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Interesting article on Gamesindustry.biz
Basically the author is suggesting that Microsoft are using the long drawn out battle between HD-DVD and Blu-ray to ensure that consumers get so fed up that they switch to electronic distribution instead of blowing money on a physical format that might not be around very long. And Microsoft just happen to be geard up for electronic distribution (XBox Live Marketplace).
The only flaw in this argument is that I suspect Sony are pretty much geared up for electronic distribution as well, so even should consumers turn to electronic downloads Sony are still in business.
Even should Blu-ray win (which is looking more and more likely - it only really needs Universal, the only Hollywood studio still supporting HD-DVD to join them) Microsoft are quite capable of popping a Blu-ray player into the next generation of XBox so it's no skin off their nose.
But if electronic distribution of movies and games takes off as big as music has, where does that leave the likes of Virgin Megastores, Blockbuster and our local indies? It's surprising that CDs have lasted as long as they have, but thinking about it I don't think my 14 year old niece has ever bought a CD in her life and she's really into music (via her i-pod).
Interesting times.
Basically the author is suggesting that Microsoft are using the long drawn out battle between HD-DVD and Blu-ray to ensure that consumers get so fed up that they switch to electronic distribution instead of blowing money on a physical format that might not be around very long. And Microsoft just happen to be geard up for electronic distribution (XBox Live Marketplace).
The only flaw in this argument is that I suspect Sony are pretty much geared up for electronic distribution as well, so even should consumers turn to electronic downloads Sony are still in business.
Even should Blu-ray win (which is looking more and more likely - it only really needs Universal, the only Hollywood studio still supporting HD-DVD to join them) Microsoft are quite capable of popping a Blu-ray player into the next generation of XBox so it's no skin off their nose.
But if electronic distribution of movies and games takes off as big as music has, where does that leave the likes of Virgin Megastores, Blockbuster and our local indies? It's surprising that CDs have lasted as long as they have, but thinking about it I don't think my 14 year old niece has ever bought a CD in her life and she's really into music (via her i-pod).
Interesting times.
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Yeah, I read that peice too. I think it's quite possible, to be honest. Regarding your point about Sony being able to offer digital downloads - will they want to after the millions they've poured into Blu-Ray?
I'm quite happy to not have a physical piece of media, but my other half likes to have something to actually show for her money, in the physical sense, as a lot of people do.
However, I don't think that will be the biggest hurdle downloadable content has to overcome. I think that will be broadband speeds and size of storage.
How long would it take to download a 25GB HD-DVD? At a constant d/l speed of 200Kb/s, it would take an 1 hour 20 mins to download 1 Gig. Multiply that by 25 and it's going to take well over a day.
I don't know how far ahead the US is with things like Media PCs, but how many people over here have the facility to download HD films and watch them on anything other than a PC?
If the idea is to download them to consoles, then they'll need to come with bigger HDD. 120GB in the X360 Elite? Please...
I'm quite happy to not have a physical piece of media, but my other half likes to have something to actually show for her money, in the physical sense, as a lot of people do.
However, I don't think that will be the biggest hurdle downloadable content has to overcome. I think that will be broadband speeds and size of storage.
How long would it take to download a 25GB HD-DVD? At a constant d/l speed of 200Kb/s, it would take an 1 hour 20 mins to download 1 Gig. Multiply that by 25 and it's going to take well over a day.
I don't know how far ahead the US is with things like Media PCs, but how many people over here have the facility to download HD films and watch them on anything other than a PC?
If the idea is to download them to consoles, then they'll need to come with bigger HDD. 120GB in the X360 Elite? Please...
Yeah, read that a few days ago on Joystiq too, but then lost the link before I could post it here.
It's an interesting viewpoint, admittedly with no supporting evidence of any substance, but I could see it being true. Microsoft have worked hard to push downloadable and streaming digital content in the US and I'm sure it will turn up here before long, once they've worked out all the rights issues and get support from British media companies.
It would certainly be of use to anyone in a flat or listed building, unable to get freeview or Sky.
I'm sure now, the way it's going, that Blu-ray will finally be the winner in the current format war. It would be a first for Sony backing a digital media format that actually takes off and becomes dominant!
It's an interesting viewpoint, admittedly with no supporting evidence of any substance, but I could see it being true. Microsoft have worked hard to push downloadable and streaming digital content in the US and I'm sure it will turn up here before long, once they've worked out all the rights issues and get support from British media companies.
It would certainly be of use to anyone in a flat or listed building, unable to get freeview or Sky.
I'm sure now, the way it's going, that Blu-ray will finally be the winner in the current format war. It would be a first for Sony backing a digital media format that actually takes off and becomes dominant!
Interesting article on Gamesindustry.biz
Basically the author is suggesting that Microsoft are using the long drawn out battle between HD-DVD and Blu-ray to ensure that consumers get so fed up that they switch to electronic distribution instead of blowing money on a physical format that might not be around very long. And Microsoft just happen to be geard up for electronic distribution (XBox Live Marketplace).
The only flaw in this argument is that I suspect Sony are pretty much geared up for electronic distribution as well, so even should consumers turn to electronic downloads Sony are still in business.
Even should Blu-ray win (which is looking more and more likely - it only really needs Universal, the only Hollywood studio still supporting HD-DVD to join them) Microsoft are quite capable of popping a Blu-ray player into the next generation of XBox so it's no skin off their nose.
But if electronic distribution of movies and games takes off as big as music has, where does that leave the likes of Virgin Megastores, Blockbuster and our local indies? It's surprising that CDs have lasted as long as they have, but thinking about it I don't think my 14 year old niece has ever bought a CD in her life and she's really into music (via her i-pod).
Interesting times.
Basically the author is suggesting that Microsoft are using the long drawn out battle between HD-DVD and Blu-ray to ensure that consumers get so fed up that they switch to electronic distribution instead of blowing money on a physical format that might not be around very long. And Microsoft just happen to be geard up for electronic distribution (XBox Live Marketplace).
The only flaw in this argument is that I suspect Sony are pretty much geared up for electronic distribution as well, so even should consumers turn to electronic downloads Sony are still in business.
Even should Blu-ray win (which is looking more and more likely - it only really needs Universal, the only Hollywood studio still supporting HD-DVD to join them) Microsoft are quite capable of popping a Blu-ray player into the next generation of XBox so it's no skin off their nose.
But if electronic distribution of movies and games takes off as big as music has, where does that leave the likes of Virgin Megastores, Blockbuster and our local indies? It's surprising that CDs have lasted as long as they have, but thinking about it I don't think my 14 year old niece has ever bought a CD in her life and she's really into music (via her i-pod).
Interesting times.
Page: