HD DVD is dead.

Here at Schmadget we've been watching with interest as the next generation video format war played out. It's been a bitter, tit-for-tat affair but it seems the end is finally nigh for HD DVD with Reuters reporting today that Toshiba are on the verge of conceding defeat to the Sony-backed Blu-ray and are planning to wind down the operation, set to cost them a few $100 million.

Support for HD DVD has been slowly ebbing away over the last few months as major studios and distributors withdrew their support for the ailing format, with Netflix and Wal-mart putting the final nails in the coffin this week.

Looking on the bright side this is great for the consumer as it means the uncertainty and confusion is now over. You no longer have to worry about backing the wrong horse. Of course, those that did and bought HD DVD players will now be left with an obsolete piece of technology. The curse of the early adopter.

The PS3 has to be credited with significantly boosting Blu-ray's market penetration and credentials, it was a big risk for Sony but it appears to have paid off, at least on this front. Although you could argue that is has cost Sony dear on the gaming front with the high price of the PS3 with integrated Blu-ray player allowing Nintendo to steal a massive lead with the less sophisticated and much cheaper Wii.

As consumers, we can only hope that the big electronics companies will learn from this and avoid such 'wars' in the future. This is sure to be the last big physical media format war but the new frontier is digital of course and, unfortunately, I'm sure we'll see many more formats, wars and interoperability issues as long as there are big, greedy companies around trying to control the markets in which they operate, without first considering the consumers that buy their products.

PlayStation Home confirmed

Well no surprises that the rumour was true after the Kotaku incident but Sony confirmed it today and announced PlayStation Home. It's like a blend of Second Life, The Sims, Nintendo's Miis and Xbox's achievements.

Basically it's a virtual world in which you have your own customisable house (you can hang your own digital photos on the wall as pictures) and all of it can be explored using your avatar, which can also be customised like a Mii but in far more detail. But this is not just some ramshackle or cartoon-like world, it's full on PS3 graphics and looks pretty impressive.



See more photos in the Joystiq gallery here.

You can chat to your buddies, play in-built games like bowling and pool, or arrange online multi-player games. There are also loads of public places where you can watch move trailers in a virtual cinema, for example, or admire game trophies in great halls.

Sony are thinking of it as Game 3.0, kind of like Web 2.0 for games, bandying about terms like social, localisation and customisable. That's a bit odd, I'm not sure it's quite that ground-breaking, there are plenty of MMO games out there that offer a lot of these aspects already but whatever, this does seem quite interesting and certainly brings the PS3 much more in line with what Nintendo are clearly trying to do with the Wii.

Having said that, those people that want it (and I'm not one of them) have plenty of options for MMO already and if Sony has proven one thing it's that cramming every conceivable piece of functionality into things doesn't necessarily translate into a compelling experience; people tend to like simplicity and elegance. The PS3 needs to be good at games first and this sort of thing is a great added bonus second.

At the end of the day, we'll just have to wait and see. PlayStation home goes into beta in April and should be launched properly sometime in the Autumn. Now if Sony would actually just release the bloody PS3 over here, people might just have one more reason to go and buy one.

PS3 UK/PAL launch details confirmed

Sony confirmed the details of the PS3 launch in the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand last night. 23rd March is the day and £424.99 / €599 / A$999.95 / NZ$1,199.95 are the respective prices.



There will be one million of the consoles available in Europe, with 300,000 of those likely earmarked for the UK. It will only be available in the premium 60GB version initially, the cheaper 20GB version may be available later in the year depending on demand.

There are going to be around 30 games available at launch including Resistance: Fall of Man, Genji: Days of the Blade, Call of Duty 3, The Elder Scrolls lV: Oblivion and Formula One Championship Edition to name a few.

With the Xbox 360 having already sold 10 million units worldwide and the Nintendo Wii selling 700,000 units in Europe in December alone, Sony are definitely playing catch-up. The high price of the PS3 won't help, you could buy a premium Xbox 360 AND a Wii for only £35 more than a PS3.

Nevertheless, it will surely sell out at launch. It's just whether it can keep selling once the hype has died down. With rumours that stores are struggling to shift the gaming behemoth in the US and Japan post-Christmas, it will be interesting to see if there is a similar pattern over here.

PS3 and Wii launch in the US

The US market is the first to get the next generation holy trinity of 360, PS3 and Wii.

The two new kids on the block joined the 360 and launched in the US at the weekend. As you might imagine, chaos reigned as people queued for days to get hold of them. The PS3 was in particularly short supply and caused a mini crime spree with armed robberies and shootings - only in America!

So, what happens next? Well, the reviews have been flying, mostly positive for the PS3 and Wii but both have also had some negative press, most notably the New York Times panned the PS3.

Both have suffered with some technical glitches as well, some Wiis are getting 'fatal errors' when upgrading the firmware and the PS3 is having backwards compatibility, HDTV compatibility and a few other issues. All to be expected these days with new technology unfortunately.

I still remain quite skeptical about the PS3, technical glitches and game compatibility issues not withstanding, it's inevitably getting compared to the 360 and the comparison doesn't look that great for the PS3.

The 360 has had a year's head start on the PS3 to iron out it's own issues, enhance it's multi-media offering and for game developers to learn how to harness it's graphical power.

People are looking at the considerably more expensive PS3 and wondering why they need to pay so much extra for something that doesn't really do anything more than the 360 and at this stage doesn't offer the superior graphics or game play that Sony promised (the launch line-up of games on the PS3 is pretty lacklustre). That will change over time I'm sure but for now, today, it's got no real advantage, unless you want a cheapish Blu-ray player.

And what of the Wii? Well, in some ways it's off on it's own because Nintendo never got into the technical arms race, so they aren't necessarily being judged on the same criteria. For the Wii, it's all about the innovation. Most people seem to think it lives up to it's potential so far and is great fun to play. Whether that feeling can last and whether it turns out to be a novelty only time will tell but the DS vs PSP battle has seemingly proved that innovation and interesting game play can win the day over pure graphical power and multi-media capabilities.

Today though, I put my money where my mouth is and pre-ordered a Wii from Amazon, ready for it's UK launch on December 8th. And I expect that next year I will be getting a 360, purely for Halo 3. So that's my decision made. I'll let you know next year whether I think I made the right one.

Where do you stand with the next-gen consoles? Post your thoughts and what you intend on buying in the comments!

Updated: Typos and stuff.

Tags: sony, ps3, nintendo, wii, microsoft, xbox360, gaming, tech, technology, gadget, schmadget, scb

New Halo 2 maps and Halo 3 beta

Well well well, Microsoft want some of Sony and Nintendo's PR action this week and have announced that in spring next year they will be releasing new Halo 2 multi-player maps and a public beta of the online multi-player component of Halo 3.



Both the new maps and the Halo 3 beta will of course be exclusive to the Xbox 360, giving people a few reasons to pause for thought before they reach for their wallets this Christmas intent on buying a PS3 or Wii.

I've always thought that I'd wait until Halo 3 is released before getting a 360 but maybe, just maybe, this might speed up my decision.

But that's next year. First, I've got something far more important to buy...

Tags: halo, xbox, xbox360, microsoft, nintendo, wii, sony, ps3, gaming, tech, technology, gadget, schmadget, scb

PS3 goes on sale in Japan

Sony today released the PS3 to thousands of queuing fans in Japan. People started getting in line yesterday and by 7.00am local time today they were being turned away before the shops were even open!

There were only 100,000 units available in Japan at launch and as you might expect they have completely sold out. When the console launches in the US next Friday there will be 400,000 units ready to be snapped up.

As you probably know by now, we in Europe will have to wait until March next year to get our hands on a PS3, by which time Sony says it will have shipped 6 million of the next generation consoles worldwide.

In contrast, Microsoft, who launched their Xbox 360 a year ago, have already sold 6 million units and expect that figure to be around the 10 million mark by the end of this year.

Nintendo's Wii enters the fray in the US on November 19th just two days after the PS3, followed in Japan on December 2nd and then Europe on December 8th.

The next generation console war has begun. It will be fascinating to see how the 3 machines fair in the coming months once supply and demand reach a balance and the initial rush subsides.

Is the Nintendo going to get trampled under foot in the stampede for the PS3 and can the PS3 catch up with the 360 after it's year long lead?

Only time will tell. We'll keep you posted.

Tags: sony, ps3, playstation, microsoft, xbox360, nintendo, wii, consoles, gaming, tech, technology, gadget, schmadget, scb

Xbox Live Video to offer HD downloads

Microsoft have announced that they will start offering movie and tv downloads through Xbox Live on November 22nd in the US.

This is a significant announcement for a few reasons, perhaps most importantly that some of the content will be in high definition, which places them at the cutting edge of video downloading.

They're clearly moving to counter on two fronts: firstly to compete with Amazon's Unbox service and Apple's iTunes and iTV; and secondly to differentiate the Xbox 360 from the Sony PS3 and Nintendo Wii.

It's a very interesting move that gives Microsoft a leg-up on their competition in a few ways. If they decide to link the Xbox 360 with the upcoming Zune, it could give them an interesting eco-system with which to properly compete with the iPod, with the full living room through to portal device strategy that Apple is now obviously pursuing.

Could Microsoft actually get there before Apple?

And it kind of neuters one of Sony's key points about the PS3 and it's Blu-ray drive. In some ways it's a leap beyond the next-generation DVD battle between HD DVD and Blu-ray. Why buy physical high definition media when you can just download it to a device that is already plugged into your TV?

Everything is converging as the technology becomes more pervasive - where do you draw the line between the battle for the living room, next-gen consoles and high definition media or are they just part of a much wider war for our homes, content and entertainment in general? I think so.

For more details of Xbox Live Video head over to Engadget HD.

Tags: microsoft, xbox360, high definition, video, download, apple, nintendo, sony, blu-ray, hddvd, schmadget, gadgets, tech, technology, scb

Another PR disaster for Sony

They've done it again. No it's not the laptop battery debacle or delayed, overpriced and oversized PS3s; this time Sony Computer Entertainment Europe sought and gained a High Court order in London to prevent Lik-Sang importing Sony PSPs into the UK from Asia and sets a precedent for the grey importing of PS3s for example.

The result is Lik-Sang has closed down and ceased trading. The response from the gaming community has been, as you might expect, one of great shock, huge disappointment and anger towards Sony.

Customers of Lik-Sang are the very people that Sony should be looking after. They're the early adopters and influencers; the people so excited about Sony products they can't wait to get hold of them. They create a groundswell of interest in products and tell their friends about them and encourage them to buy them as well. It's priceless, free product marketing.

And now these are the very people they have decided to prevent getting hold of Sony products. Judging from some of the gamer comments at the bottom of Lik-Sang's closing down statement, they are even planning on boycotting Sony.

A sad state of affairs for European gamers who are now going to have to wait until Sony finally get their act together and release the PS3 in Europe some 4 or 5 months after Asia and the Us.

That is, if they haven't by then decided to buy an Xbox 360 or Wii instead.

Tags: sony, ps3, lik-sang, xbox360, wii, nintendo, microsoft, gaming, schmadget, gadgets, tech, technology, scb

Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on coming to UK

Microsoft have announced that the HD DVD add-on for the Xbox 360 is coming to the UK, North America, France and Germany in "mid-November" priced at £129.99 / $199.99 / €199.99.

The player comes with Peter Jackson's "King Kong" on HD DVD (for a limited time) and is bundled with the Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote.

So, you can just add the HD DVD player to your Xbox 360 to get a cheap, next generation, high definition movie set-up.

They've priced it carefully so that when you buy a 360 and the add-on player, it equates to the same price as a PS3, which of course comes with Blu-ray.


Touché.

Tags: microsoft, xbox360, hd dvd, hd, high definition, schmadget, gadgets, tech, technology, scb

Sony drop PS3 price by 20% and include HDMI 1.3

Finally, some good news from Sony. They just announced today that they are cutting the launch price of the 20GB version of the PS3 in Japan by about 20% to ¥49,980. They have stated so far that this is a Japan only price drop and the US and Europe pricing remains unchanged.

Not only that but the 20GB, lower-end version of the PS3 now includes an HDMI 1.3 output (the latest spec), which was the other major sticking point that so many people were unhappy about.

So what does all this mean? Well, I think it absolutely proves Sony's strategy was wrong on the PS3 from the beginning by making it so expensive relative to the Xbox 360 and Wii and not including an HDMI output on the low-end model to enjoy all of the much-hyped Blu-ray content in full-on 1080p digital clarity.

I think Sony must have realised what a mess they'd made and, fair play to them, have corrected the mistake before launch. They are probably petrified about the competition from the much cheaper Wii in Japan specifically and the Xbox 360 with HD-DVD add on in the US and Europe. They had to do something and in fairness this does seem like a good move.

I think it certainly makes the 20GB much more attractive and it now begs the question of why you really need the more expensive 60GB version, just for the sake of WiFi, a larger hard drive and a memory card reader?

The next-gen console wars aren't over yet.

Tags: sony, ps3, hdmi, nintendo, wii, microsoft, xbox360, gaming, console, tech, technology, gadget, schmadget, scb

No PS3 in Europe until March 2007!

Oh it's all going wrong for Sony. I feared they were already in trouble with the PS3 strategy, with it's complicated manufacturing and cutting edge technology.

Now it seems that has bourne out and bitten them hard, they can't mass produce some of the components for the Blu-ray drive quickly enough.

There is to be no PS3 in Europe until March 2007. That gives Nintendo and Microsoft a free run this Christmas.

I think Sony are in pretty big trouble.

Via BBC.

Tags: sony, ps3, playstation, nintendo, wii, microsoft, xbox360, schmadget, gadgets, tech, technology, scb

Opinion: Is Sony heading for big trouble?

I'm worried about Sony. I think they could be about to have a couple of big disasters on their hands - the PS3 and Blu-ray.

I'm particularly worried about the PS3; it's complicated to manufacture, very expensive, a year behind the Xbox 360, has no killer games for launch, very negative press from practically all quarters, is inextricably linked to the fate of Blu-ray (which may turn out to be good or bad) and will be launched around the same time as perhaps the most innovative and interesting console ever - the Nintendo Wii.

This comes on the back of other recent failures for Sony - they've been stomped on by Apple in the digital music player space and Nintendo in the portable gaming space. Frankly, they can ill-afford either the PS3 or Blu-ray to fail, yet I can't help thinking that public opinion appears so against them, it could be an inevitability.

You only have to go and read the press articles or the comments on other gadget blogs to realise that people are very skeptical of Sony's strategy now.

They haven't exactly got a stellar record when it comes to media formats either, we all know the story of Betamax but what about UMD more recently? And Blu-ray, like the PS3, is going to be later and more expensive than HD-DVD, it's competitor.

I think HD-DVD and Blu-ray are going to hurt each other mind you, it's not quite as clear cut as the console wars. I think consumers will be very nervous to commit to either format until they are confident that it won't become obsolete in a year's time. But my personal preference at the moment is for HD-DVD - it appears to have superior picture quality and is cheaper.

Of course, Sony have been banking on the PS3 being a Trojan horse for Blu-ray, sneakily getting it into millions of households without consumers even really realising it. But I'm not sure this is actually going to happen. I think people are going to look at the lacklustre launch lineup of games for the PS3 and it's horrendous price tag and think "I could have a 360 and a Wii and get the best of both worlds for the same price as the PS3".

The 360 has already sold 6 million or so units and is on target for 10 million in the not too distant future, that's a massive lead over both Nintendo and Sony.

After a downbeat start the Wii has gained a surprisingly big following in the gaming community and there appears to be real excitement and great anticipation for the launch. People can't wait to get their hands on it and try the motion sensing controller and fun new gameplay styles.

The DS has proved that graphics and technical supremacy aren't everything - people want interesting, innovative and involving games. The DS has delivered that in spades but the PSP has seen far more than its fair share of derivative, lazy PS2 ports.

Yes, it's technically superior to the DS, has much better graphics, can play movies and music but people don't necessarily want all that, they just want to play great games.

I think the PS3 is making the same mistake, they're trying the PSP strategy again - they assume that by making it technically superior and cramming Blu-ray into it that it will win. Well I don't think it will.

I think the Wii is in a class of it's own and a lot of people will buy one in addition to either a 360 or a PS3; that means that the Wii could actually outsell both of the others and potentially the PS3 could come third. What a fall from grace that would be.

I don't envy Sony's position right now, they are up against one of the most innovative companies in the world with Nintendo and one of the richest with Microsoft. What a bad combination.

And as for Blu-ray Vs. HD-DVD, well the jury's out on that one, maybe they'll both fail or people will become less interested in physical media as Apple, Amazon and others launch proper movie download services?

Only time will tell, it's certainly interesting to watch but Sony have so much riding on these two pieces of their strategy, I dread to think what will happen if they've got it wrong.

Sources:
Joystiq
DS fanboy
The Guardian
Joystiq
Gamasutra
The Register
Engadget
Joystiq
HDTV UK

Tags: sony, ps3, wii, xbox360, ds, psp, hd, highdefinition, blu-ray, hd-dvd, gaming, tech, technology, gadget, schmadget, scb