How long do you all think it will take for PC games to start being released on Blu-ray discs. I would imagine it will take about two to three years for the drives to really make a dent in the pc market (Personally I am just waiting for writeable blu-ray media more than anything else.) so I would guess that the first pc titles to come out on blu-ray media would take another year or so after that to become visible in any capacity. Thoughts?
So now that HD-DVD is dead
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I dunno. If that will force me to buy some kind of new fangled Blu-Ray device then I hope it never ever ever happens.
HD-DVD? Can't we just stick with the DVD format for another 5 years or so? Untill all the new formats are way cheaper?
I think he's talking about Warner's announcement that they're dropping HD-DVD support for their film library, which does make the format's future look a bit dicey as Blu-ray now has exclusives with Sony (duh), Warner, and Blockbuster. (edited to add: forgot Fox, Disney, and New Line.)
However, I think it'll be quite some time before developers are willing to let go of the current DVD format. Especially with the advent of direct download, I think they'll be worried about betting on the wrong format just as the record industry did even if the Toshiba vs. Sony disc war ends with a clear victor.
-- Steve
However, I think it'll be quite some time before developers are willing to let go of the current DVD format. Especially with the advent of direct download, I think they'll be worried about betting on the wrong format just as the record industry did even if the Toshiba vs. Sony disc war ends with a clear victor.
-- Steve
Apparently Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema have announced that they're going to drop HD DVD support this spring. What this basically means is a major support player for the format has gone turncoat (as New Line is owned by Warner), which has hobbled HD DVD in the current format war.PettingZOOPONY said:
I, for one, don't give a fig about the whole format war. I do not own a HD-TV and won't have the thousands of dollars necessary to buy one, as well as a HD format player and a new entertainment center to house all of this shit since my current monstrosity is just plain the wrong size and shape, not to mention the cost of upgrading my library again, since I have quite a few DVDs and I don't relish the idea of buying them all again just to have it look a wee bit better.
Considering the last 4 games I just recently bought, and two of them still being in CD format, I'd say its a pretty safe bet that the Blu-Ray or HD-DVD format discs will be a good 5 years out before they become some sort of format standard for gaming.
I personally don't think HD-DVD is out of the question yet, even with Warner jumping ship. Both formats have established a fairly good base already, I'm more expecting dual format to become standard. LG already has dual format standalone players on the market, and they're even selling a dual format ROM drive (google 'LG GGC-H20L') for computers thats the same price as the competition's blu-ray or HD-DVD only counterparts... With items such as these becoming affordable, dual format will probably be the end result.
I personally don't think HD-DVD is out of the question yet, even with Warner jumping ship. Both formats have established a fairly good base already, I'm more expecting dual format to become standard. LG already has dual format standalone players on the market, and they're even selling a dual format ROM drive (google 'LG GGC-H20L') for computers thats the same price as the competition's blu-ray or HD-DVD only counterparts... With items such as these becoming affordable, dual format will probably be the end result.
I'm standing neutral on the DVD format war, but I'd like to address some points on HD sets... They don't have to be expensive if you're not looking for lolheug; three years ago my SD set's tube went, and on the advice of friends went with an HD set instead of just buying another SD. Back then, my name-brand 26" widescreen CRT running at 1080i cost me about $500 and it fit inside an entertainment unit. I imagine an equivalent would be even lower now. It does a decent job of upscaling my DVDs if they're hooked up by component cables. (Haven't tried HDMI yet.)Jack Spencer Jr said:
But yeah, I share with you a disinclination to rebuy my collection for the marginal improvement in display quality.
-- Steve
Too true. Electronic delivery is the way of the future with games. If you think about it, MOST people that are gamers are also internet savvy, the market is already installed. Also higher profit margins and more room for independent developers.Anton P. Nym said:
I don't think physical media will ever go away, though. Lots of people like to have a tangible product to pay for.
Standard DVD movies are on their way out, though. They are over-pirated, resolution is terrible on HD-TVs (which have a HUGE installed base now), and there is a TON of pressure from studios for a new format. Blu-ray is now the clear winner, with only Paramount and Universal still exclusive to HD-DVD. Spielberg is throwing his weight around to get Universal to go Blu-ray, and Paramount certainly has an out-clause to their HD-DVD contract.
Unfortunately for Toshiba and Microsoft, Sony has won this format war.
- You've nailed it perfectly. I salute you!Jimmyjames said:
And a little insight from a person who doesn't give a rats-ass about this format war (my girlfriend): "Why did they even make HD-DVD? If you're going to pick a better format you may as well use the best one and not half-ass it"
She's absolutely right as well ^^
I totally agree. Steam is a good system, I think. During a sale, I can get games cheaper off of Steam than from online sites selling used games. Also, by buying the Orange Box off of Steam, I made sure Valve got the $45 US that they deserved, not whatever they got from Circuit City or Best Buy.Jimmyjames said:
New-line cinema also went blu-ray no one will buy anything made using HD-dvd now if they have any sense. Anyway I think the penetration will start to happen in about four years minimum, direct downloads are simply never going to overtake any physical medium ever content size always outpaces the median bandwidth available to the majority of people. Think about it this way online shopping is certainly huge but the birck and mortar stores are not going anywhere any time soon. DVD's will cerainly be around for a very long time to come but I think that PC games will grow in size much like their console counterparts (Though dvd on the pc hasn't started to hit the wall like it has on consoles.) I would imagine that it would be able to use something like install-on-demand [http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb174601(VS.85).aspx] on a game that doesn't need more than one disc. I think that the change over will happen on the pc for the same reason you basically never see cd releases anymore...people hate changing discs to install a game it just sucks period. Carry on.
Anyone else think that if quality hidef content was able to be legally streamed from the net this format war would be over in favor of the all winning Hard Drive the format that lasts forever. Ywah some people would still buy boxed copies for the sake of owner ship but considering the costs could be so much lower it would dominate.
Well no one know for sure what way it will go because while bluray is better it is much more expensive for the drives, the movies and the blank discs are about $5-$7 more per disc.
all i know is one group of people will end up happy and another will end up betamaxed.
And yet anopther reason this is not for sure yet, who remembers what happened with betamax vs. vhs?
the better one lost for those of you who dont remember
all i know is one group of people will end up happy and another will end up betamaxed.
And yet anopther reason this is not for sure yet, who remembers what happened with betamax vs. vhs?
the better one lost for those of you who dont remember
HD dvd is still well on sale pretty much everywhere, and has greater awareness than you may think. I recently had to talk my parents out of buying a HD dvd player because they had just bought a "HD tv" and they thought they needed this player to watch said movies on it, since they had to replace their VCR they assumed the same for the dvd player. I assume this happens to many uninformed people, not just the aged!
I don't know which format is truly better.
Bluray has more space but is more expensive. It also has a data transfer that is superior.
But if all people care about most is the place, what do you think would happen if the cheaper HD-DVD would suddenly get their 150 Gb (ten layer) models out, ready to be read?
Sure, they'd cost more, but Bluray would probably see this as a challenge, and up the storage capacity a few steps more, to show that it has the advantage in ROM department... however... who's going, in the movie or game industry, need even 100 Gb anytime soon? What sort of padding they're going to use to legitimate such storage spaces?
Heaviest games which eat a few Gb of space once installed still hold on DVDs for the moment, and for PC, I'd rather pay two DVDs (not even HD DVDs) and wait a little longer, but pay less, than grab the "next gen" storage discs.
I don't think the change is going to be that radical, and we might get an amusing switch in the balance in the near future.
Bluray has more space but is more expensive. It also has a data transfer that is superior.
But if all people care about most is the place, what do you think would happen if the cheaper HD-DVD would suddenly get their 150 Gb (ten layer) models out, ready to be read?
Sure, they'd cost more, but Bluray would probably see this as a challenge, and up the storage capacity a few steps more, to show that it has the advantage in ROM department... however... who's going, in the movie or game industry, need even 100 Gb anytime soon? What sort of padding they're going to use to legitimate such storage spaces?
Heaviest games which eat a few Gb of space once installed still hold on DVDs for the moment, and for PC, I'd rather pay two DVDs (not even HD DVDs) and wait a little longer, but pay less, than grab the "next gen" storage discs.
I don't think the change is going to be that radical, and we might get an amusing switch in the balance in the near future.
It wont ALWAYS be, though. The players have only been on the market for a year, already they're down from $900 for the low-end model to $300.Kairiaku said:
Hell, I was and early DVD adopter, and I paid $800 for what would now be considered a bottom-dollar Panasonic player. Even the cheap-ass single layer Warner Bros. catalog titles cost $25 back then.