The Mother of All Bundles ...

I called it in January. Bluray would destroy HDDVD and Sony would do major damage with two blockbuster bundles: I Am Legend, and Dark Knight.

Well, I was wrong about I Am Legend. Probably not a big deal since the movie wasn't all that. But Dark Knight is another story. Sony has a chance for the Mother of All Bundles. PS3: Dark Knight Edition/Bundle. The only question is, does Sony's marketing team have the chutzpa to pull it off?

Past performance says not, but just think about it... Dark Knight Bluray, can't be played on Xbox no way, no how. How about a little payola to Warner for a time exclusive. Available months before general release, in time for Christmas, on with the PS3 bundle?

Sony has some strengths over MS that can't be matched and they're doing nothing with them. Bluray being the primary advantage. This may be the last opportunity to drop the Blu-mother load on MS. The only question is, does Sony have the balls.

[Montrealien]

So if I understand this correctly, you want a PS3 bundle with The Dark knight on Blu-ray months before Warner launches the DvD which you will be able to play on the 360 or any DvD player? I don't see why Warner would do this, but that's just me.

[MorganX]

Don't believe the upscaling hype. Upscaled DVD doesn't compare to a 1080p native Bluray, at least not on my 52" LCD, but the real advantage is the high definition audio. If you'e never watched a Bluray with uncompressed audio, Dolby TrueHD, or Dolby-MA, then you have no idea what you're missing. Changes the whole experience.

Besides, that, bundles are going after fence sitters, not people who already have a console. Polls show many people still don't realize the PS3 is a Bluray player and one of the most capable at that. A Dark Knight bundle in time for the Holdiay would probably dramatically reduce that number and provide an incentive the Xbox simply can't match.

DVD movies are done. Yeah, they're still going to sell quite a bit, millions will never own a PS3 or a bluray player or a good 1080p LCD. But, the obituary is written, just not printed yet. By this time next year, there will be sub $200 Bluray players and it'll be over.

Why would Warner do it? That is a good question. Sony needs to drop a little payola for a few months of exclusivity, just through the Holdiay buying season. Microsoft would do it if they could. But my whole argument is Sony is too soft, and too cheap. They've got the goods, they just don't know how to market with the big boys.

Microsoft, now they know how to play the game. Look how many superior products Microsoft has destroyed with inferior products due to marketing and doing the little things that grow brand awareness and mindshare.

[Jack Meahoffer]

I think the main issue is how Sony could offset the money Warner could make with a simultaneous Bluray and DVD release. Warner only cares about maximizing Dark Knight profits nothing more. Warner doesn't have love for one platform over another... Thats obviously from their long hold out in the HD DVD vs. Bluray format war. Only massive "undisclosed" $$$ tipped the scales.

As a gamer that already owns a PS3 and doesn't care about advantages between 360 and PS3 all I care about is that the Bluray would be available outside the bundle. If its only in the bundle for 2 months thats just going to piss a lot of people off. I know I'll be buying Dark Knight on Bluray day one.

At the end of the day I doubt Sony would see enough return on investment to warrant putting down the cash especially with their philosophy this generation of focusing all money on internal development rather than securing third party exclusives. Whether games or movies its still software. They'd be more likely to do a bundle with a Sony Pictures movie. Less up front investment risk.

[MorganX]

on exclusivity. Exclusive or not, the bundle should happen. Do you agree a PS3 w/Dark Knight Bluray bundle would move some fence sitters?

[Jack Meahoffer]

No doubt about it. I'm just wondering if it would be worth the investment in the end for both companies.

At the end of the day. I just want to watch Dark Knight on Bluray. Action movies are amazing in pure 1080p.

[AKIronMaiden]

That would boost Blu-Ray player sales a boat load, and Could cause people who want to buy a PS3 to fall of the edge. This would bring a whole lot of money to Sony, but for Warner, I don't know how much it'd give them, even with a payload from Sony they might not get that huge paycheck quick enough. A few months seems a little outrageous, A month max I think, If they did it at all.

But I can picture it now, The Dark Knight being an Exclusive Blu-Ray title for a bit, and maybe even exclusive download off of the PSN video store.

[pwnsause]

Warner would also make money for every bundle sold as well with a huge paycheck from Sony of course.

[Truplaya]

i tihnk someone has been reading this blog closely, look

http://www.engadget.com/200...