Microsoft says costly Blu-ray put PS3 at disadvantage

11. Does anyone remember the days when the xbox 360 was £279 when it was newly released? The PS3 is quite new, of course it's going to cost more, to cover developmental costs just as the xbox 360 was priced a lot when it was new. A cheaper console just means it's been out on the market longer and has been ageing older.

And when microsoft brings out the next xbox, some people (mostly gamers) will moan at the price of it. Because you can't win with everybody.

If someone can afford to pay for multiple £40 games then the difference between the ps3 and xbox prices shouldn't matter.

10. I think he has a point here. When buying a console all of my friends have an Xbox and the main reason was cost. Yes the Arcade is cheaper and doesn't have a hard drive but PS3 doesn't have an ecomony version like the Xbox does. That's a big plus and is more appealing to comsumers. What are you going to buy a £199 console or a £300 one? It's a no brainer, especially to people on a budget.

9. Only 2433 days left till the launch of PS4

It will have Octet core at 8GHz,

1Gb DDR10 Graphics ram,

Virtual reality headset glasses.

A photo quality graphics games engine.(current gen only a practise)

Wireless connection to satellite broadband at 1Gb per sec

5Tb Solid state disk storage.

Integrated 1080p HD freesat - PVR function

USB version 5.0

And games will be totally free paid for by adverts in games.

8. @ jared_ashton.

Convenient you missed this bit

"the ability to [play] 1080p movies with no disc, "no download required""

The arcade does stream movies yes?

7. One problem with two sentiments stated by Greenberg. Being a a friend of logic, the following two statements are contradictions.

-"Sony bet on the physical disc, and there are costs associated with that"

-"For us, our bet was on digital distribution"

I don't know the prices in the UK, but here in the US the only xbox 360 with a price lower than the price of the ps3 is the arcade edition at $199. The elite edition comes in at the same price as the ps3 at $299. The arcade edition DOES NOT have a hard drive, thus cannot take advantage of digital distribution.

If Greenberg was speaking about how it was in the past, then he would have mentioned the old arcade price of $299...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_360

6. There are many areas in many countries that still do not have broadband that is good enough for downloading movies and games easily and MS needs to realise this. Physical media will remain important for a good few years yet especially where games are concerned.

I think MS are forgetting that primarily PS3 and 360 are games consoles. The PS3 is better placed going forward having a bigger storage medium for games. Who wants to be downloading 25 - 50Gb when you can get it on a disc at your local store? I'm quite interested in how much longer MS will continue with the 360 before it's replacement becomes necessary. This year is certainly beginning to see the 360's dominance dwindle in Europe and only a new console will stop the slide. I'm not sure what MS could come up with to significantly trump the PS3 though? I think Sony's long game is beginning to pay off.

5. "Microsoft's king of spin Aaron Greenberg says that the Xbox 360 has "nearly twice" PS3's installed base in the US"

And... Xbox is an American console. Guess what? Sony have more than wtice the Xbox360's installed base in Japan...

This is BS, it's Global numbers that matter, and the fact remains, despite Xbox launching 18months earlier, the number of WORKING consoles globally is pretty much the same.

Aaron Greenberg is basically playing on the stupidity of gamers, and frankly any credible news outlet would give this "PR stunt" a very wide berth..

4. The funny thing is that Microsoft doesn't have the largest HD library of them all because sony just made a deal with alle the big studios in Hollywood to release movies on it's console and www.sonypictures.com belongs to Sony and they won't EVER let Microsoft use their own movies on the competitive system LOL...

And one more thing is that the X360 is built without WIFI , so maybe that's also one reason it is cheaper :)

3. @noizepol & perplexer

I agree, I believe Microsoft should release a Blu-ray add on drive like the HD-DVD drive. That way the consumer gets the choice. Most will stay with Xbox that way and will have no need to buy a PS3.

I would rather buy a film once for £12-£20 than keep forking out the odd £4 to rent a film and watch it once.

2. @perplexer

I don't own an Xbox but I would imagine it's £4 for a rental. Speaking from experience of other download services (ps3 movie downloads, itunes, steam) though, downloads to keep tend to be about the same price as a physical disc - and not as high quality as a blu-ray.

I buy (or rent) a blu-ray because it's good to know your watching the best possible source for the film, not some compressed download made to maximise profit.

1. The future may well be as MS have stated - downloads and streaming of movies etc. I have all 3 main consoles (the Wii does not get used). The 360 is used for gaming and the PS3 as a media centre and rarely for gaming. But it is nice to 'own' what you have purchased.

On the other hand if the movie you have just spent good money on the BluRay disc to own turns out to be not so good as you hoped it sort of puts the 'own it' argument away - BluRay around £16 to £18 to buy or £4 (may be wrong here) for download.