If you’ve ever dared to delve into the darker nether-regions of geekdom known as AV message boards, then you know people can literally muster an argument over which is the best $500 HDMI cable.  Yes, they’ll quote random studies here and there (usually “studies” coming from a magazine article trying to sell magazines), but they’ll never come to a unanimous decision.  Well, that is except to tell you whatever equipment you own sucks.

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Here’s something that nobody really seemed to be asking for.  What if there was a way to integrate the PS3 with the iPhone?  That way, you would never have to put down your new gadget iPhone, even when playing with your new gadget PS3.

Don’t ask and you shall receive.  NetBlender is announcing that their BD Touch tehcnology allows for two-way connectivity between the PS3 and iPhone, at least when it comes to the Blu-ray playing capabilities.  Sound neat?  Well, the potential uses are…sort of.

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No, this isn’t the service you American gamers are thinking of, but instead the UK’s biggest online game rental service.  That would be WhyBuyGames.co.uk.  So how are they expanding?  By adding Blu-ray discs to their selection.

So, isn’t this kind of a weird blurring of lines?  Sure, Blu-ray drives are built into every PS3 and it was a major cause for the format’s winning of the high-def format wars.  But still, both last and current generation consoles from Sony and Microsoft could read DVDs, and yet many resisted blurring that edge.  What’s the difference?

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Almost immediately after the death of the HD-DVD format, rumors began to swirl that Microsoft would introduce a Blu-ray add-on drive for the Xbox 360. Microsoft itself had even hinted they might do as much if HD-DVD were ever to fail. Now, it seems something is actually coming of all those rumors. Microsoft and Sony are in talks to develop such a drive.

The confirmation comes from Stan Glasgow, Sony Electronics US president. Yes, this is the equivalent of cats and dogs lying together. The two bitter rivals are playing nice for a bit as they both hope to gain something. Sony sells more Blu-ray drives and Microsoft hopefully avoids the cries of “obsolete” by Sony’s marketing team. They end up helping one another out because they both need one another. (more…)

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It’s true; the big, bad Microsoft has pulled its support for the HD-DVD player add-ons for the Xbox 360 after news of Toshiba’s withdrawal from the format war. So all those HD-DVDs you invested in? Well, sorry to say there aren’t any new ones are coming out soon. Support for HD-DVD drives is now out the window. Feel free to yell or hit something in light of you spending that money. Rumor has it by the end of the year Microsoft will be releasing a Blu-ray player add on for the 360. That seems like a good idea. Maybe the next Xbox will have a Blu-ray drive in it. One can only store so much gaming goodness on a regular DVD.

Hey you can still use your HD-DVD add on as an DVD player with up scaling abilities, which is what many companies are calling their left over HD-DVD players. Or you could make it into as a giant paperweight and desk ornament for your home office. (more…)

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The Hollywood Reporter is stirring rumors that Toshiba will drop support for HD DVD in the coming weeks. If so, this will finally bring to an end the long format war which many feared could get longer. It will also be more good news for Sony.

Ever since the format war began between HD DVD and Blu-Ray it was clear that one side needed to die off in order for the other to succeed. A protracted format war would only confuse most consumers and cause many more to sit out the battle until a clear winner could be picked. Toshiba dropping HD DVD support achieves this. (more…)

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Just in case you needed further proof that HD-DVD was dead as a format, Netflix has announced they are dropping the high definition format. In place, Netflix will continue to support the Sony backed Blu-Ray format. It’s really just another nail in HD-DVD’s coffin.

What was once a format war has devolved into a format mopping up session. With HD-DVD firmly defeated by Warner Brothers going Blu-Ray exclusive, recent announcements have seemed more like cleaning out the last cobwebs. All the while, Sony has been laughing to the bank.

While Sony once seemed to be stumbling by including Blu-Ray into every PS3 system, the recent format war win continues to bode well for the future of the PS3. With its main competitor out of the way, Sony has even more incentive to make sure the format is a resounding success, and that includes making sure the PS3 is in as many homes as possible. (more…)

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Sony’s gaming division has announced that last quarter it turned a profit, after several of losses. In fairness, many of those quarters were dragged down by the research and development costs involved with the PS3. Even more to the point, didn’t the Xbox division of Microsoft just recently turn a profit? So, what’s the news about Sony?

Of course Sony lost money with the introduction of a new console. Most console developers do. In fact, many game developers actually lose money or have substantially cut profits with the introduction of a new console as sales slow and research costs go into developing next generation game engines. This isn’t anything new, and in fact what has been new is Nintendo’s recent profit bonanza with the introduction of their sales crazy Wii. Traditionally game companies take substantial losses on the early years of a console’s life in order to get the hardware to market and then reap the profits from game licensing, which partly explains why Nintendo was so angry back in the 8-bit days at companies for bypassing their licensing. (more…)

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There is no doubt that the first year of life for the PS3 has been a rocky one. Price cuts, new system bundles, and bailing third party exclusives have all served to help muddy the waters of what was supposed to be another easy win for Sony. However, recent events have started to shift things more and more in Sony’s favor.

At least some of the PS3’s problems can be blamed upon the inclusion of its now infamous Blu-Ray drive. While that certainly was a hindrance in the first year (leading to higher system costs and therefore fewer buyers), it has proven to be a worthwhile gamble for Sony. HD-DVD, Blu-Ray’s rival format, is dying a expedited death and Sony now has a corner on the high definition media market.

Recent rumors of yet another new PS3 bundle may have some worried about more confusion, but it offers keen insight into Sony’s long term strategy. With the optical disc format cornered, Sony now turns its attention digital downloads and to Apple’s iTunes and Microsoft’s Xbox Live Marketplace. It’s already well known that Sony will take on Xbox Live this year when the finally introduce their Home online counterpart, and it’s been long rumored that around the same time they will move more into digital media distribution. The rumored new PS3 models seem to indicate this may be happening soon. (more…)

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The PlayStation 3 was an undeniable stumble upon launch. Its huge markup over other consoles, even if defendable considering what it packed in, made the system the undeniable leper at the party. Those who did adopt the console in the early days were met by a dearth of games, and even worse, those who didn’t were met by a confused Sony PR message. The focus of the PS3 message seemed to be everything but the games, a confused message similar to the one Sony tried with the launch of the PSP.

Still, much like with the PSP, given enough time Sony figured out what they were doing and got their message back on track with, “It’s the games, stupid,” simplicity. Fall 2007 brought several unique exclusives such as Heavenly Sword, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. Even missteps like Lair were forgivable in the face of a company who finally seemed to be getting it. However, all of these problems relate back in one way or another to the PS3’s Trojan horse—Blu-Ray.

Blu-Ray is Sony’s latest in a long line of attempts to establish their own proprietary format as the format of choice for consumers. From Betamax to Mini Disc to Memory Stick to UMD, Sony has a museum of its failed or at least semi-failed formats. Blu-Ray certainly could have ended up like the others, but Sony was cleverer, or perhaps just luckier, this time. None of this is to say Sony had no positives on its side. (more…)

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