Today, Toshiba announced that it will be discontinuing any and all development and sales of their HD DVD players and DVDs. They have officially switched to Blu-Ray only and thus hammered the last nail in the coffin of HD DVD. Any of you who invested in a HD DVD player with hopes of using it for some time to come can chuck it out the window; it won’t even be worth the listing fees on eBay. Although some 15% of the population in America actually owns some sort of HD playable equipment, it’s rather safe to say that HD will be picking up considerable steam soon what with the Blu-Ray functionality of the PS3 and the continuing dropping prices of Blu-Ray players.
Speaking of PS3, the NPD numbers were released last week I believe. The PS3 actually outsold the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo DS. Absolutely shocking. Are we going to see a considerable boom in PS3 sales since this announcement? I doubt it. Is the Xbox 360 dead since it only has an HD DVD attachment drive? Definitely not. I can say with some sort of reassurance that PS3 sales will continue to go up as continually better games and movies come out. That’s right, movies. The PS3 is unarguably the best deal for a Blu-Ray player right now. $400 for a 40GB PS3 that can play a presently small library of PS3 games and a select few PS2 games as well as the ever growing selection of Blu-Ray movies.
The question is on blogs and podcasts galore: will Blu-Ray be the number one selling factor for the PS3 for the months to come? Probably. The current information on upcoming games doesn’t show much promise for gamers. But, go look at upcoming movies and you’ll see lots of great things on the road to our homes. People want pretty graphics and even prettier hardware. The PS3 is sexy looking and gives sexy graphics. It’s a no-brainer.
Now, what about the ~85% of the American population without HDTV compatible hardware (me included)? You’re not left out. The DVD format is incredibly far away from being dead. During the transition from VHS to DVD you could buy tapes for quite some time into the DVD age. In fact, I can still find new VHS tapes in some stores around here. We “poor” people without the HDTVs, PS3s, Blu-Ray movies, and huge surround sound systems can still enjoy our Indiana Jones 4, Batman, and other select big name titles. Don’t fret, the prices continue to drop and the quality continues to go up. That’s why I’m waiting, I want the best possible bang for my buck.
Well that, and the wife won’t let me.
Oh, I’m married now. It’s so cool.
