Why Microsoft Now Backs Blu-ray
By Phillip Swann
TVPredictions.com
http://www.tvpredictions.com/consoleblu060713.htm
Washington, D.C. (June 7, 2013) - This is an update on our earlier
coverage of Microsoft's upcoming XBox One entertainment/gaming console,
the addition of a Blu-ray drive and related issues. (See earlier stories
below.)
Microsoft's announcement last month that it would include a Blu-ray
drive in its new XBox One gaming/entertainment console surprised some
industry observers. The software titan has not exactly been a Blu-ray
advocate over the years and it once tried to kill the high-def format by
supporting its one-time rival, the now-defunct HD DVD disc.
But a new study from The NPD Group may reveal what motivated Microsoft
to embrace its one-time enemy.
Home Media Magazine reports that the NPD's 2013 gaming survey, which
surveyed 8,800 respondents online, found that PlayStation 3 users
preferred watching DVDs and Blu-ray discs over streaming services such
as Netflix and YouTube. The PS3 has a DVD/Blu-ray drive in the console,
unlike the current XBox 360, which just permits DVD playback.
The study said that after gaming, watching a DVD (34 percent) or Blu-ray
disc (30 percent) were the two highest activities of PS3 owners. The
Sony gaming console also offer streaming videos, but it appears that PS3
owners still prefer the hard disc.
The NPD said the highest activity of XBox owners after gaming was
watching YouTube (24 percent) and DVDs (23 percent).
Studies like this probably told Microsoft that gamers still like discs
and that the new XBox One would be more successful if it included a
Blu-ray drive. If Microsoft did not include a Blu-ray drive, it could
have encouraged more prospective console shoppers to get PS3 and PS4
(when the new console is launched.)
With the XBox One expected to sell millions of units in the first year,
the only remaining question is whether the new Blu-ray drive will
significantly boost sales of Blu-ray discs and spark a hard disc
industry that's under siege from Internet-based entertainment.
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