In a now completed B-R player ownership poll on AVSforum with between 600 and 700 people responding, the player of choice at 68% was the PS3. It definitely is the cheapest entry into B-R.
I never said otherwise. What I wrote was that if somebody already bought the PS3 to play Blu-ray movies, do you really think they would never, ever buy even one game, as Bitemymac implied?
If you have been following or when you look at the historical trending, it just bounces back and forth for the lead during the period of last month. Either case, I'm very surprised to see BD sales still sustaining such level on the Amazon rankings. I still feel that the hike of BD movie sales is a momentary spike due to PS3 rush, which includes many one time BD movie buyers, but time will tell. We'll see how things will turn out when new HD-DVD movie titles are announced with release dates... all 300+ of them. Actually, I'm kind of curious to see how things would look once the prOn starts rolling on HD-DVD some time in April time frame.
BTW, if the BD movie sales numbers are a real trend instead of a spike, I wonder what this means for Sony. Too many PS3 being sold as BD player can't be all that good.
Come off it. The value of those statistics is questionable at best and anyone "surprised" that BD sales would improve from its initial abysmal numbers with a million BD players on the market is a fanboi. Nor should anyone expect HD-DVD sales to dry up...although the current release announcements have been anemic there will be plenty of releases on both formats.
However, unless those BD exclusive studios go neutral as some folks like you claim, the current trend of BD improving its performance relative to HD-DVD will continue. Cars and Pixar titles would certainly do well. Pirates as well. And no May/June not long enough for Disney to throw in the towel. The contest has barely begun. That BD has somewhat recovered from their own abysmal launch would only encourage them to stay the course.
BD used up all its karma I think. Recovering from another screwup isn't likely but what's left to screw up? Its on the market, its doing reasonable and HD-DVD is no longer kicking its butt. Switching horses now buys you nothing if you put up with Sony this long.
Huh? Why is that not good? (not that I think it's really happening).
Its a subsidized player at that point like the Toshiba's were. It's not bad but not good either for Sony. Eventually the PS3 makes money anyway and some videophiles play games.
Since Universal is going to deliver unto me "Shaun of the Dead," I consider my investment in an HD DVD player to have been completely and absolutely worth every penny.
I know three people with stand alone BR players, and 7 more with PS3's. All the PS3 owners that I know use it only for gaming so far. (games are spendy) I think I'm going to get one so I can play Metal Gear Solid 4 when it comes out.
Since Universal is going to deliver unto me "Shaun of the Dead," I consider my investment in an HD DVD player to have been completely and absolutely worth every penny.
Dude I LOVE this freakin movie. I'm buying it the first week it comes out. I've held off on buying the DVD for some reason but now I'm ready to pull the trigger.
I've also seen Children of Men in the Theatre and I must say that it is one hell of a movie. It's not for everyone but it's going to be one hell of a HD disc. Universal is going to show it love.
Its a subsidized player at that point like the Toshiba's were. It's not bad but not good either for Sony. Eventually the PS3 makes money anyway and some videophiles play games.
Vinea
Well, the subsidized $ lost from Sony is one aspect of things. It also means that PS3 out competes all other standalone BD players on the market. Even from the AVS crowds, virtually everyone stopped buying standalone BD players after November and PS3 is leading the poll by taking 70% contents out of 675 participants. A lot of happy BD hardware vendors out there now.
Well, the subsidized $ lost from Sony is one aspect of things. It also means that PS3 out competes all other standalone BD players on the market. Even from the AVS crowds, virtually everyone stopped buying standalone BD players after November and PS3 is leading the poll by taking 70% contents out of 675 participants. A lot of happy BD hardware vendors out there now.
There were numerous review articles on the net that after the PS3 came out that compared the PS3 player to the first gen BR players, and the PS3 was a standout for quality. everybody said the picture was far crisper and looked way better than the comparative BR players. I think it's a great deal for the price. You get a less expensive, better BR player, a game console, and an internet device for the price. I think it's a steal if you have an HDTV.
There were numerous review articles on the net that after the PS3 came out that compared the PS3 player to the first gen BR players, and the PS3 was a standout for quality. everybody said the picture was far crisper and looked way better than the comparative BR players. I think it's a great deal for the price. You get a less expensive, better BR player, a game console, and an internet device for the price. I think it's a steal if you have an HDTV.
I agree. I've had a HDTV for over a year now and have been holding off in which direction to go.
I've had a ps2 since day one so in many ways it makes sense to go the route of ps3 because of backwards compatibility. Ironicly I don't use my PS2 to play games only for Sing Star. I have a Wii which I love to bits but will buy a ps3 mainly as a movie player. I think i'ts really good value for money. I also think not one standard will win.
At the same time I'm not one of these who diss the 360 as I think this is an excellent machine and in the future I can see a revamped version with built in HD drive. Being from the UK we are behind in terms of availability of players etc but when the PS3 is released I think it will kick start the whole HD player thing as there are many people now who have HDTV's but no HD content!
If people buy the PS3 soley as a BR player. It will be (another) disaster for Sony.
Despite the high price, Sony heavily subsidise each unit. This is high-stakes gamble. Sony are betting that purchasers will eventually re-pay the subsidy by buying games. Each game having a Sony tax applied to the price.
If a few million people go buy the PS3 soley as a DVD player - it could drive the company into bankrupcy. The more units sold, the worse it gets.
There were numerous review articles on the net that after the PS3 came out that compared the PS3 player to the first gen BR players, and the PS3 was a standout for quality. everybody said the picture was far crisper and looked way better than the comparative BR players. I think it's a great deal for the price. You get a less expensive, better BR player, a game console, and an internet device for the price. I think it's a steal if you have an HDTV.
No one doubts that PS3 is a great hardware for the money, if you're a Sony gaming fan with need for BD movie playback capability. However, it's a gaming console that plays BD movies and has lots of limitations as a CE hardware. First of all, PS3 does not come with a remote control or HDMI cable, requires more $ at post purchase. One of the big factor is that the unit does not scale anything at the moment. Which means that in order to get the best PQ, you need either a 1080p display set or a most recently released HDTV set with a TV built in scaler that can properly deinterlace and scale 1080i. However, the worst part of PS3 as CE movie player is that it does not upscale SD-DVD. Most people still have more SD-DVD's than HD format movies and having the capability or the lack of such will be a big factor, when consumers become more educated. I can see the reason for Sony not providing the upscaling options for PS2 games being played on PS3, but not having such option for SD-DVD playback is a big blow. Well.... PS3 is massive hardware with selectable disability created from Sony. I'm sure it's worth every penny for some.
Well, the subsidized $ lost from Sony is one aspect of things. It also means that PS3 out competes all other standalone BD players on the market. Even from the AVS crowds, virtually everyone stopped buying standalone BD players after November and PS3 is leading the poll by taking 70% contents out of 675 participants. A lot of happy BD hardware vendors out there now.
And the PS3 volumes will help bring down BD component costs so the other vendors will be able to compete better against the subsidized Toshiba players. In any case every knew going in that the PS3 would be subsidized and that it would be a capable player.
If the other BD vendors hadn't factored in the PS3 they were idiots. Its ignoring the 500lb gorilla in the tent.
If people buy the PS3 soley as a BR player. It will be (another) disaster for Sony.
Despite the high price, Sony heavily subsidise each unit. This is high-stakes gamble. Sony are betting that purchasers will eventually re-pay the subsidy by buying games. Each game having a Sony tax applied to the price.
If a few million people go buy the PS3 soley as a DVD player - it could drive the company into bankrupcy. The more units sold, the worse it gets.
C.
I really doubt that you're going to see too many people buy a PS3 just for Blu-Ray. What I do think is that if you're a console-buying person that's interested in high def, you're probably going to buy one. We won't know about its success until the game repetoire is decent. I disagree about the "tax" though. They'll cost the same as all the other consoles' games.
And the PS3 volumes will help bring down BD component costs so the other vendors will be able to compete better against the subsidized Toshiba players. In any case every knew going in that the PS3 would be subsidized and that it would be a capable player.
If the other BD vendors hadn't factored in the PS3 they were idiots. Its ignoring the 500lb gorilla in the tent.
Vinea
So.... How many PS3 has to be sold to meet the volume criteria? How close will Sony be by the mid year...... or even end of the year?.... By the time Sony gets near the volume critieria to lower the cost.... it may be too late. The second gen HD-DVD player can be had for $375 shipped from Amazon and it will probably reach the consumer end pricing around $249 to $299 sooner than PS3 or any other future CE BD player. Whoever wins the the price war will win the Hidef format war as well, and this is my prediction.
I agree. In the older thread I posted that whichever Wal-Mart picks (if it picks one) will win. Technically they have Blu-Ray since they carry the PS3, but they don't have any hi-def movies on the shelves.
Walmart.com has both formats and perhaps there are stores that do too. At the moment I haven't seen any HiDef media or players (aside from consoles) at my WM.
So.... How many PS3 has to be sold to meet the volume criteria? How close will Sony be by the mid year...... or even end of the year?.... By the time Sony gets near the volume critieria to lower the cost.... it may be too late. The second gen HD-DVD player can be had for $375 shipped from Amazon and it will probably reach the consumer end pricing around $249 to $299 sooner than PS3 or any other future CE BD player. Whoever wins the the price war will win the Hidef format war as well, and this is my prediction.
Millions. Fortunately Sony's going to make millions of them. They don't NEED to sell to reduce component costs but a bankrupt Sony isn't going to do the format any good.
Anyone really expect Sony not to make and sell millions of PS3s given they've already shipped 2M units? Even if they miss 6M units by March does anyone seriously believe they will not sell 6M units by end of 2007?
Sharp has just begun mass producing blue laser diodes. Sony's output has thus far gone entirely toward the PS3 but as yields improve they can pump out cheaper players as well. Especially if the PS3 is missing sales goals and units are sitting in channel.
Millions. Fortunately Sony's going to make millions of them. They don't NEED to sell to reduce component costs but a bankrupt Sony isn't going to do the format any good.
Anyone really expect Sony not to make and sell millions of PS3s given they've already shipped 2M units? Even if they miss 6M units by March does anyone seriously believe they will not sell 6M units by end of 2007?
Sharp has just begun mass producing blue laser diodes. Sony's output has thus far gone entirely toward the PS3 but as yields improve they can pump out cheaper players as well. Especially if the PS3 is missing sales goals and units are sitting in channel.
Vinea
But Vinea, you do think the chances of Sony going bankrupt are a bit premature at this point right. I think what Sony is counting is the giant percentage of PS2 users that say their next console is going to be a PS3. I read that I think 90% of PS2 owners say they plan to buy a PS3 as their next generation gaming console, and with sony having sold 111.25million PS2 units by september 2006 I'd say they have little to worry about from people buying a PS3 solely for the BR player. And like you said, with he cost of components going down this race will stay quite competitive.
Millions. Fortunately Sony's going to make millions of them. They don't NEED to sell to reduce component costs but a bankrupt Sony isn't going to do the format any good.
Anyone really expect Sony not to make and sell millions of PS3s given they've already shipped 2M units? Even if they miss 6M units by March does anyone seriously believe they will not sell 6M units by end of 2007?
Sharp has just begun mass producing blue laser diodes. Sony's output has thus far gone entirely toward the PS3 but as yields improve they can pump out cheaper players as well. Especially if the PS3 is missing sales goals and units are sitting in channel.
Vinea
Well... millions can be 2 million or 200 million. Well, but Sony thinks in 3 years $299 BD player is feasible. It will be little too later, don't you think? BTW, I think most PS2 owners would probably buy PS3 when the price reach $129 like it is now for PS2 and it would be very very long time before PS3 can be had for $129.
Quote:
News
Sony: $299 Blu-ray Player In 3 Years
Company executives say price declines will follow DVD history.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (January 17, 2007) -- Waiting for those $999 Blu-ray players to drop under $500?
Well, you may have to wait awhile. Sony says it could be three years before the player drops to $299 or $399.
In an interview with CNET's News.com, Sony President Stan Glasgow noted that DVD player prices took a few years before they reached more affordable levels.
"If you go back to when DVDs came into play, it took about three years until they got into price points of $299 to $399. I suspect it's about the same thing here with Blu-ray. I think it's going to take up to three years to get down to those price points, possibly a little longer," Glasgow said.
Glasgow added that Sony had some control over the player's components, but needed more sales volume to drop prices.
"Once you get volumes up, you get yields up, and you get efficiencies up; the prices go down on the components," he told the web site.
Toshiba's low-end HD-DVD player is now priced at $499 and company executives hinted recently that $399 and $299 prices could come within the next year.
The cheapest Blu-ray player currently on the market is the low-end PlayStation 3, priced at $499. Most Blu-ray players retail for nearly $1,000.
In the same interview, Sony CEO Howard Stringer defended PS3, which has a Blu-ray player inside. Despite some early bumps, one million PS3 have been shipped in North America and Stringer said the game console will give Blu-ray a big edge over HD-DVD.
"I'd say 90 percent of the people who (own) PS3s are playing that Blu-ray disc on it or playing other Blu-ray discs on it," Stringer told News.com. "Contrary to some of the reports, it is an effective Blu-ray player. The people who like Blu-ray are the people who play PlayStation 3, just as people who play PS2s were the early proponents of the DVD format. It drove the DVD format."
Stringer also dismissed LG's new dual-format player, which will retail for $1199. He said it was "an expensive way of showing universal discs."
But Vinea, you do think the chances of Sony going bankrupt are a bit premature at this point right.
Sure...I do think its premature but if they did end up with millions of unsold PS3 in channel their brand just went THUD along with their cash flow. But that scenario has no chance of happening...they'll price drop before letting too much stuff just sit.
I also believe that Toshiba's estimates are high but hey, perhaps they can sell as many as they say.
Comments
In a now completed B-R player ownership poll on AVSforum with between 600 and 700 people responding, the player of choice at 68% was the PS3. It definitely is the cheapest entry into B-R.
I never said otherwise. What I wrote was that if somebody already bought the PS3 to play Blu-ray movies, do you really think they would never, ever buy even one game, as Bitemymac implied?
If you have been following or when you look at the historical trending, it just bounces back and forth for the lead during the period of last month. Either case, I'm very surprised to see BD sales still sustaining such level on the Amazon rankings. I still feel that the hike of BD movie sales is a momentary spike due to PS3 rush, which includes many one time BD movie buyers, but time will tell. We'll see how things will turn out when new HD-DVD movie titles are announced with release dates... all 300+ of them. Actually, I'm kind of curious to see how things would look once the prOn starts rolling on HD-DVD some time in April time frame.
BTW, if the BD movie sales numbers are a real trend instead of a spike, I wonder what this means for Sony. Too many PS3 being sold as BD player can't be all that good.
Come off it. The value of those statistics is questionable at best and anyone "surprised" that BD sales would improve from its initial abysmal numbers with a million BD players on the market is a fanboi. Nor should anyone expect HD-DVD sales to dry up...although the current release announcements have been anemic there will be plenty of releases on both formats.
However, unless those BD exclusive studios go neutral as some folks like you claim, the current trend of BD improving its performance relative to HD-DVD will continue. Cars and Pixar titles would certainly do well. Pirates as well. And no May/June not long enough for Disney to throw in the towel. The contest has barely begun. That BD has somewhat recovered from their own abysmal launch would only encourage them to stay the course.
BD used up all its karma I think. Recovering from another screwup isn't likely but what's left to screw up? Its on the market, its doing reasonable and HD-DVD is no longer kicking its butt. Switching horses now buys you nothing if you put up with Sony this long.
Vinea
bitemymac:
Huh? Why is that not good? (not that I think it's really happening).
Its a subsidized player at that point like the Toshiba's were. It's not bad but not good either for Sony. Eventually the PS3 makes money anyway and some videophiles play games.
Vinea
Since Universal is going to deliver unto me "Shaun of the Dead," I consider my investment in an HD DVD player to have been completely and absolutely worth every penny.
Dude I LOVE this freakin movie. I'm buying it the first week it comes out. I've held off on buying the DVD for some reason but now I'm ready to pull the trigger.
I've also seen Children of Men in the Theatre and I must say that it is one hell of a movie. It's not for everyone but it's going to be one hell of a HD disc. Universal is going to show it love.
Its a subsidized player at that point like the Toshiba's were. It's not bad but not good either for Sony. Eventually the PS3 makes money anyway and some videophiles play games.
Vinea
Well, the subsidized $ lost from Sony is one aspect of things. It also means that PS3 out competes all other standalone BD players on the market. Even from the AVS crowds, virtually everyone stopped buying standalone BD players after November and PS3 is leading the poll by taking 70% contents out of 675 participants. A lot of happy BD hardware vendors out there now.
Well, the subsidized $ lost from Sony is one aspect of things. It also means that PS3 out competes all other standalone BD players on the market. Even from the AVS crowds, virtually everyone stopped buying standalone BD players after November and PS3 is leading the poll by taking 70% contents out of 675 participants. A lot of happy BD hardware vendors out there now.
There were numerous review articles on the net that after the PS3 came out that compared the PS3 player to the first gen BR players, and the PS3 was a standout for quality. everybody said the picture was far crisper and looked way better than the comparative BR players. I think it's a great deal for the price. You get a less expensive, better BR player, a game console, and an internet device for the price. I think it's a steal if you have an HDTV.
There were numerous review articles on the net that after the PS3 came out that compared the PS3 player to the first gen BR players, and the PS3 was a standout for quality. everybody said the picture was far crisper and looked way better than the comparative BR players. I think it's a great deal for the price. You get a less expensive, better BR player, a game console, and an internet device for the price. I think it's a steal if you have an HDTV.
I agree. I've had a HDTV for over a year now and have been holding off in which direction to go.
I've had a ps2 since day one so in many ways it makes sense to go the route of ps3 because of backwards compatibility. Ironicly I don't use my PS2 to play games only for Sing Star. I have a Wii which I love to bits but will buy a ps3 mainly as a movie player. I think i'ts really good value for money. I also think not one standard will win.
At the same time I'm not one of these who diss the 360 as I think this is an excellent machine and in the future I can see a revamped version with built in HD drive. Being from the UK we are behind in terms of availability of players etc but when the PS3 is released I think it will kick start the whole HD player thing as there are many people now who have HDTV's but no HD content!
Despite the high price, Sony heavily subsidise each unit. This is high-stakes gamble. Sony are betting that purchasers will eventually re-pay the subsidy by buying games. Each game having a Sony tax applied to the price.
If a few million people go buy the PS3 soley as a DVD player - it could drive the company into bankrupcy. The more units sold, the worse it gets.
C.
There were numerous review articles on the net that after the PS3 came out that compared the PS3 player to the first gen BR players, and the PS3 was a standout for quality. everybody said the picture was far crisper and looked way better than the comparative BR players. I think it's a great deal for the price. You get a less expensive, better BR player, a game console, and an internet device for the price. I think it's a steal if you have an HDTV.
No one doubts that PS3 is a great hardware for the money, if you're a Sony gaming fan with need for BD movie playback capability. However, it's a gaming console that plays BD movies and has lots of limitations as a CE hardware. First of all, PS3 does not come with a remote control or HDMI cable, requires more $ at post purchase. One of the big factor is that the unit does not scale anything at the moment. Which means that in order to get the best PQ, you need either a 1080p display set or a most recently released HDTV set with a TV built in scaler that can properly deinterlace and scale 1080i. However, the worst part of PS3 as CE movie player is that it does not upscale SD-DVD. Most people still have more SD-DVD's than HD format movies and having the capability or the lack of such will be a big factor, when consumers become more educated. I can see the reason for Sony not providing the upscaling options for PS2 games being played on PS3, but not having such option for SD-DVD playback is a big blow. Well.... PS3 is massive hardware with selectable disability created from Sony. I'm sure it's worth every penny for some.
When you buy potatoes, you don't care which type of truck delivered them.
It's definitely not a truck. I heard that the internets are like a series of tubers.
Well, the subsidized $ lost from Sony is one aspect of things. It also means that PS3 out competes all other standalone BD players on the market. Even from the AVS crowds, virtually everyone stopped buying standalone BD players after November and PS3 is leading the poll by taking 70% contents out of 675 participants. A lot of happy BD hardware vendors out there now.
And the PS3 volumes will help bring down BD component costs so the other vendors will be able to compete better against the subsidized Toshiba players. In any case every knew going in that the PS3 would be subsidized and that it would be a capable player.
If the other BD vendors hadn't factored in the PS3 they were idiots. Its ignoring the 500lb gorilla in the tent.
Vinea
If people buy the PS3 soley as a BR player. It will be (another) disaster for Sony.
Despite the high price, Sony heavily subsidise each unit. This is high-stakes gamble. Sony are betting that purchasers will eventually re-pay the subsidy by buying games. Each game having a Sony tax applied to the price.
If a few million people go buy the PS3 soley as a DVD player - it could drive the company into bankrupcy. The more units sold, the worse it gets.
C.
I really doubt that you're going to see too many people buy a PS3 just for Blu-Ray. What I do think is that if you're a console-buying person that's interested in high def, you're probably going to buy one. We won't know about its success until the game repetoire is decent. I disagree about the "tax" though. They'll cost the same as all the other consoles' games.
And the PS3 volumes will help bring down BD component costs so the other vendors will be able to compete better against the subsidized Toshiba players. In any case every knew going in that the PS3 would be subsidized and that it would be a capable player.
If the other BD vendors hadn't factored in the PS3 they were idiots. Its ignoring the 500lb gorilla in the tent.
Vinea
So.... How many PS3 has to be sold to meet the volume criteria? How close will Sony be by the mid year...... or even end of the year?.... By the time Sony gets near the volume critieria to lower the cost.... it may be too late. The second gen HD-DVD player can be had for $375 shipped from Amazon and it will probably reach the consumer end pricing around $249 to $299 sooner than PS3 or any other future CE BD player. Whoever wins the the price war will win the Hidef format war as well, and this is my prediction.
Walmart.com has both formats and perhaps there are stores that do too. At the moment I haven't seen any HiDef media or players (aside from consoles) at my WM.
So.... How many PS3 has to be sold to meet the volume criteria? How close will Sony be by the mid year...... or even end of the year?.... By the time Sony gets near the volume critieria to lower the cost.... it may be too late. The second gen HD-DVD player can be had for $375 shipped from Amazon and it will probably reach the consumer end pricing around $249 to $299 sooner than PS3 or any other future CE BD player. Whoever wins the the price war will win the Hidef format war as well, and this is my prediction.
Millions. Fortunately Sony's going to make millions of them. They don't NEED to sell to reduce component costs but a bankrupt Sony isn't going to do the format any good.
Anyone really expect Sony not to make and sell millions of PS3s given they've already shipped 2M units? Even if they miss 6M units by March does anyone seriously believe they will not sell 6M units by end of 2007?
Sharp has just begun mass producing blue laser diodes. Sony's output has thus far gone entirely toward the PS3 but as yields improve they can pump out cheaper players as well. Especially if the PS3 is missing sales goals and units are sitting in channel.
Vinea
Millions. Fortunately Sony's going to make millions of them. They don't NEED to sell to reduce component costs but a bankrupt Sony isn't going to do the format any good.
Anyone really expect Sony not to make and sell millions of PS3s given they've already shipped 2M units? Even if they miss 6M units by March does anyone seriously believe they will not sell 6M units by end of 2007?
Sharp has just begun mass producing blue laser diodes. Sony's output has thus far gone entirely toward the PS3 but as yields improve they can pump out cheaper players as well. Especially if the PS3 is missing sales goals and units are sitting in channel.
Vinea
But Vinea, you do think the chances of Sony going bankrupt are a bit premature at this point right. I think what Sony is counting is the giant percentage of PS2 users that say their next console is going to be a PS3. I read that I think 90% of PS2 owners say they plan to buy a PS3 as their next generation gaming console, and with sony having sold 111.25million PS2 units by september 2006 I'd say they have little to worry about from people buying a PS3 solely for the BR player. And like you said, with he cost of components going down this race will stay quite competitive.
Millions. Fortunately Sony's going to make millions of them. They don't NEED to sell to reduce component costs but a bankrupt Sony isn't going to do the format any good.
Anyone really expect Sony not to make and sell millions of PS3s given they've already shipped 2M units? Even if they miss 6M units by March does anyone seriously believe they will not sell 6M units by end of 2007?
Sharp has just begun mass producing blue laser diodes. Sony's output has thus far gone entirely toward the PS3 but as yields improve they can pump out cheaper players as well. Especially if the PS3 is missing sales goals and units are sitting in channel.
Vinea
Well... millions can be 2 million or 200 million. Well, but Sony thinks in 3 years $299 BD player is feasible. It will be little too later, don't you think? BTW, I think most PS2 owners would probably buy PS3 when the price reach $129 like it is now for PS2 and it would be very very long time before PS3 can be had for $129.
News
Sony: $299 Blu-ray Player In 3 Years
Company executives say price declines will follow DVD history.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (January 17, 2007) -- Waiting for those $999 Blu-ray players to drop under $500?
Well, you may have to wait awhile. Sony says it could be three years before the player drops to $299 or $399.
In an interview with CNET's News.com, Sony President Stan Glasgow noted that DVD player prices took a few years before they reached more affordable levels.
"If you go back to when DVDs came into play, it took about three years until they got into price points of $299 to $399. I suspect it's about the same thing here with Blu-ray. I think it's going to take up to three years to get down to those price points, possibly a little longer," Glasgow said.
Glasgow added that Sony had some control over the player's components, but needed more sales volume to drop prices.
"Once you get volumes up, you get yields up, and you get efficiencies up; the prices go down on the components," he told the web site.
Toshiba's low-end HD-DVD player is now priced at $499 and company executives hinted recently that $399 and $299 prices could come within the next year.
The cheapest Blu-ray player currently on the market is the low-end PlayStation 3, priced at $499. Most Blu-ray players retail for nearly $1,000.
In the same interview, Sony CEO Howard Stringer defended PS3, which has a Blu-ray player inside. Despite some early bumps, one million PS3 have been shipped in North America and Stringer said the game console will give Blu-ray a big edge over HD-DVD.
"I'd say 90 percent of the people who (own) PS3s are playing that Blu-ray disc on it or playing other Blu-ray discs on it," Stringer told News.com. "Contrary to some of the reports, it is an effective Blu-ray player. The people who like Blu-ray are the people who play PlayStation 3, just as people who play PS2s were the early proponents of the DVD format. It drove the DVD format."
Stringer also dismissed LG's new dual-format player, which will retail for $1199. He said it was "an expensive way of showing universal discs."
But Vinea, you do think the chances of Sony going bankrupt are a bit premature at this point right.
Sure...I do think its premature but if they did end up with millions of unsold PS3 in channel their brand just went THUD along with their cash flow. But that scenario has no chance of happening...they'll price drop before letting too much stuff just sit.
I also believe that Toshiba's estimates are high but hey, perhaps they can sell as many as they say.
Vinea