Register Hardware

Original URL: http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/10/08/cheap_ps3_wont_help_bluray/

Cheap PS3 won't help Blu-ray, claim HD DVD backers

By Tony Smith
Published Monday 8th October 2007 09:32 GMT

Sony's plan to cut the price of the PlayStation 3 (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/10/06/europe_40gb_ps3_confirmed/) in Europe will have "minimal" impact on the adoption of next-generation optical disc formats, the group promoting HD DVD over here has claimed.

The European HD DVD Promotional Group (EHPG) stuck to its argument that sales of dedicated media players will determine whether HD DVD or Blu-ray Disc win the format war, and not sales of games consoles with built-in drives, like the PS3.

Curiously, the EHPG is nonetheless quite happy to include Microsoft's HD DVD add-on for the Xbox 360 games console in the debate, so we can only hope the organisation is praying the software giant chooses not to release a second-generation 360 with an HD DVD drive built in.

The EHPG once again trotted out statistics - this time from market watcher GfK - that show HD DVD commands 70 per cent of HD player sales in Europe. But that still leaves Blu-ray with 30 per cent of player sales and the million-plus PS3s that have shipped in European nations.

Yes, PS3 buyers are less likely to acquire movies on Blu-ray than owners of standalone players are, but the sheer scale of the lead the format has in terms of hardware volumes gives it the end - something, surely, the arrival of cheaper PS3s can only improve.

If Register Hardware readers are anything to go by, judging by their postings in our comments pages, the one thing many gamers have been waiting for is less expensive PS3 hardware. We doubt the price cut will hurt Nintendo any, but it's hard not to see it boosting Sony's sales figures.