| MikeB said: @ HappySqurriel Everyone here will say that Blu-Ray is only as successful as it is because Sony included it with the PS3, but had the PS3 not included Blu-Ray would Blu-Ray's release had any reaction except for yawns? On top of this does anyone beyond PS3 owners actually care about Blu-Ray? Many consumers are blown away by the quality upgrade enjoyed from Blu-Ray/HDTV compared to NTSC targeted content. But without the PS3 the price would be quite a hurdle at this point, especially considering you need a HDTV to truly enjoy the difference (apart from maybe audio). Also the HD DVD vs Blu-Ray format would have raged on for longer, also having a negative impact. With regard to market penetration please understand it took 5 years before DVD started to outsell VHS. Rome isn't build in a day, I'm always scratching my head when people bring forward the argument DVD is still outselling Blu-Ray at this point. I think..... Duh..... |
It may be true that "Many consumers are blown away by the quality upgrade enjoyed from Blu-Ray/HDTV compared to NTSC targeted content" but that doesn't mean that the majority of consumers care at all. Being that rear-projection and CRT HDTVs existed for years in the same price range and quality range of the 720p/1080i LCD HDTVs that people are buying today (and yet sold poorly, and that most HDTV owners don't watch HD content on their HDTV, I have suspected for awhile that the primary selling feature of HDTVs is that they're large flat pannel displays (not their ability to handle HD content); another peice of evidence to support this was demonstrated last year when it was revealed that the majority of Wii owners had their Wii system hooked up to a HDTV.
Now, my overall point in this thread could have been summed up by your last paragraph ... I'm not saying that Blu-Ray's adoption rate is bad, I am saying that people are getting ahead of themself in assuming that since Blu-Ray's adoption has been faster than DVD's adoption at this point in time means that Blu-Ray will continue to be adopted at such a fast rate; the natural slow uptake of a new format by the majority of users, the low number of households with the necessary equipment, and the distortion of the adoption rate caused by it being included in the PS3, means that Blu-Ray acceptance will (probably) not branch out (much) beyond PS3 owners for several years.
