Cloud121
08-19-2007, 05:15 PM
I wouldn't be surprised if this as been discussed already, but this is something I've been thinking about lately.
We all know about the "Format War" between Blu-Ray, and HD-DVD. Microsoft has the HD-DVD drive add-on, and Sony has Blu-Ray built in. Personally, I'm an HD-DVD supporter (Though about half of my favorite movies are on HD, and the other half on Blu-Ray), but unfortunately, as I'm sure we can all predict by now, Blu-Ray is going to win, unless something big happens (Star Wars on HD or something. Then again, I read that Star Wars will be Blu-Ray, but I also read that Lucas wants to wait until there's a clear winner before he releases Star Wars on one of the newer formats).
Whichever "wins out" I bet will become the new storage medium, at least for games, in the next gen consoles. Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft. However, what about those who support the "losing format"?
For this scenario, let's say Blu-Ray wins.
Like the majority of users I've seen here at Digital Press, I don't pack away my systems in storage. The only reason I have my N64 and 32X packed away is that I don't have the shelf space for the games. I keep all my systems hooked up and connected, so the "format war" isn't really a big deal for me, as I'll still use my 360's HD-DVD drive to watch my HD discs, even if Blu-Ray wins.
But what about the more casual players? The type of people who sell they're older systems to help pay for the newer consoles? Also keep in mind, that there are a lot of people who use their consoles as they're primary DVD player. Even with Blu-Ray winning, there will still be people who own a decent HD collection. If console makers put Blu-Ray drives in their consoles, they'll be alienating the HD owners.
So, do you think console makers will put a hybrid drive in the next consoles? They'll likely have dropped enough in price by then that it won't be too expensive to add in. By doing this, they can maximize their audience, and not worry about pissing anyone off. Or perhaps Sony and Nintendo (Nintendo unlikely), will just make it so you can use the HD-DVD drive via USB on their new console (We can expect Microsoft to do so by default).
What do you all think?
Oh and, what ever happened to FireWire? I mean, Sony added it to the PS2, and used it for linking consoles together. I remember before the HD-DVD drive came out on 360, everyone was worried if the USB 2.0 would be fast enough. My first thought was "Just use FireWire", but there is no FireWire port on the 360, or PS3 either. I mean, FireWire is much faster than USB, and if you had a specially designed add-on, use it (Though with it being USB, I guess you can use it on your PC (Mac in my case).
Is it because FireWire is more expensive? I mean, my Blue & White G3 was one of the first Macs to use FireWire, and it came out in January 1999, so it can't cost that much more to implement. Or as my friend says, it's because of USB standing for "Universal" Serial Bus (Okay, so I forgot the exact phrase if that's not it)?
Whoops! I meant to post this in the Modern Gaming forum. Can someone move it there for me? Thanks!
We all know about the "Format War" between Blu-Ray, and HD-DVD. Microsoft has the HD-DVD drive add-on, and Sony has Blu-Ray built in. Personally, I'm an HD-DVD supporter (Though about half of my favorite movies are on HD, and the other half on Blu-Ray), but unfortunately, as I'm sure we can all predict by now, Blu-Ray is going to win, unless something big happens (Star Wars on HD or something. Then again, I read that Star Wars will be Blu-Ray, but I also read that Lucas wants to wait until there's a clear winner before he releases Star Wars on one of the newer formats).
Whichever "wins out" I bet will become the new storage medium, at least for games, in the next gen consoles. Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft. However, what about those who support the "losing format"?
For this scenario, let's say Blu-Ray wins.
Like the majority of users I've seen here at Digital Press, I don't pack away my systems in storage. The only reason I have my N64 and 32X packed away is that I don't have the shelf space for the games. I keep all my systems hooked up and connected, so the "format war" isn't really a big deal for me, as I'll still use my 360's HD-DVD drive to watch my HD discs, even if Blu-Ray wins.
But what about the more casual players? The type of people who sell they're older systems to help pay for the newer consoles? Also keep in mind, that there are a lot of people who use their consoles as they're primary DVD player. Even with Blu-Ray winning, there will still be people who own a decent HD collection. If console makers put Blu-Ray drives in their consoles, they'll be alienating the HD owners.
So, do you think console makers will put a hybrid drive in the next consoles? They'll likely have dropped enough in price by then that it won't be too expensive to add in. By doing this, they can maximize their audience, and not worry about pissing anyone off. Or perhaps Sony and Nintendo (Nintendo unlikely), will just make it so you can use the HD-DVD drive via USB on their new console (We can expect Microsoft to do so by default).
What do you all think?
Oh and, what ever happened to FireWire? I mean, Sony added it to the PS2, and used it for linking consoles together. I remember before the HD-DVD drive came out on 360, everyone was worried if the USB 2.0 would be fast enough. My first thought was "Just use FireWire", but there is no FireWire port on the 360, or PS3 either. I mean, FireWire is much faster than USB, and if you had a specially designed add-on, use it (Though with it being USB, I guess you can use it on your PC (Mac in my case).
Is it because FireWire is more expensive? I mean, my Blue & White G3 was one of the first Macs to use FireWire, and it came out in January 1999, so it can't cost that much more to implement. Or as my friend says, it's because of USB standing for "Universal" Serial Bus (Okay, so I forgot the exact phrase if that's not it)?
Whoops! I meant to post this in the Modern Gaming forum. Can someone move it there for me? Thanks!