Playstation 3 not helping Blu-ray?

[teamerickson]

Written by:
Henning Molbaek

First online:
Dec 5, 2006

After months of delay the Playstation 3 finally hit the US on November 17th. The gaming console has long been known as Sony's secret weapon in the HD format war. Their Trojan Horse to get a blu-ray player into every home. However, it now looks as if also this launch from Sony is not having the impact and flawlessness that they had hoped for. Many analysts claim that they where only able to ship 150,000 - 250,000 of the more than 400,000 promised units. These sold out quick but many units was bought with reselling at a high price in mind and not for gaming or movie use.

Sony sold the idea of Blu-ray to many studios with Playstation 3 as their biggest argument to support their format and not HD-DVD. Fox among others have been know for saying that the PS3 was their main reason for their Blu-ray support.

So here two weeks after launch is the PS3 affecting sales? We did our own mini test on Amazon.com and here is what we found.

If we look at the top three selling HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs we find titles like "Superman: Returns" and "X-men 3." Each product on Amazon has a sales rank that indicates how well the product sells compared with other products of it's kind. We took a look at how the HD discs compared with all standard DVDs, HD-DVD and Blu-ray releases. Here are the numbers:

HD-DVD Top 3:
1# Superman: Returns
DVD Sales Rank: 162

2# Batman Begins
DVD Sales Rank: 352

3# Superman: The Movie
DVD Sales Rank: 803

Blu-ray Top 3:
1# Superman: Returns
DVD Sales Rank: 394

2# X-men 3: The last Stand
DVD Sales: 2279

3# Kingdom of Heaven: Director's Cut
DVD Sales Rank: 2373

So the answer is, no. As you see Blu-ray sells far less than HD-DVD and still has a lot of catching up to do. It looks as if it has proven far more difficult for Sony to both launch their own brand new format as well as beating their competition. The numbers also shows that regular DVD is doing great and has nothing to worry about right now. We will have to wait and see if the Spring can turn this all around for Sony.

This is just terrible, terrible I tell you!

 

[landlocked]

They just sunk $1000 for a PS3, games and accessories. I don't think they're going to line up to spend $30 on a movie just yet!

Besides...it's a GAMING machine.

 

[patrickpiteo]

Can you say BETAMAX?

 

[Neutron]

Wasn't Sony behind BetaMax too?

 

[teamerickson]

Can you say BETAMAX?

What happens if you say it three times? Will Blue-Ray go away?

 

[BFG]

betamax is still around, the professionals use it, just saying...

 

[charper1]

and it was a TOTALLY different set of circumstances that led to its failure in the home user retail market. It and D8/Hi8 are also very big in the professional ranks with minimal home user market.

 

[CochiseGuy]

After months of delay the Playstation 3 finally hit the US on November 17th. The gaming console has long been known as Sony's secret weapon in the HD format war. Their Trojan Horse to get a blu-ray player into every home. However, it now looks as if also this launch from Sony is not having the impact and flawlessness that they had hoped for. Many analysts claim that they where only able to ship 150,000 - 250,000 of the more than 400,000 promised units. These sold out quick but many units was bought with reselling at a high price in mind and not for gaming or movie use.

Sony sold the idea of Blu-ray to many studios with Playstation 3 as their biggest argument to support their format and not HD-DVD. Fox among others have been know for saying that the PS3 was their main reason for their Blu-ray support.

This is just terrible, terrible I tell you!

Fox? Weren't those the geniuses who were going to give us "O.J. - If I did it, this is how I would have done it"? Yes, I know - Fox Studios is not Fox Network, but the same geniuses running the parent company.

It's all Toshiba & Microsoft's fault, damn them! Toshiba was supposed to cave in and not even bother to launch HD DVD, and then Microsoft went & ruined the PS3 "trojan horse" by releasing the $199 HD DVD add-on for Xbox. Curses! Foiled again!

Of course Sony didn't help themselves any by not securing an adequate supply of blue laser diodes, resulting in a shortage for the PS3 and making it difficult for other CE companies to roll out BR, but, hey! Shooting themselves in the foot is something Sony does best.

I will be really surprised if we don't see Disney or Lionsgate, and/or some CE companies announcing support for HD DVD during the CES show in Vegas in January.

 

[JoeSp]

I purchased 12 BluRay titles for use with my PS3. I wonder if anyone else that purchased the PS3 for the BluRay use purchased a bunch of movies. Also, I have found great deals on BluRay at Walmart (they were selling them out) and Target (they were introducing them). Most I purchased at 19.99 which is not a bad price. I only purchased 5 titles from Amazon.com and Superman Returns on BluRay was cheaper from Target for me (I purchased it with the PS3 and received 10% off). Lets check back in six months when the PS3 installed base is a little bit bigger and folks are not just getting over the purchase price of the PS3. Maybe those numbers will change?

 

[JamesJ]

I would wait till after christmas, because people who Bought them on ebay will be using it, and getting movies, and also the people that sold them on ebay will be buying a system for themselves and maybe taking some of that earned money and buying movies!

 

[vinnyv07]

I purchased 12 BluRay titles for use with my PS3. I wonder if anyone else that purchased the PS3 for the BluRay use purchased a bunch of movies. Also, I have found great deals on BluRay at Walmart (they were selling them out) and Target (they were introducing them). Most I purchased at 19.99 which is not a bad price. I only purchased 5 titles from Amazon.com and Superman Returns on BluRay was cheaper from Target for me (I purchased it with the PS3 and received 10% off). Lets check back in six months when the PS3 installed base is a little bit bigger and folks are not just getting over the purchase price of the PS3. Maybe those numbers will change?

If I had a PS3, I would buy movies for sure. Having a Bluray palyer is a huge deal. PS 3 is going to have a very big effect on the BR market, but the price of the stand alone Blu-ray player has to come down before anything. It's way too high.

 

[JoeSp]

The new Toshiba top model has an asking price of $899. Maybe Sony will back off and ask $899 for their standalone BluRay player. Competition -- don't you love it!

 

[compson]

Didn't you know? BR people are very different from HD DVD people. Unlike everyone else in the world, BR people don't buy from Amazon.com. At least that's what BR supports say. I just can't remember what their explanation is.

 

[JoeSp]

I now have six BluRay titles coming from Amazon.com. If the price is right, I'm buying.

 

[BobMurdoch]

Sony's history in contested formats

1. Betamax
2. Digital Compact Cassette
3. SA-CD
4. BluRay

All formats perceived to be superior in comparison with the competition. VHS succeeded due to larger capacity, and less stringent royalty rates. DCC died along with DAT as the RIAA killed support, inferring that perfect digital copies would destroy them. DAT survives as a professional recording medium as well as a backup technology, but that's it. SA-CD has all but keeled over along with DVD Audio as the strict anti copying measures, contested format, and expensive media killed it for all but the most discerning audiophiles.

BluRay is following the same path. More capacity, but less usability (no standard DVD side possible like HD DVD), and more expensive.

I just hope that Disney and Fox wake up and realize how much money they are leaving on the table and support both. Sony will eventually cave after BluRay Spiderman 3 discs sell 1/100th of their standard DVD counterparts next Christmas....

 

[teamerickson]

I have a feeling HD DVD will get some big announcements at CES next month. Is somebody going to switch sides? I hope so.

 

[CochiseGuy]

Wii beats PS3 but both suffer Ebay effect

I have a feeling HD DVD will get some big announcements at CES next month. Is somebody going to switch sides? I hope so.

I will be really surprised if we don't get an announcement at CES of at least one CE hardware company announcing an HD DVD player. The BR player and Toshiba XA2 pricing of $899 (MSRP) gives manufactorers some room to proftably produce an HD DVD player. I'll also be surprised if Disney, maybe through a division like Buena Vista, doesn't announce to release HD DVD titles in addition to Blu-Ray. Fox will hang tough for awhile through stubborness. And of course Sony / Columbia will remain the last BR player standing.

Meanwhile, from the Financial Times:

Sony sold only 197,000 units of its PlayStation3 games console in the US last month, well below sales of Nintendo’s rival Wii, because of supply problems.

It had aimed to put 400,000 PS3s into the biggest market for video games for the release of its next-generation machine in November.

But the figures from researcher NPD Group show it achieved less than 200,000.

In contrast, Nintendo’s rival Wii console outsold the PS3 by more than two-to-one, selling 476,000 units in November.

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console also appeared to have benefited from the hype around the new launches and from the frustration of gamers unable to buy the new products.

It outsold both the PS3 and Wii with 511,000 units.

Mr Pachter said the 360 was not as much a beneficiary as he had expected, perhaps due to the $400 price tag for its premium version.

The real winner was the PlayStation2, he said, which sold 663,000 units after Sony dropped the price from $149 to $129.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/5880c01e-86ee-11db-9ad5-0000779e2340.html

 

[JamesJ]

Mr Pachter said the 360 was not as much a beneficiary as he had expected, perhaps due to the $400 price tag for its premium version.

The real winner was the PlayStation2, he said, which sold 663,000 units after Sony dropped the price from $149 to $129.

thats a good indication for the Ps3 I would assume!

 

[GeorgeLV]

Mr Pachter said the 360 was not as much a beneficiary as he had expected, perhaps due to the $400 price tag for its premium version.

The real winner was the PlayStation2, he said, which sold 663,000 units after Sony dropped the price from $149 to $129.

thats a good indication for the Ps3 I would assume!

Uh, how. If your $500-$600 products are being substituted by a $129 product, it's very bad news. It means someone, way, way, miscalculated the price elasticity of demand in the video game market.

 

[JamesJ]

because people are sticking with Sony, also The reason many might not be buying the PS3 is because when they go to grab it its not there yet.....supply problems, remember thats what the whole article was about? Also many of you and many other people said, Xbox 360 will run away with christmas this year everyone will be buying a 360 instead, but yet according to this article its not happening. Also Sony would probably want you to buy the ps2 now, and ps3 next year as they are losing their butts right now!