PS3 to get joint movie and video game Blu-ray releases
While the PS3 is doing fine in relative terms, Sony could do with new ways of pushing the console and promoting its multimedia capabilities. So how about combining movies and games on the one Blu-ray disc? It could work.
Sony’s decision to include Blu-ray on the PS3 as standard had the capacity to be a masterstroke or a complete and utter failure. If the high-definition format had lost the battle against HD DVD then the latter would have been inevitable. As it is, the decision has proved fruitful, with the Playstation 3 being one of the cheapest but most feature-packed Blu-ray players on the market.
It’s now kind of like a symbiotic relationship, with the PS3 pushing Blu-ray, and the increasing popularity of Blu-ray helping the PS3 shift units. There’s also the obvious advantage that the memory capacity of Blu-ray discs has afforded games developers. Blu-ray is probably the main reason why Metal gear Solid 4 won’t ever appear on the Xbox 360.
But most video games developers aren’t as greedy as Hideo Kojima, the mastermind behind the MGS games. Which means there is plenty of room left on the disc even with the biggest, most graphically advanced games.
According to John Koller, director of hardware marketing for the PS3, talking to Video Business, that extra space could soon be filled by a related movie. He said:
We are actively pushing, and the way that we see the future is that the movie and the game are placed on the same disc. There are a lot of developers who say, we have this game based on a movie, wouldn’t it be great to marry these concepts? We will definitely see this stuff this year.
That is clearly the most obvious way of using this idea: when a game based on a movie is released, stick the movie on there too. If the price of the game stayed the same but consumers were getting a Blu-ray movie for free, then it could increase sales massively. That is, of course, as long as the game isn’t a pile of horse manure. Which most movie-based games unfortunately are.
I can also see this being used for Platinum releases, where the bestselling PS3 games could be bundled with the most popular movies. And all on one shiny new Blu-ray.
I suspect this is just one of the ways in which Sony is going to try to push the PS3 as a device everyone needs to have in their house. But while this may be a neat idea, I’d personally rather see more (obvious) advertising and a much-needed price cut coming first. But then I’m just a blogger so what do I know?
Related Posts:
30 Responses to “PS3 to get joint movie and video game Blu-ray releases”
Leave a Reply:
You must be logged in to post a comment. Don't have an account? Register today!
February 12th, 2009
This is one of the worst ideas I’ve ever seen. What sort of message does it send to developers? Is it a games console, a movie console? It makes no sense. How about Sony just market the damn thing as a GAMES machine?
Although if the movie/game bundle stayed at a $60 price point, then maybe, just maybe it could work.
But any other increase in price, which let’s face it is probably what’s going to happen, then it’s just going to tank.
February 12th, 2009
GREAT IDEA!!! this will encourage me to buy crappy movie based games…
February 12th, 2009
I wouldn’t mind Ghostbusters or either one of the Riddick movies being packaged with the games that are coming out close to the time the blu rays come out.
February 12th, 2009
COPY/PASTE TIME!
“Honestly, they could start releasing BDs NOW that have Arcade-style games programmed right into the special features. I mean, who here would be averse to having fun, short side-scrollers or beat ‘em ups or what have you based on their favorite movies?”
Ah, but you say: “I ain’t gonna pay no $60 for a BR movie with a crappy game.”*
And I say: “This is why any hypothetical games on these hypothetical hybrid (hybridthetical?) discs should be low-budget, arcadey, 2D things that a small dev team can build for relatively cheap, thereby keeping prices down.
There’s a lot of fun to be had with those kind of games, I think.”
-Arvis
*Credit: “photo K”
February 12th, 2009
Wanted- weapons of fate…
pack that in with the movie… I will buy that fucker in an instant…
February 12th, 2009
Interesting idea.
February 12th, 2009
“While the PS3 is doing fine in relative terms”
Classic opener! Only you Dave! LOL
Here’s another…..
While the ps3 is last in the console race and has been since day one and 2008 “the year of the ps3″ has came and gone.
February 12th, 2009
The PS3 is performing exactly the same in relative terms to the 360 which, after 2 years had sold 20 million, and after 2 years the PS3 too has sold 20 million.
So it is relative.
February 12th, 2009
Heres another : ‘Con is an ass.’
I mean at least comment on the subject matter, call it a stupid idea, call it a good idea, something, anything.
Now the SDF is gonna come out here and bash the 360.
I guess the cylons were right…
February 12th, 2009
I honestly am having a hard time remembering the last good movie tie-in game that I’ve played… Maybe Rouge Squadron for Game Cube?
February 12th, 2009
just imagine how many lord of the ring copies that could sell
February 13th, 2009
Both the Two towers and The return of the king were great EA games. It was like an updated Golden Axe, that didn’t suck.
February 13th, 2009
my opinion: it will be a failure.
1. where will they market it? movies and games are two different types of entertainment. will the retailers sell them in the movie section or game section? confusing for consumers.
2. what will this do to the price of the game/movie? games are at $60….bluray are at $30… plus tax the consumer is looking at $100 per disk. on top of the most (needlessly) expensive console on the market.
bad move.
CON – the next time they claim the ps3 is doing well, remind them of the decreased unit sales on the year.
February 13th, 2009
Oh Yeah, I had the LOTR games for PS2… those were really good. Now that I’m thinking about it… Spiderman2 was pretty good also.
February 13th, 2009
ohh yeah return of the king was one of the first games I played on my last gen PC… I loved it…
seriously kev… the last coupla comments were funny but now youre just getting desperate…
February 13th, 2009
I want:
Star wars
X-Men
Superman
Harry potter
Spiderman
Hulk
Iron Man
Any Marvel DC movie/games
Those are the movies I can and do watch Over and Over.
I have them on DVD and this will give me a reason to bring them to Bluray.
February 13th, 2009
dwh – instead of flaming, why don’t you pull her head out and actually say what, exactly, is flawed.
do you think there won’t be an upcharge on the game/movie? do you think the disk will not be more than $60.
do you think retailers will open up more floorspace to this type of hybrid when ever square inch of floor space is being fought over?
so what exactly is desperate?
note: i didn’t start the insults…you did…
now, let’s hear it…
February 13th, 2009
People pay a ridiculous amount for the collectors box with useless bullshit. If priced right I could see this being a good idea. They couldn’t charge more than $10 for the movie, and the movie has to have the bells and whistles expected from a HD release. Lossless sound etc.
February 13th, 2009
“While the PS3 is doing fine in relative terms”
Complete PR cr@p.
The PS3 is a disaster for Sony.
PS3 has cost them billions of $ in R&D that they will never see made back and they have toasted up a vast and clear lead in the game console market to see themselves welded well & truly in 3rd place with zero sign of that changing any time soon.
Largely all for a high definition video system likely to be just another minority segment of the HD market before digital downloading takes over everything in a few years time.
In fact things are so dire re the PS3 that the best they can attempt to claim is that maybe, perhaps, if everything works out, possibly they might in a few years time over-take XBox 360 to go 2nd.
Wow.
Not.
February 13th, 2009
Who fucking cares how much sony is losing? Fuck.
February 13th, 2009
sony loosing money is not the reason it is third.
I’m glad I picked it over the 360 time bomb.
February 13th, 2009
PS3 are starting to get so desperate these days. There game sales are awful as it is compared to 360
February 13th, 2009
sw – who cares if sony is losing money? let’s see.. Sir Howard Stringer, Hirai, sony stockholders, and anyone who may want to see further iterations of the playstation.
the don’t have the deep pockets to keep bailing water off this Titanic…. if the trend continues, sony may well just bow out and make money as a publisher of games… the smart move…
February 13th, 2009
Well then that settles it…..
*rips PS3 out of entertainment center, walks out the door, throws PS3 down on to the front yard, angrily stomps on it, then proceeds to piss on it*
February 13th, 2009
“Sir Howard Stringer, Hirai, sony stockholders”
So erm, I was talking about the people reading blorge, well, unless Kaz likes to hang out at blorge (Ivan???).
“anyone who may want to see further iterations of the playstation.”
Again, honestly who cares? I’d be perfectly happy buying an MS console, or a Nintendo console, Apple, blah blah, etc.
February 13th, 2009
My point was that Dave is talking straight out of his a$$ with opening statements like that.
PS3 is not “doing fine in relative terms”.
In relative terms PS3 has taken the truly huge successes of the one-time global number one best selling PS1 & PS2 and pi$$ed all of that up against a wall, just to push a new (but now so obviously out-dated disc based) video format.
That’s the point I was making.
By all means consider all the other stuff if you like….PS3 sales are ok in 3rd place or relatively ok considering the price etc etc.
But to ignore what the background was and say black is white as DP did here is just absurd.
February 14th, 2009
I think he originally meant “doing fine in relative terms” by those you mentioned as far as “ok in 3rd place”, price, and that it should last the rest of this gen Happyhockum.
SW, gotta say congrats on your pic, Deus Ex is one of the greats.
February 16th, 2009
@Happyhockum You don’t know what your talking about.
Just because It’s not selling well in the U.S. you think it’s doing poor? Although I like the U.S. they are not the be all end all.
And I’m not saying this because I have a PS3. I had 5 Xbox 1’s at one time and they were great but the 360 is a piece of sh!t. It’s still to early to tell what’s going o happen in this gen. Although I know for sure I will not spend more then $80 for a 360.
As for attach rates I have had my PS3 for less then a month and have 6 games. one is the orange box which has 5 games on it.
February 16th, 2009
No ncaissie,
either you don’t know what we’re talking about
or
you’re just trying to divert off into some irrelevant minor detail, some boring irrelevant BS about your opinion on the 360 and a personal anecdote on your game buying.
Big deal.
The pertinent point is good and wholly accurate.
Sony have failed mightily with the PS3.
They have indeed pi$$ed up the wall the vast global lead the PS1 & PS2 once gave them.
The best that the Sony fans can try and claim (sometime maybe perhaps) is that at some undefined point PS3 might take 2nd place in global sales.
(not that there is a independent & verifiable single stat to show that actually happening now or anytime soon)
At every point (as CarlB correctly pointed out – and I myself said) you have to caveat and concentrate on lesser detail.
The PS3 absolutely is not doing well in “relative terms” – if by relative you mean setting global sales against the other 2 consoles or Sony’s own track-record.
I suspect that Sony themselves see this only too clearly and could care less about the minor quibbling about the (much) lesser details.
February 17th, 2009
I would guess that it would be the game being sold packaged with the movie and not the other way around.
They’ve done this before. Stranglehold was packaged with Bulletproof.