3rdman said:
I mentioned this in the "thread that shall not be named, but I had predicted (wrongly, of course) that a low end PS3 with DVD drive would be made. To this day, I don't understand why Sony didn't do this...they could have had their cake and ate it too. Leave the high-end version with BR which would allow those who wanted HD movies the ability to enjoy them and a low cost alternative to those who can't afford it.
It made so much sense to me that I'm still surprised that they're doing BR across the board.
I bet you think Sega had the right idea with the Sega CD and 32X as well.
jett said:
I bet if the devs wanted they could make it so Resistance would fit on a DVD9. Come on people, those graphics and textures don't really warrant Blu-Ray.
Sure, in exchange for dropping 7.1 sound, multiple language tracks, 1080p, and probably a good chunk of the multiplayer levels. Double load times while you're at it too since you'd have much less space for redundant data.
Mrbob said:
Many PSone games were multiple discs, so I don't think it would have been a deathblow.
Its not a deathblow, but its certainly not optimal for both developers (who then need to find ways to appropriately fragment their game between two+ discs) and especially not for publishers, who then spend extra money per unit to publish the title. DVD9 isn't much cheaper than Blu-Ray to manufacture as it is, when you start having to press multiple discs, deviate from standard packaging design, etc. you increase publishing costs. A buck or two per unit might not seem like a huge deal to us, but it is when a publisher is talking about publishing hundreds of thousands of units. Even if the game sells well its less profitable than if you could fit it on a single disc. If a multiple disc game gets a big run and bombs though, that could really set a company back.
Blue laser optical discs are being pushed onto the market earlier in its life than any optical media before it. As of right now every company but Sony is willing to wait and see how the format "war" plays out while costs of production come down. But Sony is leveraging it in the PS3 as a way to force production costs down (as a result of mass production). Early adopters will effectively help pay for Sony's overhead in this process, but in turn get a game system with a true next gen format and features that no other system can offer. These doesn't mean it'll automatically have better games, though some devs could probably find a way to turn extra space into a significant advantage, but they will offer features that games on other systems can't. For those of us who don't own HDTVs and don't need a premium format for movies its frustrating. Not only will the system cost an extra $100 but it will also be damn scarce for several months after launch. But Sony doesn't have much of a viable alternative if they want to continue their Playstation business model, achieving maximum sales on the back end of a console's life cycle. They don't want MS' version of the industry, releasing new hardware every 4-5 years, and I don't think very many gamers really do either. But a DVD based console is a lot less viable in 2011 when 720p and 1080p sets are common place. Consumers won't want a games system that can't match up.
