PS3 Poll Police: The Format War -- Aftermath

by Nick Doerr { Feb 17th 2008 at 8:30PM }

When we say "aftermath" we mean after the supposed end of the war between two rival HD formats for the time being, or something. It's been circulating around the streets that Toshiba is ceasing any more HD DVD player manufacturing and the Poll Police have heard this is the end of the line for said format. Now the police are curious: the harbingers of internet justice want to know how you reacted upon hearing the news so many Sony fanboys have waited for.

How did you react when the format war "ended"?
	React? It's been over since the PS3 launched.
	I was happy, lit fireworks, danced, et cetera
	I was surprised, but not shocked.
	My response could be categorized as "tepid".
	I don't think it's over. You'll see.
	Wait, there was a format war?

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It's not meant to spark any flames ... we simply want to know how you reacted to the news. Personally, the staff at the Poll Police headquarters nodded our heads with our usual cautious optimism, laced with a hint of surprise at the sudden announcement. Curious about last week's poll? Sure you are. Take the plunge and see the results.

It seems that the PS3's around the globe are getting loved. We understand that a lot of you are busy and can't play with your sexy black behemoth as often as you'd like, but we're sure it forgives you. Sure, it was a sort of weak question with an abstract Valentine's Day theme to it, but still, the results are great news! Plus a lot of people voted; many more than usual. As such, we give our thanks to you and look forward to seeing you again next week!

Tags: poll-police

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

R5 @ Feb 17th 2008 8:48PM

I remember reading an article in Variety around November '07 which stated HD-DVD has never outsold Blu-ray (not even one week!) throughout '07, so no, I can't say I was surprised. It was only a matter of time.

Dru @ Feb 17th 2008 9:06PM

Glad it's over so we can start getting everything on one format. I just with MS wouldn't have pushed Toshiba to stay in it as long as they did. Since everything is eventually going to go to digital distribution I wonder what will happen to the trade-in/resell market on games/movies. Anyone have any ideas as to what that will look like in a few years?

Token White Guy @ Feb 17th 2008 9:24PM

My reaction is "meh". I really didn't care who won.

Haiddasalami @ Feb 17th 2008 9:35PM

I knew eventually Toshiba had to give up. Better now than later and probably they can recuperate their losses with production of blu-ray players. On a positive note, those hd-dvd movies are going to be dirt cheap. +1 for consumers -1 for Toshiba.

ClarkyCat @ Feb 17th 2008 9:52PM

Does anyone really care? This seems almost identical to what happened in music. There was a "war" between SACD and DVD-Audio. Everyone ignored it, and standard old CD remained and remains the popular choice, along with digital downloads. It's probably going to be exactly the same here - DVD will still reign supreme with digital distribution second. Nobody wants to re-purchase their movie library for an almost unnoticable change in quality. At least, not yet...

joey2joey @ Feb 17th 2008 9:59PM

If it is unnoticeable then it's your TV. Get a 1080p TV and you will notice the difference. I just have 720 and I still see a big difference.

Nippon @ Feb 18th 2008 12:55AM

Please explain how you see no difference. It must be some error in your part. I notice a difference in 1080p and HD loseless sound.

ClarkyCat @ Feb 18th 2008 3:54AM

Apologies, what I should've said was no noticeable change for the average consumer. People in the know like yourselves will have proper 1080p setups, but the majority of people are clueless and just buy the first thing they see with "HD Ready" written on it. Sub par TVs, wiring, speakers etc. and you may aswell just be watching a standard DVD.

Joe @ Mar 24th 2008 2:38AM

either way the Blu-ray players can upconvert dvd. And I can see a big difference due to a 1200p Computer monitor as opposed to the use of a television so I see every graphic flaw in movies and games. It does get annoying at times ....

AF @ Feb 17th 2008 10:04PM

Unnoticeable change in quality? Get a new TV or get your eyes checked. Some old movies may not come off so great, but anyone who's seen Casino Royale, Pirates of the Carribbean, or one of the Pixar flicks in HD can see the difference (and hear it!) immediately. Neither DVD nor downloads is "good enough."

Popfrogs @ Feb 18th 2008 1:21AM

Actually some older films (that were filmed on great cameras / film to begin with) make good BR discs. I have 3 Kubrick movies (The Shining looks the best, don't have 2001 yet) and they all look pretty amazing. A Clockwork Orange doesn't look wonderful all the time but you can tell it has nothing to do with the transfer, the source material was bad in spots.

Snoopy @ Feb 17th 2008 10:10PM

I am actually happy because at first microsoft had said sony had done a mistake by placing a blue-ray player on the PS3 and now they see they were the ones mistaken I am sure many Ps3 owners are also happy about this great news

parkd @ Feb 17th 2008 11:34PM

I'm glad it's over. Toshiba should have given up sooner...

parkd @ Feb 17th 2008 11:35PM

*Continued* They were only confusing the consumers.

ryan @ Feb 18th 2008 7:31PM

it's been over since the launch. see: PS2 and DVD.

ted @ Feb 18th 2008 1:06AM

Why did'nt Microsoft see this one coming a mile off?
Don't they have like a million guys with super degrees trying to
figure this stuff out so they don't loose money?
I think the winner seemed obvious to alot of people for quite some time.
What is big Bill's true motive? Those twisted,criminal gears never stop turning.

EdgeOne @ Feb 18th 2008 12:11PM

They certainly knew it was possible (HD DVD would fail) which is exactly why they didn't build it into the 360 despite strong support among the fanbase to do otherwise.

As for Bill's true motive? Being a capitalist, it would be to make money but to your question I would guess to get users to order movies off Xbox Live Marketplace and soon to be Netflix distribution over XBLM.

However I do believe the 360 will get and external Blu Ray drive soon. Its always been about choices on how to get content, and still is.

Avi @ Feb 18th 2008 4:33AM

Lol, its totally over its even on tonights news...bluray has one the format war by miles.

SuicideNinja @ Feb 18th 2008 12:36PM

I knew Blu-ray would probably win. People were too blinded by the "potential" space advantage to see that enforcing standards made for a better end-user experience. All HD-DVD players supported the same movie features, where Blu-ray players can't say the same (even with updates). The leaves the PS3 is the only reliable player because it's guaranteed to be updatable and supports an internet connection.

So great. Blu-ray won. How long before it makes a notable jump on regular old DVD?

PS3 Poll Police: The Format War -- Aftermath