Comments on: Why the Playstation 4 won't have Blu-ray

Sony hasn't made an official statement yet, but Don Reisinger believes the Playstation 4 won't have Blu-ray. Will Sony have something to say about that?

[PockelsCell]

I agree with Don.

It's just daft to think that streaming media isn't the future. Why the hell would I want a gallery of gazillions of discs in my house/home office when I could just have one box with compressed files on it?

If it's a question of back up just shut the damn thing off. If you are worried about losing your license, just print it out and file it somewhere safe like in fireproof lock box.

I don't really own any gaming systems simply because it's not essential for me to waste 50 bucks on something only to play a few times. Yeah great investment. In my humble opinion BD is just flavor at the moment. It'll go away just like magnetic tape did. Everything upon every thing is going digital, if you feel that you need to have library of outdated disc technology go right ahead. The only disc I want to have is the type that is solid state, flash, or says e-sata, only until a better technology is achieved.

The argument is really about what is available to you and what you prefer. That being said though, holographic media is not too far away, so shoot I can wait a little bit for 21st century style media, since ppl seem to be so entranced with 20th century style disc formats.

[PockelsCell]

I just wanted to add that I completely agreed with tehooper's comment, it's exactly right.

[Isaac-Karjala]

I live in a modestly large city, and know several people who have XBox360's but no computer or internet. I have a laptop but no internet (however, my neighbor has an open wifi AP.... though which I am getting dial-up speeds.).... so I don't see this happening anytime soon.

[carlos_231987]

ok first of alll i understand that the BLU RAY COST SONY A LOTO THIS DAYS but by the time of ps4 BLUE RAY WILL BE CHEAPER UNDOUBTLY and other fact that you might forgot is that WE EANT TO PLAY OUR PS3 TITLES IN THE PS4 SO WE NEED BLUE RAY ANYWAY.....i have tons of blue ray movies and me like a lot of peole LOVE BLUE RAY thats the reason HDDVD went out sales...I DON LIKE DONWLOADING MOVIES ilike to by them and watch them anywhere i want to with my friends or my GIRLFRIEND... and dont expect for people that dont deal with computers to start downloading hd movies instead of bying a BLUE RAY...Trust me they prefeer to buy a Blue Ray its easier for them...and i meant people like my parents and others who are not adapted to that kind of era...

[sphinxqqg]

I totally disagree that blue-ray will become a fad of the past any time soon. I do agree that some time in the future a good share of the HD video's available will be downloaded, but this is in the distant future as the world has been jumping to broadband internet speeds it still can take up to an hour to download an HD movie on "fast" broadband connections, and those types of speeds are not available everywhere. It has been proven that users don't mind purchasing downloads and are willing to give up their assortments of disks by how quickly the ipod and zune have taken over the music market. Movies are a different story. At 20 to 50 gb a movie and increasing as quality of sound and video increases to have an equvlent

[sd4d]

This article is well written and well thought out, with the exception of one major point. Sony has always maintained backward compatability with previous system versions and Sony stated that the PS3 would have a life of 10 years (they can't go back on this or further damage their relationship with developers). For this reason, I believe the PS4 will support Blu-Ray (even if it is dead).

[halo_bone]

I've given up on Sony a long time ago, it's the last product name you'll find in my house. I'd spend extra money on similar products of competing brands who put quality and last-ability over advertisement. Sony, ultimately, is just a bad company with so much marketing that people automatically buy their stuff. They're in the stores and on the commercials, and the quality brands and products aren't. They've made so many bad decisions it kind of makes me mad they are still as large as they are, they don't deserve it just because they can woe people to their products.

Your argument makes sense, media-less-ness is growing up right along side blu-ray, and honestly not only do I hope they actually implement Blu-ray into PS4, but won't be two bits surprised when they do.

[mlbr549]

look what all this comes down to is this. Sony hit a home run by putting the Blu-ray in there PS3. I don't disagree that streaming media will be the future but were talking at least 10 years or maybe more. You guys down on blu-ray you should llisten to your own argument, just the length of time its taken DVD to get where it at. I'm not a big gamer but i do like my movies, and i'm sorry, there is no equeal to blu-ray. I've seen it all. Downloadable HD movies, streaming HD on my PC, i even bought a HD-DVD player when they were going head to head with blu-ray just so i wouldn't be left out of by some chance they won over blu-ray and the whole time hoping that blu-ray would win. THERE IS ABSOLUTLEY NO COMPARRISON!!! If you have an HDTV and a good surround sound i'd rather watch a movie when it comes out on blu-ray than go see them at the theatre. And as far as downloadable movies even at there best, i'd rather have a good DVD. I don't know about anybody else but as for me i want that movie in my hand i've got over 1000 movies all on DVD or blu-ray. Don't get me wrong i love my PS3 i like being able to rent movies of the Playstation Store but as far as movies like The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Hulk, Terminator series, etc. Can anybody seriously tell me that they wouldn't rather watch them on blu-ray, come on. As far as the PS4 if it doesn't have blu-ray it will have the best the thing going at that time, but if were looking at possibly a 2010 or a 2011 release it will have blu-ray because they will not go out any time soon.

[viciousdave]

Consider this though. 8x Blu-ray is 2 times faster read speed than a 20x DVD read speed. 8x dvd read speed is equal to 2x blu-ray read speed, and 6x blu-ray read speed is equal to 20x dvd read speed. There is no faster for dvd, but there is for blu-ray, a 12x blu-ray drive is 4 times faster than a 20x dvd read speed drive. Consider the fact that blu-ray reads at faster rates in total, granted 12x dvd in the Xbox 360 is faster than the 2x blu-ray drive in PS3, but if blu-ray released a PS4 with an 8x blu-ray drive, they'd be twice as fast as a 20x dvd read speed drive. Sony would kill with speed if they can mass produce an 8x blu-ray drive come within 3 years. Absolutely kill is speed.

[nighthawk595]

I just came across this article and I've only got one thing to say...You can't be serious about this. Your prediction fails on multiple levels.

1. It is proven that when consumers want something, they want it now. No one is going to wait 2 or 3 days (or even 8 hours) to download the game or movie that was just released when they can run down to best buy and be playing the game or movie in a half hour. You can say all you want about current and future ISP capabilities, but the fact is, capping d-loads is becoming the cool and profitable thing to do for ISP's.

2. If they don't have a blu-ray drive then they definitely wont have a dvd drive on the PS4 either...for a couple of reasons. First off, if sony were to release a ps4 w/ a dvd drive then it would be considered a step down from the current ps3 hardware. No one is going to buy a ps4 w/ a dvd drive that has absolutely no ability to play the ps3 games that are in blu-ray format that they already own.

the second reason i'm quite sure the ps4 wont have a dvd drive instead of a blu-ray drive is the probability that sony will use an upgraded cell processor on the ps4. If you know about cell processors, then you will find out that they handle information differently than other processors and require more data to produce the same video game. i can tell you right now that a playstation 3 game that is formatted to work with the cell processor will not fit on even a double layer dvd.

3. I've seen a few posts where it was mentioned that PC games do just fine on a DVD, so why can't the ps3 do the same. let me ask...when you play a game on the ps3, xbox 360, or wii, do you first have to install that game? didn't think so, so this comparison should be considered irrelevant as the two systems are completely different.

So in conclusion here, I would be willing to bet my house and my wife on the probability that if the playstation 4 doesn't have blu-ray then it won't have any kind of removable storage media for games. Because DVD is an inferior technology and there isn't enough time to push through a new storage media that will be even moderately adopted by the time they release the ps4. Like i said earlier, there is a lot of talk about downloadable content, but the fact is, no matter how much bandwidth ISP's can offer people, they will always want more. More speed = more downloads = same congestion problems = more & more isp's capping monthly download limits.

[dark-heart-bear]

How is this guy even have a job because he is a retard. If the Playstation 4 wont have blu-ray like you think then it will have less storage capacity. Hmm that is bright idea, give people a new system that will have worse graphics. Blu-ray is just what dvd was when it first came out. Expensive and not a lot of people got one right away. I guarantee in tens years dvd's will be obsolete. Wow this writer is dumb!

[VItimmy]

I for one would not buy a ps4 if it were a download based system. the last thing i need is a bunch of external harddrives lying around so i can store all the stuff on them plus have to back it all up. the streaming is an ok idea but itl never take off not everyone wants or can afford the internet connection required for such downloads.it would be a dumb idea for sony to go with such a thing they would fail misserably. The internet payment doesnt affect me but i just dont like the idea nore will I ever like it, I'd rather have blueray movies on a shelf than a bunch of labled hd's. Plus even with youre stuff on hd and backed up all the data on the hd cud go corrupted from an impact witch many people drop things so it would happen alot im sure, and noones gonna wanna spend more money on downloading something they already payed for, even if you were aloud to re download for free noones gonna wanna redownload everything that went corrupted over and over again. and im not saying everyones gonna drop there hd but accidents do happen.

[atjagape]

well too bad you havent reserched your article. sony has always used the latest video medium as a shortcut to mix their game and in-game movies, so the thought of sony trying to invent something new instead of ridding the back of existing technology is unfathomable. ps4 will undoutably have blu-ray if only to offset their tech costs

[AIRE420]

I agree that streaming is in increasingly popular method for consumers to get hi-def media, but there are certain benefits to blue-ray such as 50gigs of storage capacity which is likely to gain popularity considering that now a days a terrabyte of storage can be easily filled by the increasing demand of software and media content. Also who can argue that 1080p support and output is not appealing to millions of people who shelled out extra money for their 1090p HDTV sets to enjoy the best possible image along with their $150 hdmi monster cable, sure Turbo HD(1080p) providers(verizon fios) can offer 1080p but at what cost? and how practical is it to carry that service with you? For anyone who disagrees with this remind yourself that the playstation 2 catapulted DVD sales in Japan when many of the same arguments could have been made against that new format. Transitioning to a new format on the scale that blue-ray is intending to do is an intensive process but should not be dismissed as an impossible task. Don Reisinger does make great points but im much more optimistic than what he predicts.

[SRhea]

There's a big reason why your theory fails. People don't like not being able to truly "own" their own movies or having to pay a fee in order to watch them. Furthermore, it's unlikely that some of the material I have found on DVD over the years would ever be available in any sort of public library because it's simply not popular enough. I do not personally wish to limit my options for movie viewing to whatever Hollywood thinks I should be watching. I suspect I am not alone in this opinion. For me, Blu Ray is ideal. You'll have to drag me kicking and screaming into a non-media standard.

[SRhea]

Incidentally, I did buy a PS3 for exactly the reason that the author says a mainstream movie watcher wouldn't. Maybe I'm not typical, but I know a number of others who have done exactly as I have and bought the console for movies moreso than for games.

[Zion420]

Although I realize where you could get the wrong impression about the lifespan of Blu-Ray; you must realize that the reason it is needed to be an upgrade of DVD is not solely because of the movies that are watched in that format. Aside from the fact that you can watch HD movies on it, it has 25 gb (single layer) and 50 gb (dual layer) worth of disc space, better compression methods, and is able to transfer bigger groups of data at once than dvd.

Plus you remark about the fact the DVD production is cheaper and that it causes companies to want to make them even though now we are not only seeing just about every movie company jumping on the blu-ray band wagon but also we are seeing that they are including a dvd copy of the movie with the blu-ray copy free of charge. If these companies were hurting financially because they are producing blu-ray why would they go further to spend more and have both copies for the price of one?

Also if you notice that recent games for xbox 360, e.g. Lost Odyssey, that have been lengthy have had to make up to 4 disc dvd-dl versions, so you tell me, if they have to make 4 dual layer dvds to equal the disc space of 1 bluray DL wouldnt that cost alot more to produce?

I mean your call, either these allegations are true and sony is planning on bailing on a tried and true format that has been a flagship item for them, all so that netflix and other companies can start sending 20-40 gb worth of data over broadband or fiberoptics to a tb hdd, or maybe just maybe this is just one more example of a bad reporter putting personal bias and company pay offs into account when writing articles like this.

If you want to know why ppl dont believe you? Maybe your trying to reach the wrong demographic, you should skip over the game informers and game pro and go right back to reading The Inquirer for your article templates.

[semalf]

i disagree.
The writer of this article is focusing ONLY on the video aspect of Blu-rays. But what about games? A game is going to have to be put on something, and there is NO way that they would go from CD (ps1), to DVD (ps2), to Blu-Ray (ps3), and back to DVD. simply not going to happen. A game is put onto a disc too, so unless by the time the PS4 comes out there's a new format that can hold more data, they'll probably stick with blu-ray. And they already have made available downloadable games, but they arent going to switch to it completely in only 5 years.
Plus, Blu-Ray discs hold more than any other disc format (even HD-DVD)
So that means games not only with better graphics, but better gameplay, longer games, more capabilities, and better attention to detail.

Blu-Ray will never become obsolete, at least, in the near future. Look at DVD, it's been around for 12 years, and is still going strong. I dont see blu ray going out for a while.
However, i wouldnt doubt seeing a new format come around for when the PS4 comes out.

[bloodycelt]

You may not read this since the article is old... but I wanted to note a few things:

1.) I don't think our bandwidth is going to increase substantially for the next 5 - 10 years, not because of technology, but economy.

2.) Better compression? Well, what's out there? Dirac? I mean Blue-Ray is simply taking what fansubbers and pirates have been using (Divx essentially) and marketing it. Blue-ray will die not because something better will come out, but because Netflix and Comcast can offer cheaper and more convenient service at an ok quality. I think what disney and others are doing with releasing DVD and Blue-Ray together or offering digital SD versions with it may cause Blue-Ray to remain as a nice sort of premium product for a niche market. But the majority of people will rent movies on subscription service.

4.) As for PS4, the amount of time it takes to develop these games means that developers will not support a new system right now... they are going to want to milk what they can with their current toolsets and engines. I think sony is just going to tweak the PS3. Not only that but casual games that are fast to make, cheap to download, and simple to play are making money. But since... you don't need that much horsepower for a casual game, they can just repackage the PS3 and expand their downloadable content.

5.) Granted in some ways I think this Playstation is going to be Sony's last traditional game console. The Will (or more likely the iPhone) is where gaming is going. Expect to see more tower defense clones.