Analyst: PS3 a Crutch to the Blu-ray Market

[Reasonable]

starcraft said:

Reasonable said:
I still think BR players will take over simply because they will be able to play BR and DVD (and upscale too) and so long as the price comes down you simply get more choice.

Plus all the studios have to do is make the DVD versions 'skinny' and shove best extras on BR versions to encourage the film fans to go BR with new purchases while keeping existing DVDs.

Why on earth would studios do that?  The primary reason for a new DVD market (the high-definition) market was to increase the ability of manufacturors to make money.  Studios rely on the physical sale of discs.  What possible reason could they have to discourage people from buying DVD's at a time when Blu-Ray players, by all accounts only a small evolution over DVD players, are beyond the price most consumers can afford, in the midst of an economic slowdown?

 

Simple.  They want a new format and BR is it.  Why?

1) as prices come down the DVD physical market will shift to BR over time and in line with HD TV adoption

2) they know that even with backwards compatibility many diehards won't be able to resist buying favourte movies in higher def with new extras, giving them easy money on existing content (Star Wars, Matrix, Lord of Rings, etc. etc.)

I'm not saying they will do this abruptly or even right away, I'm merely stating they can (and I'm sure will) influence the situation - remember the studions want BR to succeed and they can easily make it more attractive.  I imagine the following choices in near future : rent film only (physical or digital), buy DVD film with decent extras, buy BR with additional extras plus exclusive 2.0 downloadable content...

At the end of the day the core owner of films/shows want a quality / price balance - get the price right and they will go for the higher quality every time.

As you say yourself the studios desire for a new format is wedded to the manufacturers desire for new formats and TV formats as well.  These huge companies need these regular shifts and every time they are the same - everyone moans and bitches that CRT, VHS, Tapes, etc. is fine then shifts along the following path:

1) the early adopters - who pay premium

2) the first wave - who pay somewhat above current gen - say $10 DVD vs $13 BR

3) the transition to mainstream

4) steady state (until the next shift)

Or perhaps you really believe the studios when they say the choice is the consumers... a lot of money is behind this shift (which will also go hand in hand with a growth in digital mediums) and at the end of the day these companies can make the shift a success should they chose too - and they have every reason to do so and none not to.