One of the primary challenges facing Blu-ray, says principal analyst Steve Wilson, is that many consumers are not fundamentally dissatisfied with the quality delivered by their conventional DVD players, when "upconverted" to play on high-definition TVs. "We are starting to see an increase in the number of DVD players with built-in upconverters, and the video processing is getting better with each new generation," he says. "Today about 35% of all DVD players sold include upconversion. ABI Research expects that figure to climb to about 60% by 2013."
Further, the state of the Blu-ray player market is not all that encouraging. The Blu-ray installed base today is heavily tilted towards Sony's Playstation 3. Says Wilson, "The studios better hope that people are playing movies on their Playstations. Otherwise there's very little installed base. In 2008 about 85% of the Blu-ray players in the market will be found in PS3s; the dedicated consumer electronics and PC-based types of Blu-ray players won't catch up in terms of market share until about 2013."
Square Enix launches Final Fantasy X 25th anniversary site, revealing new Nomura art, books, music releases, and merchandise.
Look I know VIII has its issues and all that but how on earth can the do big anniversary events with new artwork and merchandise for VII, IX and X yet VIII got sweet f*** all.
They could have given it something during its 25th anniversary yet all it got was a single Happy Anniversary post on their social media.
they should know that we are OG fans of VIII as it sold truckload as well. not as much as VII or X. I personally didn't like IX but X and VI are my personal fav.
Shadow Hearts 2 covenant is another game I love. I hope one day someone can make remake, I would be delighted
Final Fantasy VIII is great and you are always the first to defend it in the comments
The Wii is now a retro console. Let’s get nostalgic about an often maligned system.
Crazy to think the WII is to the Switch 2, as the NES was to the WII back then. 20 Year difference.
My wife asks me to bust it out (heh) everyone once in a while to play bowling and tennis with the kids. There was a ton of slop on it but some good stuff as well.
Wii was great but boy howdy did it cause Microsoft to go on a dark walk with the Kinect and the disastrous XBox One launch that they arguably never recovered from.
Not nostalgic for me.. I was there.. anyone who wasnt a little kid realized it was a gamecube with shit tacked onto it, it was the "joke" system and was well below even the switch in terms of comparing it to the latest machines at the time. The machine was well loved by young people and "casual gamers" who now remember it 20 years on, or in most cases more of its sales came in the 15-20 years ago range not right at launch- but again its not nostalgic for people who were "gamers" then really, just for those who ended up with one in their house, the games , graphics, interface and online features were archaic already in 2006.
Omar writes: "With the Horizon Festival coming to breathtaking Japan, you’ll need the essential gear to prove you’ve got what it takes to become a Horizon Legend as you cruise, drift and explore an open world full of spectacular driving experiences. That’s why we’re happy to announce the newest Limited Edition Xbox Wireless Controller and Wireless Headset collection, featuring inspired designs from Forza Horizon 6. The bright cyan and lime colorways celebrate the Horizon Festival’s recognition of iconic cars and hit music, with special features that are sure to impress any collector."
Well when I get my HD tv I will purchase a few Blu Ray movies. There are alot of big titles coming out this year that will be great on Blu Ray. I'm really pushing to get my Hd tv before MGS4 but I'm also going on vacation which is going to cost me a little.
I think the Blu Ray should help push the PS3 as a console for casual gamers, by doing everything that the Wii can't. And it should help establish the PS3 as the console of choice for making the living room an entertainment center for those who don't play much games.
The fact of the matter is that the PS3 is the most functional, future proof Blu-Ray player on the market, and the AV crowd knows that.
If you look on the AVSforums there are a TON of Blu-Ray users who own PS3s as their primary Blu-Ray player.
And why wouldnt they. It has Profile 2.0, BD Live, an internet connection, DTS-MA, and PQ that matches standalone players.
Oh yeah, then its a FN PS3 on top of it, meaning it plays some of the best and most well known games on the market.
So even though the PS3 makes up 85% of Blu-Ray players on the market. Not all PS3s were sold as gaming machines, that was just an added bonus for some.
Me? Blu-Ray was an added bonus for me, when I bought my PS3 at launch. I also had just bought an HDTV, and was dying to try some Blu-Ray movies out.
So as more PS3 gamers, buy HDTVs, they will be more apt to pick up a Blu-Ray movie or a few.
Hopefully this works both ways and brings in people who usually strictly watch movies on it, to gaming...
be good for the PS3 as the PS3 will still be the main blu player for longer.
i own the ps3 and use it for blu rays and games. i also own a up converting dvd player and a 1080p up converted dvd doesnt even compare to the visuals and sound of a bluray. i think if more people were familiar with the difference then they would be on the bluray side too...