QUOTE(Zod5000 @ Jul 6 2008, 06:34 PM)
It still seems odd to me though, that standalones are still relative close in price (or higher) than the ps3. I got the added bonus of a game console with the ps3.... it really doesn't leave anyone a reason to buy a standalone?
Almost every console released is sold at a loss at launch time, to help grow the installed base. The PS3 was no exception to this rule. This also seems to debunk the theory of the "report" stating that PS3 saved Blu-ray. I'm sure that many PS3s sold because the value was greater, tho they may have no interest in games. Sure, one could argue that anyone who bought a PS3 for games is getting a free BD player, and therefore added to the BD installed base, but I believe many other reports stated that most people who bought the PS3 for games haven't really gotten a BD movie collection, and vice versa.
QUOTE(crapoid685 @ Jul 6 2008, 08:28 PM)
In other news.... Microsoft douches HD-DVD by only having its player as an add-on. If MS would have put an HD-DVD player in every Xbox360, we wouldn't even be talking about blue-ray. Xbox360 for $600 during the first year w/ HD-DVD player, and then lower the price to like $500 when PS3 launched and then the 360 would have an insurmountable console sales lead and would have won the format war with HD-DVD. I'm definitely a PS fanboy but does anybody really disagree with my statements? If anything I'm basically saying that MS sucks and if they could make the right decisions, then they would be way out in the lead in this console war. (they basically gift wrapped a win for Sony)
MS' whole strategy has been very price focused. They come up with a sweet price point, and give you the minimum, so you'll feel comfortable dropping the next price point on something else (ie, no matter which version 360 you get, you gotta get more shit anyway). If they had an internal HD-DVD drive at launch, it may not have sold as well (being a higher price), and the RRoD fiasco could've given HD-DVD some bad flack by association (though it wouldn't be warranted, but you know how people can get sometimes), if the primary installed base of HD-DVD owners were 360s.
I'm sure, to say the least, that HD-DVD would still be battling BD at this time had that happened, but it didn't. I don't know why people miss HD-DVD so much; as it stands BD 2.0 matches all the features people liked about HD-DVD, and has greater bandwidth, storage, and durability.