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Originally Posted by bmer  You might be right that raw computing power only isn't going to take PS3 on top. The Wii presents a different philosophy to gaming with its revolutionary features. The PS3 doesn't bring something this new and different to the table. However Blu-ray is one advantage for the PS3. It is a cheap alternative to a separate Blu-ray player.
There are many factors to be taken into consideration. So it will be interesting to see how the PS3 is welcomed by the public when it has been introduced in the remaining markets. |
Personally, I think the BluRay player is one of the most compelling elements in the PlayStation package because, from a certain point of view, it's an amazing value. You can't buy a standalone BluRay player for less than $1,000, so it's sorta like Sony's Trojan horse gift to the world of consumer electronics.
On the other hand, the BluRay/HD DVD battle is in its infancy right now, and it remains to be seen which format becomes the dominant one. It's a coin toss for consumers, because neither patform offers any real benefit over the other - in fact, the only reason we're dealing with two competiting formats is because Sony and Toshiba couldn't strike a deal.
So either its great, or it's worthless. If HD DVD wins the format war then it makes the inclusion of the BluRay drive all that more awkward. In the interest of not muddying their marketing message Sony doesn't really make much noise about the BluRay drive's abilities - a shame, because I'm sure there's a small but significant group of consumer electronic junkies who could be convinced to buy a PS3 for junior if they knew that they'd also be the first one on the block to own a BluRay player.
I remember back when the SegaCD came out, I used it more for playing audio CDs than I did for playing games. In fact, (remember it was 1992) it was a major selling point for me because I didn't yet have a CD player.
( I also remember the hilariously bad promotional CD+G disks that came with the thing, that had a mish-mosh of bad karaoke programs. )