Michael Bay says MS is fixing the format war

It makes sense if you look at the US Video Marketplace numbers MS released a while back. Microsoft knows digital distribution is the next big thing in media.

Well, keep in mind--this is all coming from the guy who directed Pearl Harbor. I mean, come on.

This is my care face

what a close minded attitude. I highly doubt MS and Sony's respective backing of each format will cause both to fail and move the world categorically to digital distributed content (DDC). Both formats have PROs and CONs and to be frank one will eventually die out since the format war is helping no-one. That said, this (imo) doesnt preclude the need for tangible media such as BR and / or HD-DVD. As much as the Video marketplace is cool, i like millions prefer to own a phyiscal disk that you can watch on multiple devices not constrained to the X360 (which we all love btw).

in short i think Bay is sounding off cause the HD market is basically spinning its wheels - Blu-Ray seels more units in Europe but HD-DVD sells more media in the USA.

Quit complaining bay and just make transformers 2 :-P

i agree with him. and it's a smart move on Msoft's part. They'll never admit it, of course, but it is what's goin on. that doesn't mean we shouldn't support either format right now though. and the truth is hd-dvd is better for us gamers than blu-ray. so who cares what michael bay says?

Course his theory ignores the fact that MS has hinted that if HDDVD loses to Blue Ray they would consider making an external BRD player for the 360.

Course with that in mind, MS could be hoping for the failure of HDDVD so they can sell $200 players to people who previously spent $200 on the HDDVD player. Now that's a saucy double dip!

caption for the picture.

"...and THEN a bus goes PSHVCCARASSSHH, AND FIRE WITH WWWHAAAAM"

This guy's a toolbox.

*Stewie Voice*
Working on your little movie are you? Making light of a dark day in America? Facilitating Ben Affleck's appearances in films? Working on the narrative, and then forgetting what you were doing? Generically naming all your movies with a thesaurus? Don't remember you made two movies (The Island, Transformers) where XBOX was actually featured in them, thus making Microsoft an investor in your piles of crap?

Yeah, you're a real sound source to be criticizing.

Bring back big clunky Beta tapes, along with the original Megatron

Until enough people can get the necessary bandwidth to their homes (uVerse/FiOS) so that downloading an HD movie doesn't take a full day or two, digital distribution will not replace physical media. If I were MS, I'd go after Comcast for throttling their customer's bandwidth because I've just about had it with trying to download anything on my 360.

Microsoft want both next-gen DVD formats to fail? Good on Microsoft.

I dont care what he says just as long as he dont make transformers 2 or the other sequals on crappy blue ray only!

^^^ LMAO to post 9 - :)

who cares?
this format war is going to be on for a while. Blu Ray will be around (as long as the PS3 exists)... so HD DVD will need to be able to hold on until then.

Didn't someone suggest this a long time ago? Like, a year ago? And by "someone", i don't mean the hobo down the street i buy my crack from, ('cause he supports Blu-Ray and doesn't think HD-DVD has a chance), but like, someone famous enough for me to read either here or on engadget? Because, well, i don't read anything else, except last week i read the test results i got from planned parenthood, and man, looks like that hooker lied to me...
-Taylor

Michael Bay also said his Transformers movie wouldn't suck, so we all know how trustworthy he is.

Makes sense, digital distribution is the future. I mean, take a look at music. Just wait for a higher speed internet that's mainstream. They'll come a time when movies download as fast as a music download does today.

First off why would MS back Blu-Ray right out of the gate with Sony being their competitor on many levels. MS added on the HD Drive because they didnt see a need for the next Gen player in their console but they added the feature of an add on player to offer an addition to your system.

Second, um...if the evolution of technology moves us to digital downloading..that is what is wanted. If consumers, more and more download TV, music and movies this is where its going to be. Sony would jump on this too. Why their service isnt up to par on the PS3 still boggles my mind.

I'm just failing to see your logic Mr. Bay. Like it was said before, this is from the guy who did Pearl Harbor....

Digital media is going to replace hard media only for people that rent videos.

XBL isn't the only source, there's at least 2 new products coming out in 2008 that are just boxes you hook up to your tv and router that'll let you buy videos online and watch them on your tv.

Not to mention AppleTV.

Michael Bay needs to lay off the drugs and alcohol I think.

I personally think Bay isn't thinking too far ahead here. Whatever happens with HD discs and the format war is inconsequential; digital downloads will supersede the disc format in time regardless. At least I hope so.

Let's say the growing pains of getting used to not going to a store to buy your movies and games are over with, and we've grown past the need to 'hold' our purchases. Okay. A digital download software world would be ultimately better in all but one aspect, and I'll get to that in a minute.

Benefits to digital downloads over pressed-dvd items that I can forsee:

* Less waste material (and less trash)

* Less dependency on foreign oil

*Less heat created by gaming hardware; no disc drive whatsoever

* Quicker distribution of software

* Quicker software updates and bug fixes if needed

* Cheaper price

* Less stuff for you to organize at home and more room for you to buy other crap

* Clean interface; no scratched discs

As I said before, there is only one big glaring issue to digital downloads, and it's that media publishers (especially gaming houses) might make shipping 'broken' or unfinished games a standard happening. Let's say in my world of this download-only software you can buy GTA 5 direct-to-drive for $30, but it's buggy and broken, maybe not even finished. That would suck royally.
Now, there IS a brighter side to these sorts of things though. Take for instance Halo 2. We all know the story is broken, the game unfinished and left players somewhat confused. If H2 had somehow been released in a digital download instead of rushed to be pressed to disc (overlooking Bungie's growing pains at the time), maybe we would have all played a superior game to the one we all know. I'm just saying.

I'd love the next consoles to be completely digital download-only..with the only ports on the whole system for AC and HDMI. The controllers would be wireless and there would be no need for a disc drive at all.

This is oooooooold. I heard this like a year ago or more.

i can only hope that conspiracy is right. downloads ftw!

We start by making a big CG building and then we have a meteor go VRRROSH andthen and its all like KRROWWWWWWW and motorcycles burst into flame while they jump over these helicopters right...

WOW! He's my hero! Did he come up with this theory on his own?!

Good point, DjDATZ/Dario.

First of all, Bay sucks balls and noone that matters gives a fuck what he says or thinks.

Secondly Digital downloading is alreay here and growing in popularity fast thanx to things like MS but also pretty much every cable company out there, added with ever increasing gas prices pushing a few buttons to watch what you want looks much more attractive than going out to rent something with little hopes that its there and waiting in line forever to check out while you listen to the person in front of you argueing about when a movie was or wasn't returned. To add to this, you get home and pop the movie in only to find that it was poorly treated by previous renters and the damn thing dosnt work. But even if it dose it still means eventually you will have to go back wasting more gas to return it.
As far as Blue Ray goes thats just sony being greedy little fucks that thought it would catch on like wild fire like the PS 1 and 2 did....WRONG. Sony has too much on thier plate with the ps2, ps3, psp and blue ray. Which will ultimately be the reason they will view this period in thier company history as a failure.

You all have it wrong. What Bay was doing was telling the news outlets the backstory to Bad Boys 3.

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are going to take on Gates and Allen.

He can't actually believe this stupid conspiracy theory.

If Bay is right this will be an interesting fight that he has started. I imagine there must be some truth to his accusations? Microsoft should come out and be honest if that's the case. I think Digital Download is great, but I don't see it replacing high definition movie like Blueray or HDDVD. I think both formats can survive. Playstation 3 is sweet too! Let's not all be video game snobs.

So, Microsoft is the bad guy for doing what should have been done in the first place? This argument makes Bay look dated and entrenched. Downloaded video is going to become the standard before long and Bay is stuck on thinking in terms of disks.

Y'know, I really can't picture a younger Michael Bay sitting in a films class, taking notes, sitting calmly to himself. I'm sure he would have shat himself if he was made to sit still and quiet for three hours, especially since he was younger and no doubt even MORE immature than he is now.
Maybe someone handed him a Slinky to play with during the boring parts.

Oh wait...he DIDN'T go to film school..I forgot.

Back off on the Bay bashing... don't forget this man also directed this last summers blockbuster hit Transformers and that my friends was oh so incredible.

http://www.squidoo.com/Prime

Michael Bay should stick to directing commercials, his Victoria Secret and Levi jeans commercials were better than any of his movies.

I never believe anything Michael Bay says, but then I scrolled down a half an inch and saw the ad on this site that says the future is Blue...

Whingnut
When i had cable internet, I could start downloading an HD movie from Video Marketplace and be watching it in under 10 mins. Now that I have Fios, it takes about 5 or 6 mins. So...no, you dont need fios to have a successful HD movie download service.

Now if Apple and Microsoft made a pact(sp?) in the digitial distribution companies than people would defintily start to listen. Now that'd be cool.

Ethan Meadow:
The transformers movie is based on a very popular and very old cartoon featuring giant fighting robots that can transform into tanks cars and airplanes. I Could Have Directed That Movie. Its not like he wrote the script or invented the franchise.

"Microsoft wants both formats to fail so they can be heroes and make the world move to digital downloads"

My problem with this claim is:

1- Studios have more to gain from going to downloads than MS does. The **AA have always wanted to move to a "Per performance" payment system. Optical media that you own prevents that. Downloads do not.

2- MS would've been format neutral if BD supported HDi.

3- The remarks are mouthing 4 month old horseshit BD-FUD spewed by the likes of Bill Hunt.

4- Blu-ray supporting companies like Sony and Apple have download plans as well, and Apple would have more to gain from torpedoing Blu-Ray/HD-DVD than MS would.

5- MS made deals with Disney and Paramount to put content in HD on XBLA. Those deals didn't include "delay releasing this HD content on hd-dvd/bluray for x period of time so that HD content is exclusive to XBL". If they had done this, Bay & the smurfs might have a point, but otherwise it's just conspiracy theory foolishness.

Didn't Transformers just become available on the Xbox Video Marketplace. I wonder who let that happen.

Digital downloadable content as the main format for movies is at least ten years off. People will always prefer physical media overdownloaded media mainly because of the ability to watch it on multiple devices instead of just one. Also I prefer to have my movie collection on a physical disc instead of a harddrive that has the potential to crash or the data getting corrupted costing me my entire collection. If a DVD get scratched I can go buy a new one or repair it cheaply. If the hardddrive malfunctions and corrupts the data my movies are gone.
Also retail stores would be against digital media because its will cut into their profits. Give it ten years for people to adjust to a new format and retail stores to slowly phase out physical media.

@45
Not entirley true, purchasing things on xbox live keeps track of what you should or shouldn't have on your hard drive. The major problem is the damn dmr which ms is working franticaly to fix. After that the problem is space. So if your hdd did bust and digital dl was the main form of media not just ms but anyone that is into it will have records to replace what was lost.

Bay is an idiot. What diffrence does it make to him? Everytime someone like him opens his mouth and says something stupid like this, I have to shake my head in wonder.

Ofcourse MS wants hard copies to be the way of the past. That way they can charge everyone over and over again for the same thing and no one can share with their friends and families. EVERYONE PAYS IN MS WORLD!!!