Gamers speak up: Blu-ray is okay!
According to one community, fans looking forward to the PlayStation 3 say that bundling a Blu-ray player with the new console was a good move by Sony. A resounding 67% said they agree with the inclusion (granted it was only out of 1,120 votes). However the other third that voted thinks it would have been wise to have the option to choose it with or without Blu-ray.Whether Sony should have had two version of the console is neither here nor there. What really matters is what the gaming community thinks as a whole. Should Blu-ray have been optional or not? We've tackled this one before, but it would be very interesting to see the results played out on a wider poll. Expect one addressing this question to pop up next week and we'll get some formal numbers from our own community to see what you think.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nik @ Jun 15th 2006 3:11PM
"What really matters is what the gaming community thinks as a whole."
More and more I think that we need to remember that we are not "the" gaming community. We are the online game community, a group of people who post on forums and participate in these polls. Even though this was noted in the article I found it a bit contradictory to later go on to say that this was a poll of the gaming community as a whole. I know plenty of hardcore gamers who've never touched an online poll and have strong opinions about this.
Just something to keep in mind nexxt time your considering posting "OMFG EVERYONE LOVES BLURAY ROFL STUPID MICROSOFT LOL THEY SUXORZ!!!!!!!"
Paul @ Jun 15th 2006 3:31PM
I am sure that I will be in the tiny minority here in not supporting the blu-ray decision, but any poll like this is far from scientific.
When will someone man up and sponsor a real poll about this?
Sony wont do it because they dont want to see that they made the wrong move (and lose face in terms of the Japanese tradition)
MS might do it... then just suppress the results if it doesnt benefit them.
adamsb @ Jun 15th 2006 4:22PM
@ Nik: "According to one community..."
First line =D Thanks for sharing your thoughts tho!
SuicideNinja @ Jun 15th 2006 4:29PM
Nope. No Bluray. And for the record, no HD-DVD either. They are scamming us into unnecessary technologies and having us pay the price. They don't tell you that that they've had red-laser discs go 50GB, and it cost much less.
Even so, if we had a whole bunch of games that were 7 - 8.5GB right now, it might be different. But that's not the case. I can't justify the expense...yet.
And if either format ever implements that "security token" crap that prevents them from displaying in HD in non-HDCP compliant connections, then they should die.
boots @ Jun 15th 2006 6:04PM
The gaming community wants it. Awesome, now fanboys can cut the crap.
As I've said before tons of times, Blu-ray has a lot of potential for gaming, development, and publishing. PS1 and PS2 got their potential exploited to the fullest, and there's no reason why any developer for PS3 wouldn't want to do the same with it. Since development tools are much better now than they were 6 years ago, content should be created fast enough to surpass a dual-layered DVD, which is enough to need the Blu-ray discs.
Blu-ray is great for games that surpass dual layer DVDs even if "only by a little" (that's the point of it, not only to "fill it").
Besides, according to many industry experts, HDCP security tokens won't be the norm until after 2010.
Oh, and by the time everyone that thinks it was a good idea has one, a price drop should be inminent, so all the whiners will be satisfied by then. Xbox fanboys shouldn't even considered as potential customers anyway.
Tom @ Jun 15th 2006 8:43PM
First you say 67% of "fans looking forward to the PlayStation 3".
Then you referr to that group as "the gaming community".
Which is it? There are probably only 1,120 people on earth looking forward to the Playstation 3, and that's far from being "the gaming community".
Jim N @ Jun 15th 2006 8:57PM
SuicideNinja, I completely agree that with you on the UMD thing. Here is another format that really is just Sony trying to make some extra bucks off of a format royalties. The movies are an absolute joke, although I should probably not say that since I have never bought one, but honestly if Sony thinks I am going to pony up another $18 or more to buy a copy of the movie that will only work on a PSP they need to get a completely new Research, Marketing departments. The UMD as a game format is not all bad because it allows for so much more content then say Nintendo cartridges. But powering a mechanical drive causes slow loading times, and sucks battery life super fast. I do not see any problems with MS DUO memory sticks but that may be because my digital cameras all use them, and my depth finder / GPS unit for my fishing boat use them too.
As for Blu-Ray as a format, I am really not sure that as a movie format it is ever going to go anywhere. I do believe that on the personal computer this is going to be a huge and I mean a super HUGE seller once the price comes down a bit. The idea of being able to store 50 gig or more is going to be great, for backups. I guess also as a gaming format I think most publishers are probably going to continue to kick out games on a regular DVD format disk. While a few of the games that Sony Entertainment creates will try to show off the need for Blu-Ray and get some huge content games, possibly a few of the die hard Sony publishers like Square Enix will use some Blu-Ray disks but as a whole the game publishers are not going to want to stick even more money into Sony’s pocket then they have too. What will really make me laugh is if Sony configures the hardware to require all PS3 games to be on Blu-Ray.
bobeotm @ Jun 15th 2006 10:19PM
The online community of gamers is always the most vocal and (dare I say it?) whiney segment of the population. We are always the first to praise, to complain. Changes in technology always make people who are reluctant to change queasy, but I think blu-ray is a good change. Its not like someone is forcing you to re-buy your old dvds on blu-ray, I know im not, since they will play on blu-ray players as well. Games don't have to worry about hitting a ceiling, which is nice. All of you who talk about how no next gen game will fill a dvd are on crack. People thought years ago that games wouldnt be able to fill a cdrom, but by the end of the PSone era, some games were on two or more cds.
Tom @ Jun 15th 2006 11:22PM
I want games on 7 terabyte discs. Now!
Rabish12 @ Jun 16th 2006 12:21AM
67% of gamers agreeing that Blu-Ray shouldn't have been optional =/= 67% of gamers supporting the choice to include Blu-Ray. I certainly wouldn't want it to be optional - nothing worse than buying a console only to find that you have to buy upgrades if you want to play most of the games - but I'm still very much opposed to the inclusion of Blu-Ray overall.
bobeotm @ Jun 16th 2006 8:10AM
They have just posted a poll on Joystiq about blu-ray, with all the nintendo and xbox fans on that site, im sure they will manage to make the poll look the exact opposite. *rolls eyes*
People make hundreds of dollars worth of uprades to a pc just to play a single game. Sony tries to make a system that will be more future proof than the competition, and people complain. It not like games are going to look horrible if you dont have a HDTV. The games will still look incredible regardless of what tv you play them on, its just that they will look AMAZING on an hdtv.
It just like a HD broadcast on tv, if you dont have a HD set. Just because YOU cant see it in HD, doesnt make the picture horrible, you just arent seeing it at its full potential. We buy PC games all the time that we cant see at their full potential, but it doesnt make them less fun, and their still impressive.
Multi @ Jun 16th 2006 9:17AM
Just goes to show, if Sony wrapped a dog turn in a shining silver case stamped ‘PLAYSTATION’ on it the mass market (sheep) would blindly follow the stench to the nearest cash register. WAKE UP!!!!!, don’t let yourself be bullied into a format which in under a year could become obsolete, think Betamax, think Mini disk, Think UMD???…. When did playing games on a GAMES
console play second fiddle to all the other stuff!?????
Paul @ Jun 16th 2006 9:42AM
11 Yes they will change the results as to what PS fans want HOWEVER, it is a much more accurate representation of the gaming market. Unfortunately no one has done a statistically acurate poll yet.
Microdot @ Jun 16th 2006 10:27AM
i would much rather pay extra for a machine that is cutting edge, and one that i can use for a few years... than see technology fall behind and buy something NEW that was up to date as of 4 years ago.
just as it was with every console ever produced... technology will advance. designers will advance. that space will be much needed. i would much rather a designer give it his all, and do it right... than have sacrifices made because blu-ray or hd-dvd cannot be considered the norm in the console. just as with the 360... developers cannot assume that users will have hd-dvd.
Pedro @ Jun 16th 2006 11:07AM
Sony doesn't need polls, I don't care about polls. The PS3 has blu-ray whether you like or not. You have a choice buy or don't buy it, you don't need a poll to tell you that. Like microdot said, I rather have cutting edge technology for 100.00 more than just have upgraded current technology.
The PS fans are a huge majority, don't listen to what any polls have to say, blu-ray is here to stay.
Paul @ Jun 16th 2006 11:55AM
you do need polls, appropriate market research is what keeps quality companies in business. Thinking otherwise is foolish. Sony doesnt do polls because they do what they want and not what the market tells them they want. Pedro you seem very defensive to the idea, if you are so sure about this being the right business move why are you opposed to some statistical research?
Microdot @ Jun 16th 2006 1:35PM
paul... you cant possibly be idiotic enough to believe that a poll taken on a remote website is in any way informative, or indicative of ANYTHING other than how many people visit that site that like "x" product.
what you are discussing is not something you are typically going to get a concise answer for online (or at least not on a mediocre website)... throw it on something along the lines of cnn or msn or the like, and then you may have data that would be a little more concise.
Pedro @ Jun 16th 2006 1:53PM
Because polls from the internet are very biased.
boots @ Jun 16th 2006 1:59PM
Microdot, don't disregard polls. Polls give important statistical information. However, neither the poll taken by gamers on a PS3 site, nor the one on Joystiq (which is filled by Nintendo and Xbox fanboys, as shown by all the polls and simply the threads), can be trusted, i.e. they are naturally biased.
HDTVs are selling like hotcakes. When people go buy an HDTV or simply are inside a consumer electronics store, they'll see PS3, and they'll be offered, and convinced by salesmen to get it. You will mostly find an Xbox 360 in toy stores and gaming stores; next to the PS3.
Hell, 33% of gamers agreeing now to adopt Blu-ray with PS3 is enough anyway. After the price drops, more will come.
Blu-ray FTW
Paul @ Jun 16th 2006 2:10PM
notice how i frequently say statistically acurate? that means online is 100% out. A true statistically acurate marketing poll is done through phone calls and face to face interviews.
Note what I said:
"I am sure that I will be in the tiny minority here in not supporting the blu-ray decision, but any poll like this is far from scientific."
followed by
"Yes they will change the results as to what PS fans want HOWEVER, it is a much more accurate representation of the gaming market. Unfortunately no one has done a statistically acurate poll yet."
followed by
"you do need polls, appropriate market research is what keeps quality companies in business. "
read the whole thing first microdot then comment
Andrew Paul Baisden @ Jun 16th 2006 2:24PM
i'm all for blu-ray 25g of memory imagine the games that could be developped
Paul @ Jun 16th 2006 2:25PM
boots logicially that argument makes sense, but I have found that logic tends not to apply to 99% of people. Additionally, who knows what the margins will be for the stores for the PS3 v the 360 and the salesmen's personal preference.
This is why i really want a TRUE, statistically relevant poll that will give sony and at this point more importantly, their marketing team, a solid handle on what the market place really thinks.
bobeotm @ Jun 16th 2006 4:49PM
Even if blu-ray fails, (which I sincerely doubt, since most movies studios and the worlds largest PC manufacturer (not to mention Apple is on board) it will be a great plus for PS3 gaming. The extra capacity means there is no storage ceiling, no need to compress textures and video to lower resolution to fit on the disk. Just look at how some games on the 360 look awesome, but are short. Also, using blu-ray as opposed to DVD9 means that data can be pulled off the disk at a much faster rate.
boots @ Jun 17th 2006 1:20AM
Paul,
We're going to have elections soon here. There are polls here and there, but really, who cares? Why not simply actually vote/buy and see the actual results instead of prognostication? After all, it's worthless to make an actual scientific poll if there is going to be a console war anyway.
Paul @ Jun 18th 2006 8:25PM
Its far from worthless, it will help with marketing, which sony has traditionally failed out, and it is clear they have been failing at recently.
boots @ Jun 20th 2006 1:40AM
"Its far from worthless, it will help with marketing, which sony has traditionally failed out, and it is clear they have been failing at recently."
The only way Sony would benefit from such polls would be if they favored Sony. So they could favor Sony, and if they don't, they are useless. Either way they get a cost, and since they want "good results", then they can simply do what Microsoft, Nintendo and every other corporation does: Say they are winning and save the cost of a poll.
You know how Sony has benefited more, proof of how they are good marketers, given their enormous sales of PS2s? Sony doesn't need aproval from the market, but rather, they tell consumers what they want. They tell you (and with some reason, as people don't really know the benefits of Blu-ray), "games need Blu-ray", which is true at an important degree. It would be useless to poll an ignorant crowd anyway.
Oh, and if any hater thinks PS2 sold so much because it was constantly breaking down, then there should be an explanation of why on the states, where PS2 had little bit more than 33 million, and Xbox 1 had 15 million, cross platform titles sold twice on PS2? Yeah, that's right fanboys, shut the hell up.