Maybe it was the people celebrating early about the PS3 that were wrong.  Anybody that thought about it knew that MS would be ready for some very real price cuts that would have very signifigant effects.  Before this fall the original SKU's were only dropped between $20-$50 in nearly 3 years.  The initial sales of the PS3 and even the sales of the PS3 post the price reduction last fall just made it easier for MS to hold the price of the 360 to help get over the RRoD costs.  Now that this is over MS can sit in the drivers seat and cut the price again when Sony finally is in a position to cut the PS3 prices.  Sony cut prices before in desperation and now even desperation may not be enough with the economy and the state of other Sony business units.  Sony now has to say we are going to live where we are at and just make the PS3 profitable even if that means stay in 3rd place this generation.

That's what you think.  But if you didn't notice, I never said that streaming movies was a bad idea.  But you're stating that there is no need to buy movies on an optical format over streaming because of its cost, ignoring the obvious benefits you CANNOT get from streaming at the moment while I also stated that BOTH industries (like most) will improve.  And how can I disregard the music analogy when it doesn't apply because I substancially showed that you used it as a bad comparison by me contrasting it to the movie industry?  I can use your narrowmined logic and say the same for you in regards to you disregarding my valid point on how the music and movie industry are different enough where your reasoning doesn't apply.  Hypocricy on your part.  And about a future outlook as I stated earlier, I mentioned VHS and DVD have improved in many way while those ways can also be and has been applied to Blu-ray as well.  And again, I applied that to the broadband industry.  But like I said earlier, "...to see things so narrowly for a personal petty agenda to deny yourself and others what could be great."  Your denial of the broad picture and willingly ignorance of anything outside of your preferences exposes your rabid fanboy toned skin.

EDIT: And for the record, Blu-ray is the accepted choice for "Full" HD viewing.  Go to any reputable a/v source such as Home Theather and Sound & Vision who primarily specialized in a/v and not video games.  I really I'm sorry you are denying yourself by non legit means.

I also own a PS3 and 360. and i want both consoles to do well

Jordahn, you're fighting a lost cause. I myself, was an HD enthusiast. I had adopted HD-DVD, which was arguably the better format given the ease of printing on both sides of the disc, the relatively low cost compared to BD, and the slightly faster read speeds. But after that went under, I looked into HD streaming. And while HD streaming is not the "PINACLE BLU-RAY HD EXPERIENCE!" it is pretty darned close. Anyone in the US that has a 5mbps or higher broadband line can enjoy high definition video for just $9 a month!

Yes, there will always be those rare few that go all out on the multi-thousand dollar theaters with the absolute top of the line equipment, but now we are talking about a very select few. When it comes to the average individual, they will buy a movie, then watch it maybe 2-3 times early on, then less and less, if at all later on. When these people are given an option of unlimited streaming HD content for $9 that is basically no noticeable difference to BD for the average user, as opposed to $5 per BD rental or $25-30 per BD purchase, they will choose the streaming content. The percentage of people with internet connections rising above that 5mbps limit is quite large. Much larger than the percentage of people who can and willingly afford all the BD movies.

The main things are, BD are expensive for the average person in this economy, while HD streaming is nearly the same experience for much less. HD streaming is more convenient; it doesn't take up shelf space, is ready instantly without having to drive to the store or rental place, and can be started without swapping in and out any discs. BD peripherals are too expensive and adoption rate is slower than the original DVD adoption.

So, in conclusion, there will always be that small market that wants the best of the best, and they can and will choose BD, but for the average consumer that just wants nice HD video and stereo or 5.1 surround, they are much more likely to choose streaming. BD sales are slowing, and it is arguable that the slow economy is partially responsible for the weak future of BD. In the end, things like downloads and streaming will win out. It's the future, and it's unavoidable.

The thing with streaming is that its going to scale with progress as faster internet becomes available and more devices like TVs incorperate that feature inside of them we will see movies become more an open standard. Once users start being able to use a centralised source for their DRM you will see the source materials being able to scale their content to the demands of the users. For example if you buy a projector which displays 2560 by 1600 pixels you could therefore stream that content at that resolution. With Blu Ray or any format you're stuck with however it was produced in the first place.

If you consider a model like Steam where the content is available whereever the user logs in, you could go to a hotel or drive in your car with your kids and have the content you've purchased available everywhere. If you have an internet enabled TV in your bedroom say you buy a recent Samsung, you could have your content available there as well as in your main TV without having to buy/plug in an extra device nor even both carrying your DVDs from one room to the next.

Woot! Here's to the future of downloads, streams, and instant gratification!

Woot! here's to the future of people who supported a PHYSICAL FORMAT until it was dead and switched to ALL DIGITAL because they don't like THE OTHER PHYSICAL FORMAT's creator XD

Seriously, do you think that right now, or even 2 years from now digital distribution of movies is gonna be bigger than physical??? I'm all in favor of digital (Better if i can download it and have it, not stream it only), and i think that is the future and we'll be there, but as of right now, i would like to know how is the marketshare now for physical and digital, even Blu-ray and digital... This is a long road, because DD needs bandwidth, and people like me that can afford it...

Now, before someone screams "FANBOY!!!" i have a Netflix account for PC, every time i go to the US i use it, but i also love the definition of my new Blu-Ray movies and my DVD collection...

A price cut would help the ps3.

We can agree on one thing that I am fighting for a lost cause... choice.  You claimed that you are an HD enthusist who supported HD-DVD.  If this were true, you would have known that it was the competition from Blu-ray that forced down the price of HD-DVD players and media.  You would have also known that even though several early HD-DVD video transfers were slightly better than the Bu-ray version due to the codex and earlly faulty players, Blu-ray always had the better audio if not the same as HD-DVD.  In fact, more than enough of HD-DVD  supporters who claimed to be HD enthusists showed thier true colors when Toshiba canned HD-DVD.  HD enthusiasts support HD, but the previous mentioned HD-DVD supporters immediately fell back on supporting Toshiba's super upconvert technology and digital downloads.  Coincedence?  Of course not.  Those particular HD-DVD supports were just it, HD-DVD supports and not HD enthusiasts.

HD enthusiasts know that when it comes to movies it's not just about picture, but also about higher quality sound and extra features.  This is something you cannot get from streaming for the time being.  As an HD enthusiast, you should know this and recognize that Blu-ray is the only true option.  But it's very typical for someone to only take just a piece of the picture and attempt to project it as the whole which is only a means of deception.  Because Blu-ray is more than just picture because it's about HD quality picture sound, and extra features.  By sadly, some would conveniently leave out some of those factors to make it easier to compare it to something they are in favor for while ignoring the bigger truth.

And you can use the same premature argument of "average consumers" all you want.  But the real context is that HD was not originally geared towards the "average consumer" very similar at one time to VCR's and DVD players.  As as the broadband infrastructure improves, so will Blu-ray offerings and prices.  That's where it creeps more into the hands of "average consumers."  And I'm not the type to say that Blu-ray will dominate as DVD's because I just don't see it happening.  But I do see it as a choice for HD enthusiasts which is where its primary target audience given past history and current trends.  I never said or implied that streaming will not have a place in the industry, but to think that streaming alone can offer and take place what a high storage optical media can do is fantasy.

I believe in choice because I look at the bigger picture, and I don't just pick and chose what's best for me for the purpose of pushing a personal agenda.  It seems that taking the path of least resistance must be easy because it's much easier to serve self than reasoning.  Maybe ignorance is bliss, but I wouldn't want to take that route.  I would like to know what I'm missing out on so I can tell others about it to they wouldn't miss out.

@Jordahn

Your post has win all over it...

The key point is that: CHOICE... That's what i practice, i'm not falling in repeating Microsoft's PR words that once claimed that the 360+HD-DVD add-on would be all the costumers will need, then HD-DVD fell and they changed their premise to streaming movies, and again, "that's all the costumer will ever need"... It's good that they're offering a really great service like Netflix, but they have an agenda behind it and that's cool, the problem is when people fall for this and enlist in hating a format before giving it a try (a real try)...

For me, having Netflix for quick streaming when i want to, and having a full Blu-Ray for serious stuff with priceless additional content is my way to go... CHOICE PEOPLE, CHOICE...