Kaz says Blu-ray is the best choice for gamers
by Joystiq Staff 
{ Aug 29th 2006 at 11:25AM }
In a rather bland interview with Cnet, Sony's Kaz Hirai proclaims that the Blu-ray format is the best choice for gamers when compared to the capacity in its fiercest competitor, the Xbox 360. He told Cnet:Our decision to include the Blu-ray player ... in all of our PlayStation 3s was the right decision. Look at the massive amounts of data that's required to provide a truly immersive gaming experience in true HD. If you only have a DVD ROM drive, which can only go up to about 9GB or so, you're going to end up with a game that's going to have two or possibly even three discs. And then you're going to have to ask consumers to swap discs out or cache all the game onto the hard drive which I think is an inconvenience -- not to mention the fact that you're going to fill up a 20GB hard drive very quickly with some of these games. So trying to go without a Blu-ray drive in the PlayStation 3 really is a nonstarter.
Pretty much a diss to the 360 and its capabilities, Hirai believes that the Blu-ray is key to the PS3's ultimate success. Considering how massive a game like Oblivion is on one disc, does the extra storage capability of the Blu-ray disc even matter?
On a another note, Kaz still says that production of the PS3 has yet to start.
[Thanks, KingOfGods]
Get a WordPress.com Blog
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Stephen @ Aug 29th 2006 11:30AM
A game that looks breautiful but plays dreadfully will not be played through. If there are games that are 70 hours long but suck, then blu-ray would have done nothing.
Anuj @ Aug 29th 2006 11:31AM
Considering how massive a game like Oblivion is on one disc, does the extra storage capability of the Blu-ray disc even matter?
It doesn't now but in 3-4 years with games taking up more space it could make all the difference.
Marty @ Aug 29th 2006 11:32AM
LOL, how is this news? Sony's Kaz Hirai says Sony's HD DVD format is the best... well... what the hell did you think he was going to say?
Casey @ Aug 29th 2006 3:52PM
Oh well since Kaz sais so, then i'm going to get a PS3 on launch day.
Dr.Swiss @ Aug 29th 2006 11:33AM
As long as it doesn't eject itself out of the ps3 at random I'll be happy.
White Rose Duelist @ Aug 29th 2006 11:34AM
No surprise that an exec would be touting his company's product, but...
Kaz still says that production of the PS3 has yet to start.
Isn't T minus 2½ months a little late to be starting production?
Martin @ Aug 29th 2006 11:35AM
This just in. Microsoft's Bill Gates says, BlueRay is unneccesary, DVD format used in 360 is plenty for huge games.
Marty @ Aug 29th 2006 11:35AM
He should have mentioned that Blu-Ray is actually riding the PS3 Trojan horse style into your home... so you can buy movies for $30 later on!
Catalyst @ Aug 29th 2006 11:40AM
This may as well have read "there's a reason it costs so much, please believe me!"
I, for one, do not believe him. With improvements in compression technology, etc., all we are going to get is a bunch of different resolution FMVs shoved on a disc to fill up the space.
AlloyNES @ Aug 29th 2006 11:35AM
*puts fingers in ears* Lalalalalalala!
I refuse to pay that much money just so I don't have to live through the "inconvenience" of changing CDs.
Kaz = thuh devul
Mark @ Aug 29th 2006 11:37AM
I think if the discs are compressed they will be able to fit on a 360 disc. Also, I think Microsoft knew about this and made the 360 able to do a lot of the work that couldn't fit on the disc. I bet that when you play a game in HD, all that isn't coming off the disc neccesarily, but the 360 is making it look that way.
Mike Mayer @ Aug 29th 2006 11:38AM
Here's the thing, Blu Ray is a very volatile way of storing data, gamers are not known for being careful with their games. (trust me i work at a Video Game store and we also do game repairs, i wont say which one but our used games are the bomb diggity)
Blu Ray games will go through more problems with scratches than an infant with a kitty.
Fuji @ Aug 29th 2006 11:39AM
You know, disc swapping isn't that big of a problem for me. I think we all did that when we played through FFVI, MGS, Xenogears, and many many otheres.
mcgoo @ Aug 29th 2006 11:40AM
devs prolly don't need 20 to 50 Gbs of space for content currently, plus most gamers aren't ready for HD games (in 1080p) like they are touting. the contents on the disc are what's important.
lloyd @ Aug 29th 2006 11:41AM
come on everybody, all together now in unison....
"screw the ps3 and blue-ray sucks"
there's no need to wait for these products to be released and actually see them in use before we make an informed decision.
SuicideNinja @ Aug 29th 2006 12:29PM
I'm betting the extra size won't really be used to our benefit.
It will allow developers to be more lazy and not polish up the product, compress data and optimize it for faster load times, etc.
Prerendered CG is out, so it is a silly excuse to need all that extra space. Scripted real time will be the new thing, using the in-game engine. It helps keep the player in the game.
He has to talk up Bluray anyway; it's not doing so well. HD-DVD is outselling it quite regularly, whether it's players or movies themselves. thedvdwars.com is only one example.
Mountain Dew @ Aug 29th 2006 11:47AM
I wouldn't expect Sony to say anything otherwise. Of course they're going to back the format they've invested heavily into and placed into their console.
If it's not successful, Sony is in a world of hurt.
Eyecandy @ Aug 29th 2006 11:44AM
Games fit fine on a regular DVD. The reason Sony needs all this space is becase they put CGI movies on thier discs. After Watching FF with the mini games in between the cutscenes I was happy the find the Xbox that lets you play a game instead of watch it. If there is a cutscene it uses the in game engine. This takes up less space. Go Wii60.
DBX00 @ Aug 29th 2006 11:44AM
Hard-coating technology
TDK 100-gigabyte four-layer Blu-ray Disc.Because the Blu-ray standard places the data recording layer so close to the surface of the disc, early discs were susceptible to contamination and scratches and had to be enclosed in plastic caddies for protection. The consortium worried that such an inconvenience would hurt Blu-ray's market adoption in the face of the rival HD DVD standard, as HD DVDs place the data layer farther away from the surface, rather like DVDs. Blu-ray discs now use a purpose developed layer of protective material over the reflective data backing (ie, on the label side).
Both Sony and Panasonic replication methods include proprietary hard-coat technologies. Sony's rewriteable media are sprayed with a scratch-resistant and antistatic coating. [64]
TDK also announced a way to remedy the problem in January 2004 with the introduction of a clear polymer coating that gives Blu-ray Discs substantial scratch resistance. The coating was developed by TDK Corporation and is called "Durabis". It allows BDs to be cleaned safely with only a tissue. The coating is said to successfully resist "wire-wool scrubbing" according to Samsung Optical technical manager Chas Kalsi. It is not clear, however, which discs will use the Durabis coating -- it is almost certain that none of the pre-recorded ROM movie discs will use it due to cost, so concern remains about the overall durability of Blu-ray movie discs.
Martin @ Aug 29th 2006 11:45AM
I say we all buy Samsung BlueRay players, and buy no Sony movies!!!! It would be hilarious!!!
AlloyNES @ Aug 29th 2006 11:46AM
Ya'know, come to think of it, disc swapping is a good thing. When you buy a game that is 2 or more discs you think "Whoa, this is an epic game." And when you see "Insert CD 2," you think "YES! I've finally gotten to disc 2!"
Multiple Discs FTW!
snupher @ Aug 29th 2006 12:40PM
I agree with the #1 comment. Its great that I am getting more bang for my buck. But if there is another Advent Rising, you know supposed to be good but sucks in reality, out then not only have I spent more for a game that I probably wont finish(but try to sell and only get 1/3 my money back) or I will try to finish and be stuck in 70+ hours of horrible gameplay and frustraiting camera angles. I know some of that extra data room is needed for character models, city scapes, etc... but since PS3 is a "Media Center", shouldnt Sony maybe think about implementing a Virtual Machine inside to alot more memory? Just a thought.
existonfile @ Aug 29th 2006 11:47AM
Tick, tock, tick tock. The clock is counting down Sony. You better start producing PS3's now if you want 2 million for launch. I'm almost expecting them to push back the US launch if they don't have enough units to sell. Sucks for gamers, but would be great for people who don't want to be robbed of their $600 system outside of Best Buy on launch day.
VorpalMonkey @ Aug 29th 2006 12:15PM
If you want unique textures in HD (and by that I mean 1080p) you are going to need huge amounts of space. I remember when everyone was saying Sony was silly for putting a dvd player on the PS2. Now 95% (made up number but close)of games are coming out on DVD. Just for proof, Resistance is going to take up 22 gigs of the blu-ray disc.
georgedakota @ Aug 29th 2006 11:47AM
the only reason anyone will ever need that space in the next 4-5 years is because of fmv and movies. nothing else will matter. and who honestly cares about fmv and videos in most games? we all skip through it!! they only added blu ray to try and win the format war and make sony money
Mal F4cti0n @ Aug 29th 2006 11:59AM
I said it before and I will say it again.
The PS3 will not be on shelves in November. If they haven't started producing them yet, and they are planning for a worldwide launch, they will not be close to their six million unit target whatsoever.
Anyway, it won't be on the shelves. Wii60 FTW!
I am pretty sure we were seeing demo stands for the 360 this time last year. Can anyone find that out for sure?
gamefan1975 @ Aug 29th 2006 11:49AM
This was a Cnet article? Msoft is out there talking to major outlets (Reuters, Forbes, LA Times, NY Times) with real news, and Sony is giving fluff statements to Cnet? no wonder people are running away from Sony. No consistent messaging and no real touch with the people who are going to buy their products. I'm disappointed, but the point is that Sony wants people to buy products for the 10 years, but why not save the money, but buy in for Msoft for 7 years? Who plays 10 year old games anyway.
Patrick @ Aug 29th 2006 11:49AM
well, I still think the PS3 costs so much for a reason. I'm just going to wait and see what happens and buy a console in 2007 when all the "next-gen" consoles are out and then I'll have my pick.
Until then my DS-Lite will do me good. When FF12 comes out, my PS2 will do me good also. hah.
But what don't like is the fact that the PS3 (and 360) are going for the "We're going to invade your home and take everything over" type thing. I'm buying a GAMING console, not a PC or "entertainment system" a GAMING console.
JC @ Aug 29th 2006 11:50AM
over 30 gigs of britney's dance beat!
most games barely need the 4.7 gigs (final fantasy anyone?)
the amount of dead space people are going to be purchasing is absurd
DBX00 @ Aug 29th 2006 11:50AM
Developers will take advantage of the capabilities of the system and adjust to the limitations of the others. You're fooling yourself if you think that developers won't utilize the space that is available on a blu-ray disc. They may be able to use compression to produce similiar results on the XBOX360 but they may also find unique ways to incorporate the additional space on the PS3. Only time will tell how they'll utilize the space. People keep making reference to Oblivion, but a year from now that game won't be bleeding edge technology. Technology continually pushes forward and whether we are ready for it or not, the next generation of optical discs is upon us. Plenty of people argued that you would never need DVD for games and now that's the standard. The same thing will happen this generation, get over it.
socrates @ Aug 29th 2006 11:50AM
Fuji -
disc swapping just does not work with open world games. In fact, the only games it could theoretically work on are:
1. linear platformers divided by discreet levels (aka, boring)
2. Final Fantasy style RPGs.
And even when it can work, it is still obnoxious/cumbersome for gamers and developers.
jc @ Aug 29th 2006 11:54AM
I agree that larger disc sizes are a good idea, and if they use the Durabis coating, scratches shouldn't be a problem.
My concern is with load times. You have more information loading off a bigger disc, creating 1080p textures from a drive that is quite slower than the DVD9 drive. To me this spells long load times, and then some... I would rather cache from a HDD with faster disc access.
Mind you, this is my concern... not a fact as of yet. We will have to wait and see.
Eyecandy @ Aug 29th 2006 11:54AM
DBX00,
They will have the minute by minute making of the game as a bonus feature on the disc to fill space. And maybe the last season of Everyone Loves Raymond.
Stoo @ Aug 29th 2006 11:55AM
"And then you're going to have to ask consumers to swap discs out or cache all the game onto the hard drive which I think is an inconvenience"
An expenditure of $600+ is a somewhat bigger inconvenience.
logikil @ Aug 29th 2006 12:01PM
Hmm...
I wont say heavy FMV because thats a dev call, but having to store textures that look good at 1080p (which i doubt will be used all that often) is going to chew up more space than with games that only need textures to fit a 720p game. Increased space requirements for negligible visual fidelity. Sorry I don't buy that. Game sound and visuals can be successfully compressed to easily fit on a DVD9 disc. If a game really gets to where its taking upwards of 20GB then you are either:
a. using extremely large audio and video files with inefficient compression techniques
b. stuffing the disc with prerecorded video (again a dev call)
c. really do have an insanely epic game.
I'm sorry but i dont expect c for quite some time.
Yoshi Likes Boys @ Aug 29th 2006 11:56AM
Isn't MGS4 currently clocking in at like 22 GB? The argument that "you don't need that much space" has NEVER been a good one. Especially when you're dealing with 1080p FMVs, it can get ridiculous quickly. It's very easy to say "nobody needs that much space" and it's true, nobody needs that much, until someone does. History is riddled with people who said "you don't need that much space." When we have PS2 games that can't fit on a DVD5, which part of the history of the computer/game industry leads you to believe that DVD9 is "more than enough?" If all the "massive" games are like Oblivion, then give me Blu-Ray. My biggest concern is the speed of the Blu-Ray drive inside the PS3, as loading times are out of control in the industry as it is. Personally, I'd like to see more digital distribution with smaller games, but that's me.
And regarding this constant Wii60 platform, nothing about the PS3's issues makes Microsoft's abortion more appealing to me. Is there some group of WiiS2 enthusiasts? That's where I'm going.
DBX00 @ Aug 29th 2006 11:59AM
JC
Hence the addition of a hard drive in every PS3. That should solve some of your load time problems.
Eyecandy
Maybe it could result in packaging games like HL2, Episode One, Episode Two, TF2, and Portal on a single disc. I'd rather get the whole game on a single then to have to pay for additional content that they couldn't fit on a single disc a month after release.
Jeff @ Aug 29th 2006 12:01PM
If they don't start making them soon it won't matter if they have a "superior" media format. They need to launch this holiday season and they aren't going to have hardly any systems. I never minded changing discs on PS1. I actually liked the feeling in Final Fantasy games of finishing a disc and changing it. Sony is trying to make an issue out of a non-issue. They want to differentiate themselves from Xbox and the Wii because Xbox has live and the Wii is going to be a different gaming experience all together. Sony has to have their special feature that will make them different than the other consoles and make them seem like the best choice. The only thing that I think is good about Blu Ray is that they will be able to have all of the localizations on one disc. Otherwise its a waste.
Eyecandy @ Aug 29th 2006 12:01PM
DBX00,
Funny, I heard all those were coming out on a single disc for the 360.
Vancaeyzeele @ Aug 29th 2006 12:02PM
It takes the PS3 over 90 minutes to actually read an entire 50GB blue-ray disk.
Because of the space developpers wil not use any compression as a form of piracy-prevention. And since the blue-ray drive is slower then the XBox360 DVD drive, the latter can read an 9GB disk in 10min!
So massive Blue-Ray drives: Garantueed long loading times! The irony is that if you take the difference in loading times between an XBox360 end an PS3 edition of a game one would ba able to switch for like 50 game disks and still have to wait less then when you play the PS3 version.
DBX00 @ Aug 29th 2006 12:13PM
F4ction
Sony is a hardware company; they can manufacture hardward at a significantly faster time schedule than a software company. They just simply have a better infrastructure and logistic system in place. They could have an inventory of parts waiting for assembly, which doesn't require a significant amount of time. As long as the parts are ready for final assembly, they should be on schedule. Otherwise, they are in trouble.
JAC @ Aug 29th 2006 12:04PM
OMG, having to swap DVDs once during the entire lenght of a game, that sucks, we can't have that! that's why RE4 on the GC sucked so bad, all that disc swapping ruined it for me...:| .
I'd rather have to swap a DVD(or two) than to pay 200$ for their POS blue rayand more expensive games because of it, SONY just wants to push the new format on us, period. It's not because they think it's best for gaming or because gamers will benefit significantly from it. The DVD format still has a long life ahead of it, these jerks want to kill it prematurely just to make more money.
Woody @ Aug 29th 2006 12:07PM
As good as they *think* blue ray is/will be, already early units of players are expensive and buggy. Even if we put this aside, the manufacturing of the discs right now is very expensive. I wouldn't be surprised if there aren't lots of unreadable discs early on due to manufacturing problems (appearently the coating can be an issue). Also, *right now* they can only get 25GB on the disc, not the 50 as most have assumed. I'm not voting against sony, but in the realm of HD players, most are already saying HDDVD is better due to the above issues. If sony can work out the player bugs, lower the cost and get disc manufacturing down, they *may* have a good product.
jabbertrack @ Aug 29th 2006 12:08PM
What a goddamn moron
Is swapping DVDs really that big of a deal to him?
This is complete BS, they are including BLU RAY... NOT because it's better for ME the consumer because now I don't have to "insert disc 2" after 30 hours of gameplay.. but BECAUSE it FORCES people to buy their stupid fucking TECH.
Ignorant bastard
idioteraser @ Aug 29th 2006 12:09PM
Please name five dvd-rom games that take up more then one dvd-rom. Compression takes care of most things and the compression tech is far better then it used to be. All those dvd9 games that are 4 gigs would be 20 gigs without being compressed.
As for hard drive cache causes Kaz forget that all the E3 demos were not running on the PS3 display units but on computer hard drives. Also that a good portion of the PS3 hard drive is used for game caching so you still got that issue you claim is a downer Kazzie boy.
Oddman @ Aug 29th 2006 12:12PM
Sony is using Blue-Ray for Piracy reasons nothing more.
Look how fast Xbox 360 games were being copied and put up on torrents sites
Martin @ Aug 29th 2006 1:28PM
disc swapping just does not work with open world games. In fact, the only games it could theoretically work on are:
Ummm. BS... The world isn't what takes up all the space. You could recopy it on each disk... New content on the disk would be different missions, different characters, all the FMV is really what takes up the most space anyways!!!! Switching discs could work on any type of game really.
GunForHire @ Aug 29th 2006 12:14PM
Of course Kaz says Blu-Ray is 'teh bestest!11!' - the man does nothing but spout shit from his mouth in attempts to justify the extortionate price tag of the PS3.
Sorry Kaz, it just isn't working.
EP @ Aug 29th 2006 12:14PM
Anything that comes out of Kaz's mouth is BS. I would rather swap 10 dics than pay $600. F*** That! I hate being forced into buying crap that I don't need.
phantom42 @ Aug 29th 2006 12:16PM
its very short-sighted to say that "developers will never need or use that much space." after all, i remember when i got my first computer with a hard drive. a whopping 20mb of space. i no longer had to swap my floppy disks in and out while playing my games.
swapping the disks in and out wasnt the end of the world. nor did it really create that much of an inconvenience. still, it was nice not to have to do it.
i remember thinking, "holy crap. i'll never need all that space. i could never fill this whole thing!"
and i said the same thing the next time i got a computer with a larger hard drive. this time with 100mb. and so on, and so forth.
with that said, im also not convinced that we need that extra space just yet. the day will come, i just dont think its anytime soon.