Slashdot Mirror
Sony Aims Higher Than The Gaming Market
Next Generation tries to take a look at what Sony is up to with the PS3, without going off on a rumour-filled tangent. Their thought? Sony is after something much bigger than the gaming market. From the article: "The big play is for the high definition DVD market, and in this context, an early launch, with small hardware numbers and threadbare games software support might just be a good move. This play potentially represents Sony's most important move in its entire history. Imagine; a royalty for Sony on every single DVD sold between 2006 and 2012 or thereabouts. No wonder Bill Gates hates Blu-ray."
Let me get a HDTV set and a surround sound system first...
In the meantime, DVDs are good enough. They'll be good enough when BluRay is around as well, BluRay will end up being 'high end media' like laserdisc was.
VHS was barely good, hence when DVD came along it was replaced fairly quickly (as in it took about 8 years, and you can still buy them new).
DVD media does last longer, when properly cared for. It doesn't degrade. If isn't a totally rubbish resolution.
In the long run people's $50 DVD players will die of course, and many will plump for something that does more simply because it will be $50 by that time. Maybe in 2010 there'll be a decent ownership of players and TVs and hifi systems that can handle all the benefits that BluRay can bring.
The vast majority of people don't really care about the quality though, if it is good enough.
Unless companies are somehow *forced* to stop producing DVD's, Blu-Ray AND HD-DVD are going to become the video equivalents of SuperAudio and DVD Audio. DVD, like the audio CD, is here to stay whether we like it or not. The current generation of media ain't broke, so consumers aren't going to adopt the fix.
the root kit won't be needed because DRM will be built into the PS3
I have to agree with this assessment. I've noticed most people aren't all that concerned if it's good enough. Not to mention most people don't generally get to see the difference in quality the higher end stuff can produce. Ignorance is bliss I suppose. Videophiles and audiophiles are the ones striving for the best that technology can offer and a good portion have the funds to do it.
Also, most people aren't offered a good demo of the better technology. Going down to the local BestBuy to check out what the hubbub is over these HDTVs isn't going to be a good demo. The video they show is a bit degraded from the splitter used and they're showing original 4:3 content stretched on a 16:9 screen. Some places will do it right and will show you the difference between the old analogue broadcast and the HDTV broadcast.
Also like the parent said, I don't feel that people are going to go for something better if what they have now is good enough. My current TV produces a superior picture quality in comparison to most of the TVs in its day and today. People that come over to my house won't notice the difference unless you really point it out or do a side by side comparison. I don't even notice the difference when watching on another TV unless I actually think about it. There just isn't enough noticeable difference for the average joe to make someone want to strive for that better TV with the ______ technology in it.
This is the GAMING market. If you want to do something else, DO SOMETHING ELSE. I don't know how many great games the PS3 is going to get anymore than I know if the Revolution is going to be implemented well, but if I goddamn want to play MGS4, I don't want to have to be subjected to paying a huge price for technology I don't have the capability to use.
All I want is the GAME and the system's GAME capabilities. I don't have the cash on me to get a huge HDTV, a killer surround sound system, a nice receiver, and hi-def signals. I DO NOT. And I'm a fresh college graduate male - I'm YOUR demographic. Living on my own in an apartment, paying off college loans, looking for a job in this miserable market, and attempting to think "gee, I can buy FOOD today."
What the fuck is up with everyone's "BIGGER IS BETTER" attitude? THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH DVD. There is nothing wrong with even "low quality" inputs like S-video. Everyone struts around like "oh shit, you know they will have 3 billion resolution, I can't watch my old tv anymore." When the hell did the industry have to be dissolved between elitist fucks and those of us that just want to run Snake around oldmanstyle?
Shit, let's segment the industry further. It's bad enough we have Microsoft running around with HDless 360s, I can't wait to see Sony pushing for shit like "We feel you cannot enjoy this game unless you have a 55" HDTV," and subsequently make that a gaming requirement. SHIT, why not fuck us more and say it HAS to be a Sony brand? WITH A MEMORY STICK SLOT?
Make GAME machines for god's sake. PLEASE. I could not care less about useless graphics in a game, like dimples on a football or sweat on their fingers. How about optimize your power and make the system last twice as long? Then I might actually feel a little more justified by letting my poor wallet getting raped in the ass. We're all creating solutions for problems that don't exist and adding power in the form of increased costs, and for what?
Oh, right. Rendered cheerleaders on the sidelines. Fuck that.
I'm not scared of anonymous cowards.
Sony's media can hold more than 8.4GB of data. I have no idea why any videogame would ever require more than 8.4GB of data, but if it really did, you could always - gasp - split it onto two discs.
Riiiight, and I'm never going to fill the 10MB hard-drive in my 8088. Games get bigger and, usually, better. And while shuffling disks works ok when you only have a few disks; eventually, you will reach a point where it becomes a royal pain in the ass. Go back about 10-15 years and you'll see what I mean. When I got King's Quest V the damn thing came on 10 1.44MB floppies. Installing it was annoying. I was only too happy to get a CD-ROM drive to stop that sillyness. Evenatully our games will outgrow DVD's. Yes, a lot of the reason will be graphics, that's ok. We'll probably also see a lot more voice acting and content stuffed in there too. As it is, I'm starting to see games come on 2-3 DVD's pretty regularly. This is still below the threashold of absolute annoyance, but it's getting close. By the time it hits 5 disks a game, give me something new.
Of course, the obvious point here is that neither Blu-Ray nor HD-DVD offer a substantial enough improvement to matter. So, it will probably be neither of these which supplant DVD's, but it will happen.
Necessity is the mother of invention.
Laziness is the father.