One Format to Rule Them All

jr.gameon | 2/20/2008 10:11 am | Game On

The format war is over. Sony's Blu-Ray technology will be the go-to high definition disc format, as Toshiba announced this week that they are dropping all production of their HD DVD format. What does this mean to gamers? Quite a bit, actually.

If you are the owner of PlayStation 3, you don't have to worry any longer about the included Blu-Ray drive not playing the next generation of high definition movies. While Sony has changed several other options in the myriad of PS3 models available, one thing that has stayed constant is that in addition to being a game console, it is also a Blu-Ray movie player.

Also, if you are one of the consumers out there that hasn't purchased a new game console yet and plans to use that console as a high definition movie player in an attempt to spare the cost of a separate, stand-alone player, you may be more inclined to pick up a PS3. While many gamers look at the library of games available as the major decision-maker in their console purchase, there are quite a few that take the movie playback capabilities just as seriously.

What does this all mean for the Xbox owners, as Microsoft had sided with Toshiba's HD DVD technology? In the short term, not a whole lot. The Xbox 360 didn't ship with a high definition disc player, instead choosing to sell it separately as an add-on. While Microsoft did sell a decent number of their HD DVD add-on kits, the vast majority of Xbox 360 owners do not have the accessory. Microsoft has also made statements that it isn't out of the realm of possibilities for them to replace their HD DVD attachment with a Blu-Ray attachment. Some unconfirmed rumors state that the Xbox 360 Blu-Ray drive could be available yet this year, even as early as May.

I'm in a unique position in that I have both a Blu-Ray and an HD DVD player. My PS3 obviously has the Blu-Ray player and I was one of the early adopters that picked up the HD DVD attachment for my Xbox 360. I don't necessarily regret my decision to pick up the HD DVD attachment for my Xbox 360. I have a widescreen, HD television and a very good surround sound system. With this setup, high definition movies have attracted me right from their announcement. At the time, Microsoft's HD DVD accessory was an amazing thing. An HD DVD player for under $200? Sign me up.

I was an early adopter, but for a change I wasn't punished financially for being an early adopter. This allowed me to have HD movies affordably for almost a year before a PS3 made it's way into my living room. I have about 8 movies on HD DVD. I have about 15 movies on Blu-Ray. I saw the writing on the wall and stopped purchasing HD DVD discs about 6 months ago. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with those HD DVD discs. Sure, my HD DVD drive works fine, but it won't be around for ever. Future devices with an optical drive in them will likely read DVD and Blu-Ray only, making those discs unusable in the not too distant future. How did you LaserDisc adopters handle this situation?

The format war is over. Does this change anything for any of the Game On readers or am I one of the few that cared?