 360 will going the same path as PC, well I don't mind to invest on PC, coz I use it for work... I don't think I want to upgrade my console for every 2 years.

[Sashy]

Lol he really has n0 life, he is a completly an idiot and doesnt know what he talks about. Son of a jerk lol :D

[Cysquatch]

Face it. HDDVD is dying a quick death and will be all but in the ground by the end of 2008. HDDVD has only ONE studio exclusive to HDDVD (Universal) and with Blu-Ray outselling HDDVD like it is, don't expect other studios to touch HDDVD with a 10ft pole.

MS is in bed with Toshiba so statements like "Blu-Ray isn't an advantage" is a last ditch effort for right the sinking ship of HDDVD. If MS is so sure HDDVD is the way to go, why didn't they pack it in the 360 Elite? EXACTLY. They see the funeral percession coming!

[Armyless]

Microsoft spends more time talking about Sony and Nintendo's products than what theirs DOES have to offer? Seems to me Microsoft heavily invested in further alienating a potential customer base that's, if for NO OTHER REASON, chooses Sony and Nintendo on brand alone?

[Nik]

of course he didn't "need" the extra space, 360 can't even have the extra space even if the developers wanted to use them. On PS3 at least devs have a choice.

[Razzy]

...until M$ resorts to making TV commercials that bash Sony/the PS3 the way Burger King/Pepsi commercials bash McDonalds/Coke. LOL

[Rooted_Dust]

Oh yeah? I remember when I could install a game on my pc with 300mb of space, then pretty soon they were pushing the 1gig threshold, and now we got games that take as much as 4 gigs of hard-drive space. Games only get bigger. This just illustrates MS's problem of being stuck in the "Now" while Sony looks to the future.

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

The future of dusty PS3s on store shelves. The future of selling a DVD player disguised as a video game console with no games. The future of high priced electronics and high priced BluRay DVDs. The future of addware and spyware on a gaming console because they want to make it free. The future of majorly moded consoles with operating systems that leave your console with security holes. The future of charging devs for online content and online play. Yeah sound like a good future to me.

[Anego Montoya FTMFW]

Future is not now.

360 can`t handle where things are headed.

It`s alot like the dreamcast.

[Rooted_Dust]

Sorry, I think you've mistaken the PS3 for your 360. No one has been able to crack PS3 security, while net-thieves are stealing X-box Live accounts. By adware do you mean in game advertising? Hey, whatever keeps the cash in my wallet is a plus. PS3 owners can look to the future with hope while 360 owners look to the future with fear of when MS is going to make them purchase a new hardware model, to stay up to date.

[Marty8370]

Blu-ray is needed for games & movies. More space allows for huge 3d worlds. Blu-ray has better hollywood studio support which will see it win the Nex Gen Format War sooner or later. HD DVD is dead.

[Robotz Rule]

*Blu-Ray looks/sounds better.

*Has more space.

*Has a bigger library of movies available.

*Deny it all you want!,we all know who's the real champ!

[Ps3007]

Yes this guy is a racist.. Dont see why they have him as a spokesman.

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

http://playstation.about.co...
http://www.gamersgizmos.org...
http://www.engadget.com/200...
http://forums.maxconsole.ne...
http://psp3d.com/off-topic/...
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Hacked nuff said

You just got pwned

[D3acon]

This, "mine is better than yours" crap is not how dignified high ranking executives should act. I don't know why he seems bent on slaming the competition for their format choice,has Phil Harrison been doing this lately during GDC or after that event? I don't believe he has, at least I haven't heard or read anything about it. He focussed on what the Ps3 is doing and what it is capable of without slamming the competition.

Is it even appropriate to slam companies who want to try something new and try to be innovative. If you don't have companies like Sony trying new things then the whole industry would stagnat and that's is starting to become a problem now. I praise Sony for trying new things and push the industry forward.

How is extra storage not an advantage? First it was the time it takes for the laser to read the blu-ray discs will be unbelivable it will take hours to read data from the disks. This is before the system launch and of course I said that's stupid and wouldn't be the case, why would sony cripple itself like that, at best the load times would be no worse than the ps2 and I was right. Now its we have better compression technology and online capabilities. So lets cut out the middle man with a higher storage disk.

I remember reading how high definition wasn't not necessary and not needed, no one has hdtvs and the market is not ready for it yet. That was then and now microsoft is upscaling releasing hd attachments and incorporating high deffinition downloads for video streaming. I guess there was a market for hd content. It seems when Sony releassed their ps3 hdtv sales went on the rise, but what does Sony know besides there was and is a market for hd content.

And on another point, I don't see the price difference in the 360 and the ps3(20 gig)its like you get a High Definition player with your game console for $100. Seems resonable especially if you were one of the first to get the system when they were offering a free blu-ray disc. Personally I think it is a bargin considering everything it can do, basic computer, hd player, game console, home entertainment device. I believe for the price it should be around for a while, 10 years sounds reasonable, but I'm off topic. (Rant Ended)

[Rooted_Dust]

There is a difference between game dumping and someone hacking your machine to use for their own malicious purposes. While these "mods" could be construed as hacking they in no way constitute a security threat to you or your machine.

[PS3sux360inchWiiWii]

Not using a HD format hasn't hurt Microsoft in signing and bringing great game exclusives do out this year! so on the gaming front it's not hurting Microsoft at all. Games first people, games first!