DFC: Microsoft untroubled by Blu-ray win

Research firm underlines Xbox Live's delivery potential

Market research and consulting firm DFC Intelligence has told GamesIndustry.biz that it believes Microsoft will be largely untroubled by the recent death of the HD DVD format and resulting victory for Sony's Blu-ray technology.

George T Chronis, DFC Dossier editor, pointed at comments made by Microsoft chairman Bill Gates in October 2005 regarding the next-gen DVD battle:

"The format that's under discussion right now, HD DVD versus Blu-ray, that's simply the last physical format we'll ever have," Gates said then.

"Even videos in the future will either be on a disk in your pocket or over the Internet and therefore far more convenient for you."

And Chronis believes that the company is still on course to exploit it's existing strengths via the Xbox 360 platform.

"Microsoft has never been wedded to any specific HD disc playback as an Xbox 360 feature necessity, only as an option," he said.

"Therefore, given the 10 million-plus Xbox Live subscriber base, it is very likely that Microsoft will continue to actively pursue more deals with major media conglomerates to secure additional HD content for delivery via Xbox Live as its primary high-definition playback."

That echoes comments made in a GamesIndustry.biz interview yesterday with the UK's Xbox Live marketing manager, Robin Burrowes, talking about the performance of the Video Store in the UK.

"There's been a lot of partner satisfaction with where we are so far - I know that Warner are very happy with the performance, and hopefully that's something we'll bring forward with having Paramount on board as well."

Chronis agreed that the Blu-ray emergence would have a positive effect on PlayStation 3 sales, but questioned whether consumers who had purchased the console to-date had done so for the HD playback options.

"The jury is still out on how many PlayStation 3s are purchased by consumers with Blu-ray playback as the primary feature motivating the sale," he explained.

"More likely, high-definition playback has been a secondary feature in the overall purchase decision. Consumers don't want to be left with a dead HD format, so it's safe to say someone buying a PS3 during the first year was considering the strength of the Blu-ray format as a value component in the PlayStation 3's higher MSRP.

"But we don't think the fortunes of the Blu-ray format have driven the vast majority of PS3 sales. Sony brand loyalty, and new technology early adopters, probably drove the most system sales."

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