/begin sarcasm
One thing that must unite owners of stand-alone HD players, whether BD or HD DVD, is the fight against the intrusion of casual movie watchers via the PS3. Statistics show that PS3 users aren’t using the PS3 to watch all sorts of movies, romances, true to life, mysteries. Instead when they do buy a movie, it is only a FPS one. While it can be argued that the number of movies the hardcore SAL users watch is so much greater than the low attachment rate of movies watched by the casual PS3ers, the ratio of PS3 sold to the SAL sold is estimated to keep growing.
As more and more movies studios take note of the number of the BR PS3 users, fewer of the non-FPS movies will be made. And since these FPS movies are more expensive to make, fewer of them will be made as well. Only sequels, prequels and spinoffs. (They are more expensive of course, due to the inclusion of cuts to interactivity allowing for multiple storylines, versus the single storyline that tracks smoothly on its single rail.)
Now, some will argue that the casual PS3 movie watcher will, eventually, enjoy a movie well enough to try the movies that hardcore movie watcher watches. Personally, I doubt it. Due to the twitching nature of the hands, PS3ers can’t eat popcorn out of the bucket without spilling half of it or more. This distracts the purist movie watcher, irked by the lack of popcorn to eat. But even if some were converted from casual to hardcore movie watchers, it will be too little, too late. By that time the movie industry, as we know it will be dead!
PS (non-3)
Like many of those hardcore movie watchers, I don’t like the labels applied by the media upon us. Too many get confused (re: casuals) and mistake hardcore movie watchers for watching hardcore movies. A better term is fanatic movie watchers versus scum.
PS2 (a much better post script)
While this rant has used PS3ers as the filthy, dirty, scum-bags-of-the-earth, (in terms of movie watching only, I’m sure they are pillars of society in all other respects), Xbox 360 users of HD DVD fall into this category as well. If anything, the watching of FPS movies is even higher among them!
/end sarcasm
Torturing the numbers. Hear them scream.
