Microsoft wants both Blu-ray and HD-DVD to fail?

[bluflu]

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=26216

Interesting article.

[dialog_gvf]

^^^ Some of us have been saying that for years.

However, a fragmented, uncertain market, where a hefty investment in the wrong technology could turn out to be money down the drain, drives consumers straight into the welcoming arms of digital distribution.

The question would be why Graffeo is so eager to drink the MS Koolaid?

[Sylin]

Digital downloads will not be a viable distribution method for MANY, MANY years. And MS is deluded if they think the XBOX 360 and XBOX Live will drive demand for that type of service.

There's a variety of reasons why this doesn't make sense now... I could write a book. But the main reason is that mass consumer buy-in isn't there yet, and neither is the tech/price.

AppleTV is crap... no HD content and you are restricted to using iTunes, which seems like an unnecessary extra step (it should be an option, not a requirement). Plus, it requires a PC.

XBOX Live offers (some) HD downloads, but most of them are built to expire after a time, they take forever to download, and the biggest XBOX 360 hard drive can only accommodate about 16-24 movies at most, and that's assuming you're not storing game data on that drive, too. If MS had come out with a 500gb drive, then I could get behind this. But 120gb? Please.

Amazon Unbox/TiVo have an interesting setup where you can buy movies online with Amazon and have them stream to their TiVo (or PC). But not everyone has TiVo, and these movies only last 24 hours before they auto-delete.

The solution, I hate to say, will probably come through cable companies with some form of VoD service. A DVR with massive storage capacity that let's me TiVo my favorite television shows, and also download (and keep forever) my favorite movies via digital download. Or, at the very least, once I buy them they are mine forever, and I can re-download them for free whenever I want. But I cringe at the idea of someone else managing my media rights. I can just see some massive database failure and everyone loses their movies.

But when you consider that BD holds 50gb (which would take upwards of 24 hours to download on a fat pipe), and that only 30% of American households have broadband, there's no market for this yet.

Consumers are programmed to WANT physical media in their hands. It started with books and newspapers, and now we have tapes, CD's, DVD's... we LOVE the ability to touch our media because HAVING it makes it OURS.

Just my $0.02... and then some.