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Microsoft Fueling HD Wars For Own Benefit?

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the well-they-ain't-running-a-charity-over-there dept.

DaveyJJ writes "According to Transformers' director Michael Bay, in a story over on Electronista, Microsoft is deliberately feeding into the HD disc format wars to ensure that its own downloads succeed where physical copies fail, he says in a response to a question posed through his official forums. The producer contends that Microsoft is writing "$100 million dollar checks" to movie studios to ensure HD DVD exclusives that hurt the overall market regardless of the format's actual merit or its popularity, preventing any one format from gaining a clear upper hand."

6 of 359 comments (clear)

  1. Alternative explanations by KingSkippus · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...Or maybe it's because Microsoft has been a strong backer of the format since the very beginning, and doesn't want it to end up like all of Sony's other consumer device formats. (Betamax, MiniDisc, Memory Stick, SACD, UMD...)

    ...Or maybe it's because HD-DVD is the format that its cash cow video game console system supports, whereas they have nothing to do with Blu-ray.

    Of course, I could just be grasping at straws.

    At any rate, I do think he is right in that neither format will be the choice for obtaining and playing hi-def content, online distribution ultimately will win.

    1. Re:Alternative explanations by $RANDOMLUSER · · Score: 5, Insightful

      ...because HD-DVD is the format that its cash cow video game console system supports...
      And, alternately, Blu-ray is what Playstation 3 supports, which I think is more like what thier real motivation is - Xbox vs PS3.
      --
      No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
  2. Because heaven knows.... by Churla · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Because heaven knows Sony hasn't thrown around a ton of money to make sure it gets as many studios and others on the Blu Ray train.

    Both Sony and MS throw money into supporting the horse that their respective wagon is tied to. That's how it is.

    And I agree that in the long term on line distribution will win, but before it can the internet as we know it needs some substantial upgrading. Not to support the concept (it already does), but to support what happens when the masses start using it.

    --
    I'm a fiscal conservative, it's a pity we don't have a political party anymore
    1. Re:Because heaven knows.... by Serge_Tomiko · · Score: 5, Informative

      Blu ray is NOT a Sony format, anymore than the CD is a Sony format. They are the dominant member of the industry consortium that developed Blu Ray, and one of the original developers. Microsoft would never have to license Blu Ray from Sony, they would license it from the consortium just as with the regular CD.

      What Microsoft does NOT like about Blu Ray is that it requires a java VM.

  3. They wrote the HD content software. by Dr_Barnowl · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Microsoft wrote the software for the HD interactive, which means they must be getting a royalty for each machine.

    What's a few $100M here and there when you have the potential to collect so many licenses from consumer boxes?

    Plus, the Blu-Ray content software is written in Java. What better reason for MS to hate it?

  4. Re:I call bullshit on this one... by Tom90deg · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It also doesn't make much logical sense. Bay claims that MS is prolonging the format war until they can get downloadable video working right, then swoop in and be declared "A winner is you!" Seems to me that Bay as been watching too many of his own movies.

    True, Downloadable video is nice, as is stuff like Video on demand. I can picture telling my kids that "In my day, if you wanted to watch a show? You just had to wait until it was on." However, I don't think that downloadable movies will ever overtake actually having the disk in hand. If I want to watch Army Of Darkness, I don't want to wait 20 minutes for it to stream, then hope that my connection stays steady enough to prevent it from freezing. Just pop in the disk, no problem. The more steps you take from wanting to watch a movie, and pressing play, the worse off it is, in my opinion.