PS3 packaging unleashed!
by Ed Stasick 
{ Sep 11th 2006 at 6:39PM }
The wait is over! We've got our first peek at the PlayStation 3's box art. Not surprisingly, it follows the format used for Blu-Ray movies very closely. I happen to like the standard blue boarder in this mock-up and the new "thinness" of the Blu-Ray movie packaging (it takes 2 or 3 Blu-Ray disks to equal the thickness of a traditional DVD case).
The only drawback I see at this point with Blu-Ray media is the increased chance for disk damage. HD-DVD fanboys seem to believe that a Blu-Ray disk is 10x easier to permanently damage because the data is kept so much closer to the surface of the disk versus a standard DVD or HD-DVD. And, I do know that the new thin cases are going to be much less likely to survive being stepped on than their thicker counter-parts. Translation: the PS3 is not kid friendly.
[UPDATE: Here's a link to the claim around Blu-Ray being easy to damage.]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
B33 @ Sep 11th 2006 6:53PM
Why are all the blogs putting the fake pic up? Put the actual pic up. The rendered one looks like crap.
the_pwnerer @ Sep 11th 2006 6:59PM
Blu-ray discs are *very* hard to scratch. How come you don't know this? Read a little about durabis and durabis-2, developed by TDK. Any Blu-ray website, howstuffworks.com, or wikipedia should do the trick.
Adam @ Sep 11th 2006 7:20PM
LOL, the box art either looks incredibly fake, or just plain stupid. Who are the brains behind this mockup? Hell, that would take me like 5 seconds to do myself.
Where is the originality?
Ghost @ Sep 11th 2006 7:24PM
FAKE
Just to clear things up.
Ed @ Sep 11th 2006 7:42PM
Yeah, NOT fake. That's the real box art. IGN put onto a Blu-Ray case. What? you think that Sony isn't going to use the Blu-Ray cases for the PS3 games? This whole thing is all about Blu-Ray for Sony. Plus, you can tell the artwork has been exaclty created to fit the standard Blu-Ray case format. So, NOT fake. Definitly REAL.
Ed @ Sep 11th 2006 7:42PM
For you guys wondering about why I don't know about how hard it is to hurt Blu-Ray. I said HD-DVD fanboys were claiming they were easy to damage:
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/xbox360/whyhddvd.htm
"Easy to Damage: Because Blu-ray discs are encoded near the very top layer of the disc with limited protection, the data is literally at higher risk to damage. Conversely, HD DVD maintains physical protection similar to standard DVD."
Ritchie Nolasco @ Sep 11th 2006 10:52PM
Even if Sony gives all their PS3 games lavish packaging, they still cannot hide the fact that the launch lineup is weak in quality.
nick @ Sep 11th 2006 11:21PM
Microsoft was not the originator of that claim. I've seen that posted on a bunch of different HD technical sites.
As for whether or not it's true, does anyone have Blu-Ray to actually test it? I don't know anyone with a Blu-Ray player yet.
ffaljka @ Sep 12th 2006 12:50AM
why does no one think? Its simple marketing and customer awareness. Cd's come out in different cases from dvds and hd-dvds come out in different cases than dvds. So why cant bluray come out in a different case? oh yeah because sony is worse than microsoft and wants your money more than anything in the world. All this negitivity towards sony is sickening, yes some of its deserved cause they used a japanese favorite of play on words with giving out hints to the features of the ps3 controller among other things, and their understanding of the subtlties of the english language is weak, but they have kept almost all of their promises for the ps2, even the toystory esk graphics. (look at god of war, cars, ff12, gt4, ect). Just because an item can put out graphics that are toy story quality, doesnt mean devs have to push the graphics that far. The ps2 gave them the possibility to, not force them to. (just for fun, MS forced devs to use xbox live for the xb. options huh?)
The Playstation's father Kaz(i think, im terrible with names) is a techno freak that wants to push technology to the max every chance he gets. So games are second to him, so what, hes an engineer, he designed a system that has alot of potential for those who have the games at #1, the developers.
To point, It has a blu ray case because it has a blu ray disc inside it, its not a dvd or it would be a dvd case. Because of it being a different standard, it will have different packaging. Who in their right mind would be happy to have the cases look like the PS2 cases and accidently buy a ps3 game for your ps2? I would personaly be pissed at myself and feel a little duped and crushed.
Andir2.0 @ Sep 12th 2006 10:08AM
I for one welcome slim cases. I loved the slim CD cases and I'm sure if the Blu-Ray cases are even close to that, I'll love them too.
The whole reason for the Durabis (sp) layer is because the data is on the very edge. They realized it would be a problem if it wasn't protected and all this horse sh*t about scratching discs is just anti-hype to try to get the faltering HDDVD to take off. The same thing happened with CDs and DVDs. It's nothing new, but the whole blogger generation is bringing things to light that have been common practice for years. None of this "news" surprises me, and I still think that the PS3 will do damn well for itself.
To tell you the truth, that box art made me want to check out the game for whatever it's worth.
in23h @ Sep 12th 2006 2:14PM
do you think there will be issues with fitting in the instruction manuals in slim cases? i know some games have pretty lengthy ones that are pretty thick...
TheGuyNextDoor @ Sep 15th 2006 4:45AM
@5
The PS3fanboy article clearly states:
"The only drawback I see at this point with Blu-Ray media is the increased chance for disk damage."
..and then goes on to explain what an XBox site paraphrases in order to twist it to work in their favour.
Yes the data is closer to the surface, but that's why Durabis was created and used on BD media. It's almost as tough as diamond. The link seems to omit that little bit of information.
B33 @ Sep 12th 2006 3:27PM
"Even if Sony gives all their PS3 games lavish packaging, they still cannot hide the fact that the launch lineup is weak in quality."
Not nearly as weak as the 360 and PS1'a launch lineup.
Wigan @ Sep 12th 2006 11:13PM
"Read a little about durabis and durabis-2, developed by TDK"
Maybe you should read a little more and find out that those technologies are for BD-R and BD-RE (RW), not BD-ROM which the movies and games are going to me.
the_pwnerer @ Sep 13th 2006 12:22AM
Gee, thanks Ed. For a second I thought you weren't going to use the most reliable and unbiased source on Blu-ray: xbox.com. My bad. Let's see if a biased one gives us a counter-point though:
http://www.afterdawn.com/glossary/terms/bd-rom.cfm
Oh, and thanks for clearing up Wigan. Oh wait... if you were right, BD-ROMs would be using caddies. Not anymore, read this as the article states:
"Now instead of using caddies, BD-ROM discs will have a much tougher coating developed by the TDK Corporation. The coating, called Durabis, allows for easier cleaning of the discs. Millions of DVDs and CDs are destroyed each year because consumers do not know how to safely clean them."
Presumably, the last sentence also applies to HD-DVD. Let's also read this:
http://www.afterdawn.com/glossary/terms/durabis.cfm
"Durabis is the name given to a protective clear polymer coating being developed by the TDK Corporation. This coating will be used on BD-ROM discs to help protect against stains and scratches to the discs. The first BD discs were protected instead by being enclosed in plastic caddies, but it was thought this would give HD DVD an advantage as HD DVD discs can be handled like DVDs and CDs. Durabis will make it easy to clean an optical disc and apparently is so tough you could attack a disc with a screwdriver several times without damaging it. "
As I said, if discs weren't using the hard coating developed by TDK, they would be using caddies. If it's not formally called durabis (or more strictly, durabis 2), it is an *equivalent* coating, derived probably from TDKs patents, and perhaps a royalty source for TDK.
LJones @ Sep 14th 2006 1:39PM
Sony probably wont have an exchange policy on their disk!
the_pwnerer @ Sep 19th 2006 8:12AM
Exactly, "TheGuyNextDoor", but one would expect that professional bloggers (and I use both words together in the same phrase despite it being a contradiction) would know that. Or at least, they would be smart enough to get the information where it is correct, complete, and most definitely, not biased. Or at least, not from the website you'd expect the LEAST amount of useful info about Blu-ray.
Way to go, Ed! Try not looking like Ken Weeks next time.