Pach-Attack - Why is Sony Letting Xbox Use Blu-Ray?

Michael Pachter explains why Sony is helping its enemy.

[pedrof93]

Well sony is making money out of Xbox One.

[My_Outer_Heaven]

Not much though... Sony were smart to back Blu-ray when they made PS3... they hit the nail on the head just like they did with DVD on PS2.

[Software_Lover]

If HD-DVD was in the ps3 that would've won. The ps3 was the catalyst for the format war.

[black0o]

and CD on PSone

[Eonjay]

Two things:
1. It allows them to make money.
2. It allows them to establish Blu Ray as the Standard.

[DOMination-]

Sony are not in charge of bluray

[miyamoto]

I remember the days when Xbox fans really "HATED!" Blu-ray & and said mega tons of negative crap about it all over the internet .

And now they are eating them by the truck loads.
How does it taste?

Hah hah hah! LoL!

@My Outer

Sony did not just back Blu-Ray...Sony lead in creating it with Philips while the other founding members funded the project.

Sony does hold key patents on blu-ray.

Now who backed them up?
The current 18 board members (as of June 2013) are:[4]
Dolby Laboratories Inc.
DTS Inc.
Hitachi, Ltd.
Intel Corporation
LG Electronics
Mitsubishi Electric
Oracle Corporation
Panasonic Corporation
Pioneer Corporation
Royal Philips Electronics
Samsung Electronics
Sharp Corporation
Sony Corporation
TDK Corporation
Technicolor
20th Century Fox
Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group
Warner Bros. Entertainment

The contributors as of June 2009 are:[4]
Acer Inc.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
Almedio Inc.
Alticast
ArcSoft
AudioDev AB
BluFocus Inc.
Broadcom Corporation
Canon Inc.
CESI Technology Co. Ltd.
China Hualu group Co., Ltd.
CMC Magnetics Corporation
Corel Corporation
Cryptography Research Inc.
CyberLink
DCA Inc.
Deluxe Digital Studios, Inc.
Dolby Laboratories Inc.
Dreamer Co., Ltd.
DTS, Inc.
Eclipse Data Technologies
Fraunhofer IIS
Fujifilm
Fujitsu Ltd.
Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
Gibson Guitar Corporation
Industrial Technology Research Institute
Lionsgate Entertainment
Lite-On IT Corporation
Macrovision Corp.
Marvell International Ltd.
MediaTek Inc
Meridian Audio, Ltd.
Mitsubishi Kagaku Media Co.Ltd.
Monster Cable Products
Moser Baer India Limited
NEC Electronics Corporation
Nero AG
nVidia Corporation
Osmosys SA
Paramount Pictures Corporation
Pulstec Industrial Co., Ltd.
RealD
Ritek
Sensio Technologies Inc.
ShibaSoku Co. Ltd.
Sigma Designs
Singulus Technologies
Sonic Solutions
ST Microelectronics
Sunext
Taiyo Yuden Co., Ltd.,
Testronic Laboratories, Inc.
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Victor Company of Japan, Ltd. (JVC)
Visionare Corporation
Warner Music Group
Zoran Corporation

M$ will be crazy to go against these guys.

[shoddy]

Bu bu but bluray is teh dooom.

digital download us teh future.

[gamertk421]

HD-DVD was so much faster and the extras were always better. Funny enough, Sony's own Betamax was also a better format that lost out to an inferior competitor in the VHS.

[s8anicslayer]

@Software

If HD-DVD was actually in the 360 instead of an added on device then HD-DVD would have stood a better chance in the format war.

[bligmerk]

Sony was the first to build a Blu-ray drive including that all important read head. Sony has all the basic patents for all the optics and blue spectrum lasers plus being a handful of manufacturers that can manufacture components at that level. The Blu-ray format is owned by a consortium and they all get a few per cents from each sale, Sony is one of the major receivers there also.

[hazardman]

@software

If it was included on xbox 360 we still could be having a format war!

[badboy776]

For The Love Of Money

[Docknoss]

Sony computers use windows

[SilentNegotiator]

Sony doesn't have a big enough slice of the pie to make decisions on who gets to use Blu-ray or not.

[amiga-man]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1...

The money that is made in royalties is huge, Blu ray becoming the standard is a financial goldmine for Sony.

The Blu ray license dosn't just cover the drive, every disk sold also makes money for Sony, thats a lot of disks and a lot of money.

[insomnium2]

Who the hell disagrees with Software lover?

There were tonnes of news covering this back then. After PS3 hit the market the sales for BD exploded. PS3/Sony single handedly brought BD as the winner after it being beaten by HD-DVD. BD came to market a little later and it wouldn't have even taken off without PS3. This is common knowledge people so I have no idea why so many disagree with software lover.

Yes if PS3 would've had a HD-DVD drive that format would've won the format war hands down. I can't believe so many are willing to fight the windmills with this.

[Magicite]

every sony console introduced new media:
PS1 - CD (I know that sega had cd console before sony, but it was more of failure)
PS2 - DVD
PS3 - BLU-RAY
PS4 - Digital (I know PS3 also has digital, but it wasnt available from the start)

[SniperControl]

@gamertk

Wrong, hd-dvd's were never better, sure they were easier to produce but a single layer disc could only hold 15gb of information while a single layer BD holds 25gb.

[Kryptonite42O]

@ Software_Lover

I was under the impression, and i heard many years ago that the porn industry was the deciding factor in the format war???

[Hitman0769]

@fox2 did he forget.... or did he just leave them out on purpose....

[insomnium2]

Yup. Porn won VHS the format war back in the day.

[GameSpawn]

In regards to the question "Why would Sony let Microsoft use Blu-Ray?":
1) Microsoft has no choice. Not utilizing it at least for movies is suicide at this point as Blu-Ray has become the defacto standard for movie releases. DVD-only releases are pretty much non-existent.

2) Microsoft is free to license Blu-Ray technology, just like ANYONE else. So long as they pay the licensing, they are free to use it how they see fit.

3) Sony is not the sole owner of Blu-Ray technology. They are a major contributor yes, but many other companies have backed Blu-Ray with other technology of their own (eg. TDK's tough-coat tech) or financial resources (early investors in the BDA). The final word on who uses Blu-Ray is not up to Sony alone, but the Board of Directors of the BDA (which Sony happens to be one of the members of the Board).

4) This is a Win-Win for Sony no matter which way it goes, Blu-Ray or not in the Xbox. With Blu-Ray in the Xbox Sony gets money out of Microsoft indirectly through their share of the licensing received and with out Blu-Ray in the Xbox (which didn't happen for reasons 1-2-3) Sony would have yet another major advantage in the PS4 over the Xbox One.

[dedicatedtogamers]

To answer the question: it's because Sony and Microsoft aren't nearly as hostile toward one another in actual business dealings. The whole "console warzz" animosity is 90% show for the hardcore fanboys to drool over.

[shivvy24]

Haha so true

[johnniejay]

Agreed they need and want the fanboy drama so they can make even more money

[denawayne]

Agreed. What OS is running on every Sony laptop?

[Jeedai Infidel]

Anybody remember Pepsi vs Coke in the eighties, it got pretty "heated" as well, and turned out to be a marketing scheme orchestrated by both companies. Genius really.

[dennett316]

Agreed 100%. Microsoft, for example, are working with Sony so Skype can be available on the PS4....and MS are happy to do it, because they own the damn thing and stand to increase their profile.

All the tech companies work with each other in all areas of their business.

[joe90]

And Microsoft are making money from the Skype app on most Sony products and Windows on Laptops. maybe a deal was made who knows.

[MethCupcakes]

But Skype is free.. LOL

[Bluepowerzz]

you high ngr

[bumnut]

Free products still make money, look at Facebook

[stuna1]

Yes it's to make money of course! But there is so much more! For example, to speed up the adoption rate, therefore making it the defacto disc media.

Bigger games; which this generation many said were being held back because of the use of regular dvds on the 360.

Edit; To those who don't know, Sony is 1 of the founding members, and because of this their percentage is higher than others! Also not everyone involved took an active role into the construction of the Blu Ray format.

Edit; Actually a couple of the companies bought into the Blu Ray association! Also Microsoft was given that option, since Microsoft owns one of the codecs that went into the production of Blu Ray. It just that Microsoft opted out of joining, because they felt Blu Ray wasn't needed.

[Blaze929]

this is like asking why Microsoft lets Sony have Windows OS on their computers. Smh

[badz149]

Not really the same. When was the last time you bought a MS branded pc or laptop? Likely NEVER, right? Sony don't pay Microsoft for every laptop sold. YOU who buy Sony laptop with Windows will be the one who pays the cost for the OS, not Sony.

Windows has always been a global OS used by everyone and it's kinda ironic that it's just recently that Microsoft made a hardware of their own that runs Windows which is the Surface.

Bluray is a different story altogether. MS could have gone Nintendo and use a derivative format and not exactly a Bluray but THAT would be foolish as it will disable Bluray movie playback.

[DoctorJones]

If Sony sells a pc or laptop it needs an operating system badz149, regardless of whether Sony foots the bill or not MS still get paid.

Only a complete imbecile wouldn't get that point.

[dennett316]

Yes badz, a global OS that Sony still have to pay MS to licence for their machines....for it to be pre-installed, Sony have to licence it. Also, the Microsoft Surface thing isn't ironic in any way.

[shivvy24]

Lets not forget the x1 was made to be an entertainment device to take over your living room, it would have been a stupid move not to include bluray

[Fred_C_Dobbs]

wrong reply

[otherZinc]

Not more than M$ is making on every SONY PC that comes with Windows! That M$ owns by itself.

[dennett316]

Still trying to make it a competition huh? "But MS makes MORE money off Sony, so they're still better LOLZ!!" Sad.

[LAYLOW]

Just like Microsoft has been making money of off Sony Vaio and windows intergration...nothing to see here folks!

[dc1]

Please note that we (as consumers ) purchase the OS as part of the built in component of the computer. Every PC on the market has the same pricing model whether it's HP, IBM, Alien or Sony. Other OS are simply not as user intuitive or integrated into the social or business exchange vocabulary.

Microsoft's OS and Windows products are their bread and butter, representing the very large majority of their corporate earnings. This has been the case since the 80's.

In short, for the past 30 years, if you were an emerging PC production company, you would have no choice but to use the MS OS....unless you plan on being small market red/L dealer.

[Jazz4108]

Ms is now a part of the bluray consortum so sony will make zero from ms. Look it up. The only people who believe sony owned and made bluray are fanboys.

[SniperControl]

No, Sony are one of the founding members of Blu-Ray, they hold a lot of the patents for it.

[dc1]

It's fact that sony makes around $2.25 for every blu-ray drive sold.
Reported by business new outlets over the past few years as well as Patch Attack more recently (I know I spelled his name wrong) Attack.

Look it up. It's google knowledge.
:)

[Jazz4108]

If anythig sony migt have to pay ms for the codecs used in it but as far A S a piece of the disc that will goto to the publishers so ms will not be giving sony much if anything.

[Magicite]

Sony doesnt own Blu-Ray entirely, theres listing of companies who have rights on it. And if MS is paying royalties then everything is legal.
Im not defending MS, just stating general truth.

[dennett316]

No-one's saying anything is illegal...why even bring that up?

[ChrisW]

@pedrof93,

What part of "Sony doesn't solely OWN the patent are you not understanding?"

There are 14 companies including Sony and as Patch said, "Sony doesn't get money for the drives, they get money for each Blu Ray disc sold (approx 50 cents)."

Meaning MS can completely circumvent paying anything to Sony by placing the costs for the disc into the publishers' hands.

Econ 101

[Abdou023]

Maybe because Microsoft is letting them use Windows on their Laptops ?

It's just business those companies aren't trying to destroy each other, they are just trying to maintain good relations and make money.

They are not Apple.

[jeffgoldwin]

"They are not Apple."

Isnt it disgusting how many frivolous lawsuits Apple lawers pursue? Imagine the outcry if MS did that?

I mean a few years back apple sued Samsung for making a rectangular phone in shape claiming apple first came up with that idea. Ya they lost. But what a waste of time and money for most of the lawsuits.

[lnvisibleMan]

There are are nine electronic companies that own blu ray: Sony, Matsushita, Pioneer, Philips, Thomson, LG Electronics, Hitachi, Sharp, and Samsung.

So any company that uses blu-ray has to pay royalties to the companies listed above.

[NukaCola]

Isn't Toshiba part of the bluray committee as well?

[lnvisibleMan]

They actually one of the dominate players for HD DVD format. I dont like using wiki as a source but you go anyway.

'During the high definition optical disc format war, Blu-ray Disc competed with the HD DVD format. Toshiba, the main company that supported HD DVD, conceded in February 2008,[6] releasing its own Blu-ray Disc player in late 2009'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

[nunley33]

yeah toshiba is the odd man out just like sony was during the vhs vs beta format wars. ms supported hd-dvd over bluray but toshiba suffered a more public setback from it since they were more vocal about it.

[NukaCola]

Wasn't 100%. Thanks for the clarification and pile of disagrees..lol

[come_bom]

Blu-ray Disc Association
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

[Caleb_H]

So if someone on that list makes a blu ray player do they have to pay all those companies? Just wondering.

[lnvisibleMan]

Probably each company payed for research and development, could be wrong I say each are immune from paying each other.

[nunley33]

those 9 aren't all equal partners,sony has a bigger stake and say in matters. they were the formats biggest cheerleader and the most active in making it. the others mostly gave support by making players for it.

[Software_Lover]

What? Really?

Business is business and Sony doesn't own all the rights to Blu-Ray. Why does Microsoft let Sony make windows tablets? Because it's a f'n business thats why.

[kenmid]

Why would anybody disagree on what you just said? It's 1000% true.

[hduce]

This is N4G. Of course they are going to disagree. You could present facts and speak the truth all you want but their perception is their reality.

[FlameHawk]

What the hell are you talking about? Sony doesn't make Window tablets. LOL do you think all tablets run windows? LOL so funny.

[Software_Lover]

Sony doesn't make Windows tablets?

Vaio Duo
Vaio Multiflip
Vaio 20 say hello

And this is why this website is $h!t. Uneducated responses and blogs taken as truth.

[kennyg3739]

It would been really simple to just do a little google search then totally making a fool out of your self.
http://www.digitaltrends.co...

[Pogmathoin]

Its hard to accept for sony fanboys.

[hduce]

@ FlameHawk You just got owned moron.

[stuna1]

Software_Lover I understand what point you're trying to make, but those are Sony branded hardware appliances with Microsoft operating systems.

[Pogmathoin]

You still do not get it do you? X1 is a microsoft built console using bluray... Whats the difference?

[Xsilver]

the difference is Sony Electronics division makes devices that target everyone so guess what if people like windows design then they will make tablets for them Samsung,LG does it too thats how that business division works its about choice you know what that is right.
Now with Blu ray it is different MS endorsed Hd dvd but are Now using Blu ray so do ya get the picture.

[stuna1]

If the one's replying had read my comment above you would very well know I understand!,

[GTgamer]

I think silver was talking to Beaver bro.

[stuna1]

My bad Xsilver!

[Xsilver]

its cool.

[5eriously]

Sony are paying for that right dum dum!

[Software_Lover]

............ Really? You're not gonna do a google/bing search on that before you post?

This is the ignorance that I'm talking about.

I really hope most of you are kids. I can understand some of the lack of knowledge. But for an adult....... I just can't fathom.

[5eriously]

So you are saying that Sony are paying nothing the use Windows on there products? What vitriol are you vomiting anti Sony fannyboi?

Like the comment this idiot made

["Software_Lover + 1h ago
If HD-DVD was in the ps3 that would've won. The ps3 was the catalyst for the format war"]

Wait, who was that again?

[Pogmathoin]

Seriously... PS3 included blu ray as standard, MS did not include HDDVD.... If sony included HDDVD as standard...... Get it?

[5eriously]

So tell me then why did M$ not continue and included DVDHD as their standard, they are so mighty and have so much more money than Sony? Why could the eXBox360 then not have been the catalyst Get that?

I doubt. But let us not go off topic. Crazy_Lover are a Anti Sony troll that is the main gripe. The fact remain that the BluRay had major advantages over the HDDVD and everybody knew it. Also everyone was not keen to be subjected to the de-facto M$ extortion as all eXBox360 owners can attest to .... think propriety drives etc, etc.

[rainslacker]

Technically the consumer pays for it. It's the consumer that wants that product on the device they buy. Someone wants a windows tablet, they want a Sony brand, well there you are, put up the money and it's yours.

Not quite the same thing here, but overall, it's not like Sony and MS are at each others throats trying to force the other out of business by forcing them to use obsolete/unwanted tech.

MS was willing to pay for the rights to use Blu-Ray, why wouldn't Sony, or the Blu-Ray association, take the money.

The reason MS didn't really push the format war is because they don't have a huge stake in it. HD-DVD wasn't really their thing, and realistically, they probably knew they had a good chance to make money off Blu-Ray with their codecs anyways.

Nintendo didn't want to pay for the rights to use it, and I doubt it's the reason people aren't really picking up their system, so why does any of this even matter? MS is offering added value to their machine, one should be happy if they're getting it, and everyone should be happy others get to enjoy it.

[Jazz4108]

Ms did not believe in any of them and thats why they made a add on. They felt dvd9 was fine for this past generation and for the most part they were right.

[Caleb_H]

Money.

[Goku781]

MS so forward thinking. Their the reason HD DVD is doing so well today!

[ZBlacktt]

Sony's always the world leader. Not sure why there's always so much debate, lol.

[kenmid]

World leader in what?

[ZBlacktt]

You lost? Consoles? Blu-rays? number 1 in sales? What next?

[kenmid]

CONSOLE.. Nintendo Wii, and you can throw in the Nintendo Ds. And I don't know how you could determine Sony number in sales, are you talking players or disk? So now what.

[vigilante_man]

PS1 = CD
PS2 = DVD
PS3 = Blu-Ray

Just where do some people hide away...

[Pogmathoin]

Was ancient by the time PS1 came out.... DVD had no competition.... Blu ray was different...

[ZBlacktt]

You fail on life son... The Wii? The Wii really.... do you think a Wii for one second is remotely on the same level as a PS3 or even a XBox 360? Do you even have a clue of what each is capable? No one is even talking Wii U Next Gen.... Go back and play with your family kids level of console then. Let the real gamers talk here.

Again son, Blu ray is the topic. With Sony and MS as the subject.

But yes, the PS2 and PS1 are the best selling consoles of all time. And yes the PS3 outsold the 360..... again topic and subject.

[ShinMaster]

Speaking of gaming consoles, aside from the freak success of the Wii(which was behind the PS3 and 360 in tech), no Nintendo home console has ever sold anywhere near as many units as PlayStation consoles.

And Sony lead the way for modern gaming as we know it today with the PS1. PS2 pushed DVD and PS3 pushed Blu-ray.

[saint_seya]

Add all the home consoles sony sold in 3 generations, then add nintendo+ms+sega home consoles, you will see why is the world leader on home consoles..

[Benchm4rk]

@vigilante man you seriously don't think the ps1 was the first to use cd-rom do you. Take a look at the Mega CD and Panasonic 3do for example. Not to mention the CD was around for a long time before the ps1 was released. DVD was also already becoming the standard over VideoCD by the time it was put into the ps2. It was only really with theps3 and blu ray where they took the gamble and decided to put it in the machine while the format war between hd-dvd was still going on.

[rainslacker]

With the PS1 and PS2, the CD and DVD were still rather new, or pretty expensive. CD's were just starting to hit the mainstream where players were affordable, and content was expanding rapidly, but it was for the most part just coming out of high end audio status.

The DVD was popular, but quite costly for the players. People at the time were still asking why they needed to upgrade. Players were cheaper than the PS2 on it's release, but the PS2 was also coming off a very strong PS1 generation, so the format picked up quickly. It's also worth noting that DVD really never had a format war worth talking about. VCD was about it, and it wasn't nearly as good. DVD would have been adopted regardless of the PS2's influence, but the PS2 did help bring it into more homes sooner.

PS3, on it's launch, was one of the cheapest players you could buy. It was also one of the best players you could buy, and had features that only really high end players had....even among Sony's own product line. Some of those early players even had codec issues with some discs, and most didn't even have easy upgrades. The PS3 definitely helped push Blu-Ray over HDDVD for many simply for the fact that millions of people just happen to have the Blu-Ray format on their game machine. If you wanted HDDVD on your game machine, you had to buy an add on, and in that case, why not just buy a full on player?

Anyhow, I'm tired, and lost my train of thought. will leave it at that.

[Jazz4108]

They sure are not the world leader in making money the kind that keep your doors open they may beone of the worse at profiting.

[TongkatAli]

The Wii ?

http://assets.diylol.com/hf...

[Bluepowerzz]

lol all these xboxs have to call opon other consoles i spat out my cool aid when the ngr said the wii i mean comon this is too bad zblact dont waste your bubbles on em.

[Benchm4rk]

Why is he Automatically a xbot/Xbox fanboy for stating the Wii. You Sony fanboys need to remember there are 3 console manufacturers and not two. As of now the Wii is the highest selling 7th generation console. It may not be when the final xbox360/ps3/Wii is off the shelf but for now you need to accept FACT

[Themba76]

I think the world leader is Apple as the the worlds most valuable company they just beat out coca cola a couple of days ago.

[AceofStaves]

It's simple. The two companies are competitors, not enemies. If it makes sense for them to do business with one another, they will. It's the same reason MS operating systems are on VAIO laptops. It's just business.

[Pancit_Canton]

Hmmm let see.

*Money
*Blu-ray Disc Standarization
*Blu-ray Sales
*Market Expansion

Just like how Sony letting Apple and Samsung used thier Camera Technology in thier Smartphone.

[kenmid]

Just look at Apple and Samsung, they are biggest competitors and they are biggest business partners.

[ShowanW]

It doesn't matter... Microsoft makes a killing off of Sony for Android phones...

http://www.digitaltrends.co...

So it's basically wash...

[one2thr]

"Android" the OS is free, and made by Google... So, how exactly does MS make a killing off of Sony for Android Phones?

[ShowanW]

Patents... Did you not read the article... Microsoft makes a killing off of all Android handsets... HTC, Sony, Samsung... basically if you an Android handset, your gonna owe MS some loot...

[alb1899]

SONY DOESN't own bluray.......is stupid jus to think that SONY can say no to Microsoft .
Can somebody explain why you disagree?
Do you think that because Microsoft has some actions from Facebook they can decide something in Facebook .........please!!

[Nekroo91]

if they own 40% of facebook yes they can decide everything, hell you dont even need 40%. just like sony owns 20% of the bluray patent and philips other 20% the other companys own small parts like 2%, 3...so they can device everything.

do you need a lesson how stocks work? because it seems you dont know anything

[alb1899]

My point, Sony can't say no to Microsoft......it doesn't work that way.

[ShinMaster]

Yes they do own part of it and they're one of the founders.
The only reason why Sony doesn't say no is because they'll be making money from Microsoft anyway.

[rainslacker]

MS could say no to Sony for whatever tech of theirs that Sony decides to use in it's PS4. MS owns lots of things, and I'm sure that Sony is licensing something from them.

Whether they could say no or not is a moot point. The bigger question is, why would they say no?

Answer to that is, they wouldn't. If there's money to be had then why not make it. Only reason not to make the money is if it would hurt their own agenda, which in this case it doesn't.

MS offers lots of things that companies, or people, are allowed to use freely. DirectX for instance is completely free to use on any device one wishes.

In this day and age, it's almost impossible for computer or tech companies to make any device completely on their own, and practically impossible for them to not use at least one of their competitors products. There's even a low-cost licensing consortium to handle these things, to make sure that standards are adopted quickly, and widely available(don't care to look up the name at the moment).

[TwistingWords]

Because Sony has no say in the matter and anyone can buy a licence to use various sections of patents and copyrights pertaining to aspects of Blu-Ray technology.

[Hicken]

Pretty sure Sony could pressure the other members of Blu Ray to NOT allow Microsoft to use the technology, if they so chose. They might not be successful, but then again they MIGHT.

"No say" isn't accurate.

[TwistingWords]

Thats called unconscionability.

Thats illegal and would break apart the BDA and send every lawyer in the world suing each and every member of said consortium and making Sony bankrupt in about a picosecond.

Also Sony isn't a sole holder of Blu-Ray technology, I don't even think they own any patents regarding it, so their case would be null and void from the get go.

So they have NO SAY in the matter.

[5eriously]

So words twister why did M$ refuse to use the BluRay on the 360? Mmmmmm, please do tell as I am waiting in angst for your clever response!

I do think Pachter is an idiot but then again I do think he knows much more and at least are not as dumb as an average idiotic fanboi (wink)

[hduce]

They refused to use Blu ray or HD DVD because they wanted to keep the cost of the console down and also they were more interested in having digital downloads for movies as opposed to a high price medium that they didn't directly profit from.

Just saw that I had a blind disagree. What is there to disagree about? Do your research and you would know what you were talking about.

[rainslacker]

Don't know if they refused, and cost may have been an issue, but I think they wanted to get the 360 out before the Blu-Ray spec was finalized and the tech was available. Sony even delayed their console because the tech(laser diodes) was just rolling off the assembly line, and there were last minute issues with it.

MS made a choice to be first. In this case it worked to their advantage with a one year head start, and IMO it was a smart business move. From a gamer standpoint, I feel they somewhat held back this generation, as the DVD format has shown it's limits when it comes to larger games. It was a trade off though, and is what it is.

[5eriously]

Now where is that one year advantage now? Where will it be in future? Gone, lost forever.

That is exactly it, M$ had you at an disadvantage for the whole generation and where did it get them? Just because they wanted to save a few cents and make more profits. Nothing will change in the next gen. M$ will still milk the cow dry!

[ShinMaster]

They do have a say. Whether it would get far, we don't know.
But why would they say no to Microsoft? They're making royalties from MS.

[buynit]

Oh god... Ppl really think Sony owns blue ray enough to say who can and can't use It?!

[lnvisibleMan]

There is no reason why Sony would be against Microsoft using the Blu ray format. Its a mutalistic relationship for each party involved. Microsoft benefit from a better format for game developement. Sony and other members of Blu-ray Disc Association benefit from the royalaties they get from each disc sold.

[buynit]

I get you... Its all good in my book all i want is great games, i don't care what console its on cause i will have all of them...

[Dirkster_Dude]

Not to mention illegal to refuse to sell to Microsoft. Don't know what the law is called exactly, but has to do with fair market competition, etc. There is no legitimate reason not to sell Blu-Ray technology and collect royalties from Microsoft. It's no different than going into a store to buy something and the person at the checkout counter doesn't like you for whatever reason so they refuse to sell you whatever you want to buy.

[Lykon]

i'd laugh if a fat german homosexual did a poo on patchers face

[xDHAV0K24x]

Uhhh....

[Lykon]

oh sorry did i mix patcher up with someone else? who is the guy that's some sort of market analyst that's known for being attention seeking and opinionated, obsessed with his own public profile? i thought it was patcher .

[kingPoS]

I scratch your back your back you scratch mine.

Skype Bluray not to mention other unmentioned faucets.
A partnership is a partnership whether it's seen or not.

[obelix01]

Well Microsoft was pushing the HD DVD. I even had one of the drives that connected to the 360. It was all trial & error. HD DVD & Bluray either one was going to become the standard. If HD DVD became the standard I'm positive Sony would be using HD DVD.

[hduce]

Microsoft was reluctant to use HD DVD that's why they had an add on and didn't include it built into the system. Again they had no reason to use it because they didn't directly profit from it. The only thing that they profited from was using the codec for both Blu ray and HD DVD which was the VC-1. ironically if Microsoft chose to use HD DVD or Blu ray built into the console initially they may not have been subjected to the rampant pirating that was going on.

[metalgod88]

Patcher is by far one of the biggest morons I've ever known. If he actually read anything about Blu-Ray, he would know it's owned by 13 companies and isn't run by Sony.

[rainslacker]

If you watched the video you would see that he said exactly that, and admitted he couldn't recall the name of the consortium. It was a question posed by one of his followers.

[metalgod88]

No I didn't watch the video. Normally, I don't even waste with anything related to this guy, but I guess I'll have to watch this video lol. Also, who would follow this guy? lol He's a joke to the gaming industry. Every single one of his predictions turns out to be completely wrong every time.

[Sy_Wolf]

Sony doesn't own BluRay. They do have a lot of shares for the BluRay Disc association however so they make royalties on Microsoft licensing the technology. Pretty simple really.

[Lazyeye79]

Does anyone know the disc speed for the Xbox One?

Thank you in advance.

[obelix01]

Its very fast. Faster than a speeding bullet.

[hduce]

Faster than a virgin's first time.

[xDHAV0K24x]

I dont buy blu rays sooooo.... *shrugg* idc what format they use. Gimme the games!

[Lazyeye79]

If you buy games you will be buying blu-rays.

[xDHAV0K24x]

Digital

[king_george]

Well a lot of games wont be coming in a digital format right off the bat. Its just not mainstream enough quite yet. Are you planning to not buy a single blu-ray disc? Just curious, why?

[xDHAV0K24x]

I'm ready for the digital age. I have the 320GB 360 and with 50 games d/l i still have over 150GB left. I ran out of space for physical media. My shelves are for old systems and their libraries. Have maybe 15-20 360 hard copies. I also stream everything

[Flames76]

Its the only money sony can make in the gaming buisness.Damn they lost over 5 billion on the PS3 and 2 billion PS Vita.Plus the PS4 is gonna lose $60 every console sold

[LordDhampire]

because games would be gimped if xbox still used dvd

[urwifeminder]

Only reason it won is because sony changed their stance on porn and the industry embraced it made the mistake of not allowing porn on beta max, I wonder if any pc games will start to embrace it.

[JohnS1313]

What? Blu-ray won because the PS3 was a cheap Blu-ray player so Blu-ray had a big user base. HD-DVD never caught on. Maybe if Microsoft included an HD-DVD player in the 360 it would have won but they were in too much of a hurry to release the 360.

[josephayal]

if you can't fight them join them

[JustInTlME]

Blu-ray outlasted HD-DVD because of the porn industry. I'm being serious.

[Dirkster_Dude]

Sarcasm - I'm serious: The fact that it was faster, could hold more storage, and had more up-to-date and flexible Digital Rights Management capability had nothing to do with it I suppose. Oh wait, and they also had provided and upgrade path for the technology that future investors could see the technology wasn't a 1 shot deal.

[JustInTlME]

It was definitely part of it, but look back at VHS. Why did it win? Was it better and more powerful then Betamax? No! But porn backed VHS and porn is a multi-BILLION dollar industry. Same thing happened with Blu-ray.

[mrbojingles]

This is like asking why Nintendo advertises their products at non-Seattle Mariners MLB games.

[Dirkster_Dude]

While I'm normally not a Pachter hater like most gamers I will say the idea that Sony wouldn't allow Microsoft to use Blu-Ray has got to be one of the dumbest questions from a supposedly educated man. First of all, trying to prevent Microsoft from buying a license for Blu-Ray would be illegal and a possible anti-trust violation, which could end up invalidating Sony's patent or be forced to license the technology at whatever the government thinks is a good price. Microsoft actually got in trouble with that for refusing to license there API's except to certain vendors they considered select partners. Second, there are at least 15 other companies in the Blu-Ray alliance that makes money off of royalties in Microsoft's licensing deal with Blu-Ray that are not direct competitors. Do you think Sony can simply tell them "no" we will not license Blu-Ray to Microsoft? Third, the ribbing and bragging rights for backing Blu-Ray when Microsoft backed the wrong technology is nearly priceless. Sony doesn't have to say a thing for Microsoft to know that Sony is saying behind the scenes: "You people are idiots and the PS4 is more powerful too!"

[Gamer666]

It is very simple. Sony holds the patents to a monopoly product. aka High Definition disc players. Therefore, they have to license it to MS on fair and reasonable terms.

If they don't the governments of the EU and Us would go after them...

[busytoad]

HaHa microshyt has to pay sony and other companys to use their blu-ray tech :) i hope microshyt goes bankrupt. Ahhh i cant stand the greedy fucers at microshyt.

[PFFT]

Well thanks to Microshyt as you call it Sony will be kept a float. Sony financially it isnt doing all too hot. These fools owe a SHIT load of money.

[PFFT]

Cause Blu-Ray doesnt belong just to Sony.

[CEOSteveBallmer]

You are right but Sony "Made blu ray" just like mark zuckerburg made facebook but mark doesnt own it fully, other stockholders also own it.

[level 360]

I remember when Blu Ray became the standard HD DVD still tried to fight it out for a long while.

They simply can't accept they lost to the best format chosen during those times.

[corvusmd]

Uh...is Pachter this stupid? The reason that Sony is "allowing" MS to use blu-ray is because it's not up to them at all. Sony doesn't OWN blu-ray, they are part of a conglomerate that does. It's not their decision, MS isn't using a Sony Blu-ray disc drive, so the amount of money that Sony will make off this deal is SO tiny that it doesn't even matter (cause they will still be in debt and lose money). I can't believe that someone this "educated" is even saying something like this. Bottom line, ANY company within the conglomerate can allow MS to use Blu-Ray without Sony's permission, and that is exactly what has happened. Last I heard (this may have changed) Apple stands more to gain from MS using Blu-Ray than Sony does, because they were rumored to be buying the majority of the company that allowed MS to do this.

[SaulGoodman]

Two words. Money and Competition.

[Max-Zorin]

They pay to use each other products all the time. They've been business partners for years. And they get along well, can't say the same for their fans.

[feraldrgn]

That first question was pretty silly, I'd rather Xbox use Blu-Ray than use DVD.

It's a good thing for gaming, means far more content can be on the disk for both consoles (& getting past MS' disk policies), less holding the generation back due to space issues.
I welcome it.

[Thatlalala]

They only did it cuz its the law.

[chuckyj1]

Because, Sony doesn't own Blu-ray the Blu-ray disc association does.

besides have you ever seen a Sony computer run a windows OS? Or a Sony product run Skype?

Those two products are fully owned by MS...While the Blu-ray disc is only partially owned by Sony and MS developed the codec for Blu-ray and owns the patent on that.

[Realplaya]

Looks like there is a seperate orginization. Which makes sense it's how you prevent monopolies.

Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) is the industry consortium that develops and licenses Blu-ray Disc technology and is responsible for establishing format standards and promoting business opportunities for Blu-ray Disc. The BDA is divided into three levels of membership: the Board of Directors, Contributors, and General Members

[b00mFargl3]

What a stupid argument. Why didn't they stop them from using cd's or dvd's as well. You cant monopolize the market if everyone else is using them as well. Sony innovates great technology and allows everyone to use it. Same reason Microsoft lets Sony use windows.

[b00mFargl3]

Everyone likes money.

[Dead_Cell]

What a stupid headline.

1) Sony don't own Blu-Ray

2) There's no point partnering with Sony to push your product in to the mainstream if you're going to cut people out.

Uploader is retarded, Patcher is retarded. Move along folks.

[dartmyth]

sony and the other patent holders for blue ray want to get all the money they can before the patents run out which is 14 years from the date they are awarded cause after that they get no royalties

[Thomaticus]

Sony party much got Blu ray on the map with the ps3. I wonder if that gives them more authority over the group. Who has done more for Blu ray than Sony? The goal is to make money, so if your competitor is dependent on you then that's a good thing as well.

[LAWSON72]

It helps Sony spread blu ray players and they probably get paid by MS.

[6YardsOut]

Let's just take a moment to remember to keep physical media live and shun digital.

If there's anything we can take from the GTA Online launch, it's to remember that this is what will happen all the time in EA's idea of the future where everything is digital and tightly controlled by them.

[MilkMan]

Letting? This is business. They just licensed the rights. Just like everyone had to do with DVD's and CD's