Wednesday, June 15, 2005

PS3 heading for trouble?

Implementing new technology without sufficient market penetration can be very, very risky. Sony may have gone too far betting everything on their Blu-Ray standard. The talks about a hybrid between the rivals Blu-Ray and HD-DVD have stalled. And now there is this news on the Maxell site.

The press release says that the HD-DVD format achieved a major victory over Blu-Ray, in that the former standard can now be produced on standard DVD-Recordable production lines. Blu-Ray, by comparison, requires a completely new production method. Where does that leave the PS3? Until the console hits the market, Blu-Ray could have lost that war entirely. And unless Sony pulls the plug on Blu-Ray and switches sides, their console could be doomed, I guess.

Sometimes it pays off to approach a new standard hesitantly, especially when it has not penetrated the market significantly. And this seems to support Nintendo´s policy, both with regard to the Gamecube and online, as well as the Revolution and High Def.

EDIT There´s an interesting article over at Gamespot about this. The two teams are going to talk about another compromise. That would entail Sony put their PS3 plans on hold. Spring 2006 was unrealistic anyway. This could mean December, I guess.

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