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If Sony is touting the Playstation 3 to be a game console and cheap Blu-ray DVD player in one device you’ve got to wonder movies are coming around launch time. Why waste precious dollars on the DVD version of Aeon Flux when you can pick up the Blu-ray disc? Currently 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Warner Brothers, Buena Vista and Sony Pictures announced titles for the format. In related news Hitachi and Mitsubishi announced that they are all aboard on the blu-ray train too. They will begin massively producing blu-ray discs for the Playstation 3. Check below for a list of titles that should appear around launch time.
Sony Pictures
Black Hawk Down
Bram Stoker’s Dracula
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Desperado
The Fifth Element
For a Few Dollars More
The Guns of Navarone
Hitch
House of Flying Daggers
Into the Blue
A Knight’s Tale
Kung Fu Hustle
The Last Waltz
Legends of the Fall
Resident Evil: Apocalypse
RoboCop
Sense and Sensibility
Species
Stargate Atlantis
Stealth
S.W.A.T.
Underworld: Evolution
XXX
Buena Vista
Armageddon
The Brothers Grimm
Dark Water
Dinosaur
Everest
The Great Raid
Hero
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Kill Bill Vol. 1
Ladder 49
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
20th Century Fox
Behind Enemy Lines
Fantastic Four
Ice Age
Kiss of the Dragon
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Lions Gate Films
Crash
The Devil’s Rejects
Frank Herbert’s Dune
Lord of War
The Punisher
Rambo: First Blood
Reservoir Dogs
Saw
See No Evil
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Total Recall
Paramount Pictures
Aeon Flux
Four Brothers
Italian Job
Manchurian Candidate
Sahara
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Sleepy Hollow
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
U2: Rattle & Hum
We Were Soldiers
Warner Bros.
Batman Begins
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Constantine
The Dukes of Hazzard
The Last Samurai
Lethal Weapon
The Matrix
The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Revolutions
Million Dollar Baby
Ocean’s Twelve
Swordfish
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Training Day
Troy
Twister
Unforgiven
It’s too soon for a new Movie format. Sony will have to learn the hard way that not because you come out with a new technology, means that you have to sale it.
It took 5 years for the majority of people to ditch VHS and turn to DVD. Now that everyone has a nice DVD collection, they would want people to change once again. Yes, I know, it’s backward compatible, but if you have a Blue-Ray player, you might be tempted to re-purchase you current movies and that where people will tend to avoid the purchase of the new player.
Movies are a mass media, unlike video games, so you can’t expect everyone to jump on a change of a mass media. Sony believes that they are responsible for the popularity of DVDs because coincidently, people started getting into DVDs a bit after the PS2 came out. In reality, it’s the guts that some companies took by lowering the price of DVD players that got people into this format in the first place.
I can’t wait to see the PS3 crash & burn. If only they had half a brain to release a non-Blue-Ray version of PS3 (with games for both format), they could have had a shot. But people who will not have any intention of switching to Blue-Ray won’t want to spend for something that they do not need, especially if that something is $600 US.
I tend to agree. I don’t see any need to switch media types yet, especially for games. Really, is it that big a deal if you have to switch discs? Provided the game isn’t “sandbox” (or something that has the need for ridiculous disc-switching, like Riven), it’s not a problem. Did anyone complain when they had to change discs on Resident Evil 4? Come on, we have to get off the couch *sometimes*.
yea i bet you two were the same guys that said the dreamcast did not need a dvd player too…
and look what happened to dreamcast.
# Chris Says:
June 5th, 2006 at 6:03 pm
yea i bet you two were the same guys that said the dreamcast did not need a dvd player too…
and look what happened to dreamcast.
A) I wasn’t aware that this site existed back when I had a Dreamcast
B) I don’t watch enough movies to care
C) Lack of DVD player is not what killed Dreamcast, SEGA killed Dreamcast period. Research and learn before making statements. SEGA was in deep even before releasing the DC, they took a chance, it didn’t sale as much as expected because: pirating games was too easy, people gave up on SEGA after the Mega Drive and the marketing was just terrible. They had the idea to become 3rd party during the Saturn years, but they wanted to see if they could pull it off one last time.
Also, to just to give you another history lesson, the Dreamcast, in its two good years (it kept going in Japan but was pretty weak) had more games and more original titles than the PS2 in its first 2 years. A lot of Dreamcast franchise got ported to other consoles, so the Dreamcast lives on a bit in every system (console, handheld and PC).
Adding a non blu-ray SKU would have been a mistake. Then it would have been nesscary to release two formats of games for the same system, adding undue headaches for consumers. Two formats would add additional costs to package, there would be issues for stores over which version to buy more of, the issues are too many for something like that to work. Currently both versions of the PS3 have support for anything that will be included in a game. So the programmers can design games for an entire platform, not just a sub-group of the console owners. Basicly dividing your platform would cause more issues than it would solve.
Adding a non blu-ray SKU would have been a mistake. Then it would have been nesscary to release two formats of games for the same system, adding undue headaches for consumers. Two formats would add additional costs to package, there would be issues for stores over which version to buy more of, the issues are too many for something like that to work. Currently both versions of the PS3 have support for anything that will be included in a game. So the programmers can design games for an entire platform, not just a sub-group of the console owners. Basicly dividing your platform would cause more issues than it would solve.
Good point, so either way, they’re screwed.
eather way the blue ray is comming, whether you like it or not. And the console who has it will have a huge advantage over the others.
Chris:
Actually, at the time, I couldn’t care less what format games were in. The word DVD meant very little to me. I didn’t care much about movies (nor do I still), and games were just games (as they are still).
I invite you to look at Gamecube. They didn’t need DVD. A system does not need the most advanced format or most space to sell systems. It needs support from developers, publishers, and fans.
We’re getting to the point where graphics mean less than they did. Even new games coming out are just rehashes of everything we’ve done before. People want something new. A new disc format is not going to do this. The Wii may not even be enough. I invite you to read an article that I’m sure you will disagree with, considering your stance. It’s somewhat long, but it is quite interesting, especially if you’ve been a gamer for a long time:
http://www.pointlesswasteoftime.com/games/crash.html
And for the record, Dreamcast in itself was not a failure. IGN said it best:
“The Dreamcast didn’t fail; you failed the Dreamcast.”
To be honest, I’m willing to bet that it’s the other way around. If PS3 is as successful as PS2, then blu-ray will be successful. Otherwise blu-ray will take much longer to be the standard, assuming that no better technology hasn’t been developed by the time that blu-ray is necessary. PS3 is a tough sell at $600, but after the big games are brought out it will look better, especially if they manage to get some good console only games. The eventual price drop will help too. Simply the price alone will stop Sony from running away in the race like in the last generation.
# Chris Says:
June 5th, 2006 at 10:02 pm
eather way the blue ray is comming, whether you like it or not. And the console who has it will have a huge advantage over the others.
# Symphony Says:
June 5th, 2006 at 10:20 pm
To be honest, I’m willing to bet that it’s the other way around. If PS3 is as successful as PS2, then blu-ray will be successful. Otherwise blu-ray will take much longer to be the standard, assuming that no better technology hasn’t been developed by the time that blu-ray is necessary. PS3 is a tough sell at $600, but after the big games are brought out it will look better, especially if they manage to get some good console only games. The eventual price drop will help too. Simply the price alone will stop Sony from running away in the race like in the last generation.
I don’t know about you guys, but I have over 6 years of retail experience, 3 of those in console and computer gaming and not EB Games or GameStop, a place where people actually knew what they were talking about.
I know when a product is going to tank because I know consumers. Casual gamers, the ones who will out of the blue, purchase a game console because they want to have fun, those are mass market for game consoles.
They won’t buy a lot of games before they get rid of the console, 4 games top, but with everyone of those purchase also comes peripherals.
PlayStation is a big name, but if there’s one thing that sales more than big names, lower prices.
True gamers will want to purchase Wii because of its innovation and/or an XBOX 360 because of the performance. Casual gamers will only buy one at the time, lower prices will always win the majority over, it’s the way if things.
Also, when the time comes to purchase a new console, odds are the Casual gamer will have previously purchase an HDTV and a new DVD player. He probably won’t know what a Blue-Ray player his nor will he care to spend money on one. The casual Gamers’ choice will be an XBOX360 or a Wii.
So with Casual gamers buying the lowest priced console, true gamer wanting something innovative & different and Nintendo fanboys, which console do you think will win the next console war?
The_importer nailed it for me, I do not have HDTV nor do I plan to get one in the near future. I simply do not want another type of media for movies. As stated before getting up and changing the disc after hours of play is not a big deal. However adding two separate formats for games would have just created a headache for both Sony, and the consumers. When all is said and done their choice of Blu-ray, and subsequent mark-up will make it a deal breaker for me, as well as many others.
PS3 Rocks and the Blu-Ray is an advantage now we no not everyones going to dump there DVD players and get a PS3 and start buying Blu-ray discs but Blu-Ray is the Next-Gen Movie player and eventually people will start to buy Blu-Ray discs and then the PS3 will bascially be a Blu-Ray Disc player and kick awesome Video game player Period
I can’t play The Fifth Element on my PS3. I hope it’s just the disc, and not some compatibility issues, because three other BD-DVD movies I own work on the PS3 just fine.
what resolutions is better 1080i OR 1080p my TV only support DVI to HDMI ..
June 5th, 2006 at 2:46 pm
I’d be interested in knowing just how much each blueray disc will be. It would be nice to get entire seasons of shows on one disc.