Blu-Ray Should Have Been Optional on PS3?

Ars Technica has a piece looking at reasons why Sony may have wanted to make the Blu-Ray player optional in their next-gen console. From the article: "By tying what is essentially a gaming device to a new optical disc format, Sony is hoping to kill two birds with one stone, but they're expecting consumers to pay for the stone as if it were a diamond. That is, in hoping that consumers will see the Blu-ray player as a good investment in the future, they're risking the fallout that comes when consumers realize that diamonds aren't investments at all. They're for show. And the way the PS3 is priced right now, bling appears to be the operative word. But bling sells, and when manufacturing costs come down, we can all look forward to this edition of Sony Style... at least so long as we're not satiated by a competing product."

Comments

Oh for crying out loud

[SmallFurryCreature]

First Sony is slammed for making a PS3 light wich drops High Definition but keeps other game essential hardware intact. UNLIKE the 360 light version wich removed the HD wich is essential for some games.

But now Sony is supposed to make the blu-ray optional. Right. Damned if they do and damned if they don't right? If sony had made the blu-ray drive optional this same fucking website would have claimed they were splitting up their marketshare and forcing game developers to adopt to the lowest common denomator and whatever other crap has been spouted about consoles.

Stop trying to second guess Sony. When you run a billion dollar enterprise and are a household name for electronics worldwide THEN you can second guess them. Maybe they are wrong. People point out the beta max failure. Completly forgetting that the pro video market is very profitable for sony. They point out the mini disc failure despite that fact that are still in wide use as an alternative to DAT.

Somehow Sony seems to make a lot of money out things people consider failures.

The PS3 is an expensive console. For it you get something that is pushing a lot of limits. It truly is a next generation system and not just an upgrade like the 360 is.

Will the gamble pay off? I don't know but as far as the discussion about blue-ray is concerned I seem to remember similar discussions about the previous generation and the inclusion of DVD-movie playback capacity.

Can we just fucking fast forward to the future and see what the sales results are so we can end the useless second guessing.

The PS3 specs and price are known take it or leave it. Don't keep bitching about the fucking price because all that shows is that you want the PS3 but are too poor to afford one. If you can't spend 700-800 dollars on electronics then you need to get a better job.

This is a tech site, we all are overpayed pro's. If this was a site for factory workers and cleaners I could understand but not software engineers and other techies. This ain't a place for minimum wage workers.