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Blu-ray won't give PS3 a long-term competitive edge, claims Olin photo

Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences president Joseph Olin has singled out Blu-ray as yet another difference maker that may eventually lose its edge, going the way of the third party exclusive. While stating that the format still has some short-term advantages, in the long run it won't matter.

"I look at Blu-ray being the obvious short-term differentiator, but if everything goes to digital download -- and over time, it will -- then the Blu-ray device no longer has the same competitive advantage, or the benefit is not as strong as the feature is," stated Olin. The AIAS president admitted that there is a noticeable difference in visual quality with Blu-ray, but questioned whether that was enough to make the PS3 a more attractive offer.

I think that, although being a cheap Blu-ray player has helped the PS3 a little, we've seen that the promise of Blu-ray enhanced visuals hasn't been enough in the past to capture the imagination of gamers. Only now, when there is actually some good software to take advantage of Blu-ray, do we see the PS3 gathering steam. 

Software is where it's at, and it'll be down to the first and second parties to give each side the edge as we move into the future.








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Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize. Likes PS2, iPod Touch, Silent Hill 2, Metal Gear Solid, Dynasty Warriors 3 Meet the rest of the team



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21 comments | showing # 1 to 21
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funran's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/28/2008 10:24
funran
This guy is talking out of his ass. Digital distribution is coming, it's here actually to some extent. Realistically Digital Distribution being the main source for Media is like 10 years or more away. You'll still have DVDs, CDs, Blu-ray in stores for many many many years to come. I doubt that in the Next-Gen cycle we won't see digital distribution take over either.
VixenFox's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/28/2008 10:26
VixenFox
Will Ferrell: The Go-to-Guy for lame Blu-ray/PS3 blogs.
Phantom Spaceman's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/28/2008 10:29
Phantom Spaceman
@funran: meh, I like having some sort of physical manifestation of my stuff. I don't want it all digital.
funran's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/28/2008 10:35
funran
@Phantom actually I agree with you 100%, there is something nice about collecting things, you miss out of pretty box art, manuals, etc. I love steam, and buy games through it, but FPS's like TF2 are not important for me to own. But like yesterday, I bought Disgaea 3 and I wouldn't have downloaded that...i want the box, i want it next to my other games. I think digital downloading will become more and more important with things like netflix, xbla, psn but I don't see it being more than just "an option" not a necessity.
F Whipple's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/28/2008 10:36
F Whipple
never doubt the power of shake & bake
funran's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/28/2008 10:37
funran
@Phantom actually I agree with you 100%, there is something nice about collecting things, you miss out of pretty box art, manuals, etc. I love steam, and buy games through it, but FPS's like TF2 are not important for me to own. But like yesterday, I bought Disgaea 3 and I wouldn't have downloaded that...i want the box, i want it next to my other games. I think digital downloading will become more and more important with things like netflix, xbla, psn but I don't see it being more than just "an option" not a necessity.
Danmartigan's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/28/2008 10:43
Danmartigan
first you shake em .. then you bake em.
redgopher's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/28/2008 10:51
redgopher
Digital distribution for games and TV shows is certainly here, now, but for full 1080p movies with extras? Please. I've only got 5Mbit DSL, does this jackass have any idea how long it would take to download something like that?
necrozen's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/28/2008 10:51
necrozen
Yeah, I don't mind downloading little games like Pixel Junk Eden and Bionic Commando RE, but would I want to DL MGS4? Nah. Or what about trading in? There are some games, like Conan for the PS3, that I bought used for 20 bucks knowing full well I would be slapping it up on the goozex trade as soon as I beat it. (I actually resold it for $25, so I made a profit in that situation.)

I don't think you can resell old DL content. I doubt you can rent them before you can buy them either. Sure, you can play demos but it's not the same as renting it. This isn't music were talking about. It's a visual media. I don't see games or movies going this direction for quite a long time. I know I haven't gotten over owning a physical copy of most of my media (except for music) and I bet there are quite a few folks out there like me.
whormongr's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/28/2008 10:54
whormongr
@Phantom, @funran absolutely on b oth fronts- besides that storage woill need to increase as well as broadband speed, and with companies siting "piracy" as their excuse- caps are on their way here in the US-
look at it this way:
average size of ps3 rips
ninja gaiden 11 gigs
heavenly sword: 17 gigs
I think I saw somewhere GTA was around 18 gigs
It is not realistic to distribute High quality games via network like that- the force unleashed DEMO was over a gig- especially if telecoms are capping it is not realistic to do digital distribution of anything- as well I do like having the physical media as a backup if nothing else (but it is also nice to see them on the shelf)
aaronf's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/28/2008 11:20
aaronf
Music is much cheaper and easier to purchase online. Yet brick and mortar stores still have loads of CDs for sale on shelves. We are still quite a ways away from 100% digital media distribution.
deaddays's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/28/2008 12:05
deaddays
Long live the Talladega Nights meme!
funran's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/28/2008 12:26
funran
@whormongr yep. This is specifically going to be a problem with broadband speeds in the discussion of being capped. I hate waiting for 2 gig demos to download, and if that is going to increase to 50+ gigs one day for future games.......i don't even want to think about how long that is going to take, even without a cap. Obviously technology changes, that is a given, but I don't see the internet tripling in speed in the next 5-10 years.
s0lesurviv0r's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/28/2008 13:01
s0lesurviv0r
I see digital distribution happening slightly sooner than the "paperless era". I think games will still have to be purchased at brick and mortar stores for the most part. But as soon as ISP's can remove speed caps, digital distro will be more viable.
Timmeh's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/28/2008 13:11
Timmeh
I'd rather developers invested more into gameplay and offering something new instead of paying armies of artists to create 40GB of textures but what do I know?
mix's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/28/2008 13:17
mix
I will always choose a physical copy over a downloaded one as you will always have the original copy incase yoru HDD dies or something.

Plus I fell like I own it when I have the pyhsical copy.

When I log onto Steam and play HL2 or TF2 I get a sense that I don't actually own the game I am playing and if anything happens to my account or my internet connection I am screwed.

PLUS I had to e-mail Steam about 10 times becuase my key was not working so I could not install my game and I was pretty pissed for a bit over that then after I got a response back it magically worked.
parrothead's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/28/2008 13:35
parrothead
Can you imagine if we had to download MGS4? I would still be waiting for the game to load...I like having a physical copy of the game. Makes me feel like I actually bought something
rpbowlinggod's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/28/2008 14:31
rpbowlinggod
Buying a game and playing it right away is a big reason that digital downloads will not be fully supported in my house. Plus, if you take into account the amount of dvd's i have, I would need something close to a 5-10 terabyte(?) HDD. Until anyone can make them for cheap (just like me), thats a no-go.
MaxVest's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/28/2008 15:32
MaxVest
It seems the more people spend, the more they want a physical copy to collect, resell, trade, or loan out. Digital distribution is not designed to give the buyer options.
DryvBy's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/29/2008 07:21
DryvBy
Digital download is NOT going to last. Do people really not see the news that everywhere, almost all internet providers are charging per GB? Why would the industry want to pay more for a compressed file?
zeroword's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/30/2008 23:17
zeroword
Digital download is not going to be mainstream for at least a couple of decades. We still need widely available broadband. Not to mention the bitrate on current HD downloads is actually too low to be considered HD. Not even cable has proper HD. Although companies would love you to believe otherwise just like how the MPAA believes the mp3 is an exact audio copy.
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