Blu-ray to accelerate PS3 sales, PS3 price cut by years end?

279w ago - Analysts believe the Warner exclusive Blu-ray news is good for the PS3 and that Blu-rays success will lead to an acceleration of PS3 sales. Around 70 -80% of PS2 owners used the console as their first DVD player and the same could be true of PS3/Blu-ray.

Michael Pachter believes that this year HDTV penetration will cross 50% of households and thats when Blu-ray will become more relevant, and Sony will likely cut the price of the PS3. However others believe that exclusive games are the most important factor and Blu-ray is not a main concern.

To quote: Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan Securities thinks it's an important win, but the real impact won't be felt for some time since 1080p HDTV penetration is still fairly low. He does believe, however, that by the end of this year we'll start seeing a spike and that Sony will likely cut the price on PS3 by then as well.

Blu-ray has clearly gained momentum, and the upper hand, and the Warner announcement also provides a boost to the format, as well as for the advocates of Blu-ray as a standard. That said, locking up the suppliers of content and hardware manufacturers is only part of the equation. Consumers also must decide that they need a Blu-ray player, which seems more and more likely as prices decline," he said.

"As for the PS3, it definitely can't hurt, despite the fact that gamers early in this console cycle have shown a preference for simple and more intuitive experiences (Wii and DS) over the traditional video games. But as the next-gen games continue to improve, and hardware prices reach more reasonable levels, I think we will see a better uptake of the PS3."

Finally, DFC Intelligence's David Cole noted that it's games, of course, that will be the ultimate determinant in the console wars. Blu-ray just happens to be a bonus for PS3 owners.

"I don't think Blu-ray alone is enough to get people to commit to a game platform," cautioned Cole. "However, if consumers are trying to decide between a game platform and they feel both are fairly equal in terms of games, then I think Blu-ray could be the swinging factor for the PS3. Nevertheless, the key factor is games. I don't think Blu-ray would ever be a swinging factor as big as say a game like Halo 3. The biggest boost for PS3 sales will most likely be 1) lower price; 2) more exclusive game software and only after that Blu-ray."