08-22-2007, 04:34 PM
Quote:yeah because that's exactly what you want to do. pay your main competitor for the rights to use their hardware. ummm, no.
Nice sarcasm, but the fact is, businesses are run by realists. They license stuff all the time, if it is to their net benefit. If Blu-Ray gets to be a dominant standard, can you say MS won't offer something to support it? Steve Ballmer may throw a chair or two, but the checks get signed.
Quote:When it comes to merging the HD battle with the next-gen console battle full blame can be laid at Sony's feet.
Agreed. I just don't think they've succeeded in merging the battlefields. I think that standalone players will be much more of a factor in the HD fight.
Quote:Microsofts addition of the HDdvd drive to the 360 is not strategically part of the HD war, it's a console move.
OK, let's take as a given that the addition of HD movie capacity is a move to sell more consoles. Wouldn't a larger range of content compatibility sell more consoles? If the eventual goal is to dominate the console space, wouldn't that be worth much more than some licensing fees?
Regardless, they're not making a Blu-Ray add-on. And they're paying Paramount/Dreamworks to support HD-DVD. So let's consider some possibilities:
1) MS is honestly trying to drive HD-DVD to be the standard bearer for digital movies.
MS is not unknown for swimming upstream, but this one's uncommonly salmon-like, and I don't see a huge payoff if they win. Maybe it's one in the eye for Sony, but Sony's doing a fine job of failing on their own.
2) MS is spreading FUD in the HD market to make digital downloads look more appealing, leaving them an opening to be the dominant technology provider in the dominant delivery mechanism for home entertainment.
That sounds a lot nicer to me for MS's long-term interests.
3) MS is hoping that HD movies become a driver for console adoption.
I don't think this is realistic. It's all about the games.
In the end, I think MS is hoping for (2). I think they may get their wish; the split standard is slowing adoption of a set of products that isn't all that compelling to start with.