The Digital Home 24: The Snoozefest at E3

Don Reisinger explores Blockbuster, Netflix, and everything E3 in the first segment of this week's show. After that, he interviews Sonos about the home audio business and rants about why the Wii should scare Sony and Microsoft.
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EPISODE 21

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Check out Sonos!

[charles_forsyth]

I agree that blu-ray is a waste of time now. It's expensive; it needs new players; as you noted, you can't use it on the normal DVD player in the car. (That last one is particularly irksome, because it's good to entertain those otherwise bumptious children in the back: "are we there yet" obviously being genetically programmed in.) Physical format has indeed been overtaken by digital networking events: I already stream HD programmes on arbitrary demand to my television, and record even HD programmes automatically on my standard issue Virgin Media set-top box in Britain (subject to copyright restrictions). Probably HD in that sense isn't as intense as Blu-ray, but as you observed, there is little observable difference until you use special display devices.

They shouldn't, however, cut the cost of players; they should just give up and move on. Probably, Sony would be better off worrying about Nintendo and Apple than blu-ray.

[cporpheus]

Hmm, your take on the Kindle changed from last Digital Home. Last episode you called for Amazon to end the Kindle and now, you see it as a device with value, but not enough to justify the price. If the next Kindle is $199, color e-ink screen and good interface (software and hardware), I'll buy it without thinking and I think you will too, Don.

[cporpheus]

And, may I advise you of one thing? Sony is building in ethernet in some of their tvs (I think its the Bravias) and making their movies (Sony Pictures) available streaming for free. Maybe Sony is at least a little bit aware of streaming's future.

[G_Slade]

I think the big question with this nintendo xbox sony thing is: If the wii did not exist, would all the people that bought a wii, be spending their money on a ps3 or 360?
Don thinks yes. I think no.
I think that most of the people that are buying the wii are people who have either owned nintendo consoles before, or have previously thought computer games were for kids, nerds, geeks, whatever. Not for them.
People who buy a PS3 or xbox 360, have probably owned a non-nintendo games console before. They want complex, involved, detailed games that take up a lot of their time.
People who buy the wii want a simple, basic game thats a good laugh to play when friends are round.
Basically, the wii is bringing new people into the computer game market . Which is a good thing for nintendo, sony and microsoft, because people who previously thought computer games wernt for them, now realise it is for them, and some of them they may like it so much that they want to get more into gaming and go and buy a ps3 or 360.
You could argue that nintendo has taken this new market potential away from xbox and sony, yea they have ,for now. But nintendo is not taking the old market from microsoft and sony. The reason the wii is selling so much, is because this new market is so big.
Microsoft and sony now have the potential to compete in this new market that nintendo has created with fun, simple games. But theres no way that the nintendo wii will be capable of competing with microsoft and sony, running complex, powerfull in depth games that ps3 and 360 owners love and cherish.