Jeremy Charette
05-21-2006, 11:00 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://gear.ign.com/articles/709/709495p1.html' target='_blank'>http://gear.ign.com/articles/709/709495p1.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Until Sony announces a $499 PS3 design change, we at IGN Gear can, in good faith, only recommend that interested buyers steer clear of the lower-priced PS3 model or make the purchase fully aware that they may in future suffer severe repercussions when it comes to Blu-ray movie playback -- one of the key features that puts the PS3's price point above competing systems. 540p, the resolution that the Image Constraint Token will down-convert 1080p movies to in non-HDCP systems, is by no stretch of the imagination Hi-Def, and will, without major changes in PS3 design or studio policy, be the future of Blu-ray playback on the $499 PS3. Sony must either make this truth clear to buyers or make a hardware alteration. Any other response should be counted as negligent and anti-consumer, grave mistakes for a company that is risking so much on the PS3 and Blu-ray's success."</i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/hdmi.jpg" /> <br /><br />Sony is betting the farm on Blu-Ray, and the PS3 as the vehicle to get it to the masses. But if the $499 PS3 can't play back Blu-Ray discs in all their high definition glory, any price advantage that the PS3 will have over a standalone player is for naught. Microsoft caught flak from the press and consumers over the fact that the $299 Xbox 360 Core system didn't have many features that the $399 Premium system came with, and rightly so. Even so, consumers could upgrade that Core system to a Premium by purchasing all of the extra components that made them different (hard drive, wireless controller, headset...). With the PS3, that isn't an option. They haven't announced how users will be able to upgrade to the 60 GB hard drive, the memory slots can't be upgraded, and worst of all, it's impossible to add HDMI support. Sony needs good will with their customers, especially after all the bad press surrounding copy protection on their CDs, and this situation isn't going to help them.