If you're like us, there was one primary factor in your choice of high-definition disc formats: the availability of Dragon's Lair. By that logic, we were siding with Blu-ray for awhile, but now we're just ambivalent.

An HD-DVD version of Dragon's Lair is coming August 15 for $29.99, the same price as the Blu-ray incarnation. O, what are we to do? We can't decide, so we'll just stick to our DS version, thank you very much.

The Sony BDP-S300 Blu-ray player has been dropped $100 in price to $499, putting it below the price of the PlayStation 3.

Sony, who once touted the PS3 as the cheapest Blu-ray player on the market, has appeared to have crossed off its own talking point. But if priced the same, the BDP-S300 would be a tough sale against the game console, whose only apparent benefit is quieter hardware.

We don't want to suggest the PS3, now with only one model in North America, may drop below the $600 threshold, but the Blu-ray player's reduced price may indicate that the manufacturing costs for Blu-ray components have lowered, making the console less of a loss leader for Sony.

The High Definition disc format is still competing against the Toshiba-backed HD-DVD for market share. The cheapest standalone HD-DVD player still costs $100 ($200 this Father's Day) less than the BDP-S300.

[Via Engadget; thanks, Jonah]

Claiming a patent infringement concerning the Blu-ray format, Target Technology Co. LLC has filed a lawsuit against three Sony companies, including Sony Computer Entertainment America, seeking "a jury trial for damages and an injunction to keep Sony from further infringement," according to IP Law 360.

Sony's Blu-ray discs, including PlayStation 3 games, "embody" silver-based alloy thin film used as a coating layer for optical discs, the lawsuit asserts. Target Technology was issued a patent titled "metal alloys for the reflective or the semi-reflective layer of an optical storage medium" on March 28, 2006.

Target Technology has filed two other lawsuits against Williams Advanced Materials Inc. and its customers of infringing ten different patents concerning alloys used in making optical discs.

[Via GamesIndustry.biz]

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter has drawn a parallel between the success of a high-definition format and its related game console, believing that Sony will gain an "insurmountable advantage" over Microsoft if movie studios embrace Blu-ray, and vice-versa for Microsoft to "maintain its first mover advantage."

"Notwithstanding the efforts of the three console manufacturers to deliver compelling exclusive content, we expect the ultimate outcome of the console wars to be decided by the motion picture studios," he said.

Pachter ultimately predicts a close, three-way tie in the market share for this generation of consoles: Sony at 36%, Nintendo at 34% and Microsoft at 30%. In Japan, he said, Ninendo will have a 51% share through 2011 (is Pachter also a time traveler?), Sony with 44% and Microsoft presumably with the remaining 5%.

Remember, for every conclusion you may draw from Pachter's report, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of other analysts with contradictory conclusions. Should either high-definition format come out on top, it still has to contend with its big brother, DVD, for some time now, and therefore its impact on the console wars is minimal at best compared to the system's relative price and software.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

If you've been looking to watch cave-diving girls chased by evil, flesh-eating Gollums in high definition, then you better have a PlayStation 3.

According to IMDB news, the Blu-ray version of The Descent is confirmed to not work on Pioneer Elite and Sony BDP-S1 Blu-ray players but functions perfectly on the PS3. The reason? The disc utilizes BD-Java technology for picture-in-picture video commentary, which is not supported by the standalone Blu-ray players.

Sony has confirmed that they are working on an update to the player's operating systems, but how are they going to deliver said updates to consumers who already have the faulty player?

[Via 1UP]

[Update 1: It's Pioneer's Elite, not Panasonic. Thanks to everyone who pointed it out.]

Warner Bros has announced it will unveil a videodisc next week, dubbed Total HD, that plays in both HD DVD and Blu-ray drives. We've known about this decision since September, when the studio filed a patent for such a disc. (Though the patent mentions embedded DVD, this news report doesn't.)

The ramifications of such a disc, if it's priced to compete, would render the format wars obsolete. If you're planning on buying a new-gen game console based on the HD disc it can play (and the PlayStation 3 is a bargain for a Blu-ray player), the adoption of Total HD discs would make the decision a tad easier (and more game-specific).

Will the disc have the goods? We'll find out the full details next week at the Consumer Electronics Show.

"But that plays on Blu-ray, you can't stick it in there."

"Watch me!"

"Oh ... Oh, my."

[Via Firing Squad]

It is common knowledge that the PS3 is being used as a means to boost the Blu-ray install-base, even if Sony won't come out and say it. However, it would appear that Blu-ray is being harmed by its inclusion in the PS3.

According to a survey by Cymfony, a analyst group that focuses on market influence, HD-DVD has 46% more positive discussions on various websites than Blu-ray. Half as many people are also impressed with Blu-ray visuals than are with HD-DVD visuals. The key reasons for low Blu-ray acceptance is the forced (there's that word again) inclusion in the PS3 and Sony's format reputation.

Consumers are clearly not warming up to Blu-ray. The reasons range from fear of another Sony flop -- they've never been good at initializing a format change -- to the using the PS3 to boost the install base. It would appear that Microsoft's HD-DVD add-on was the right choice after all; if you want it, great, if you don't, you've saved yourself $200. If Cymfony's claims that they reliably predict market trends are right, this data could convince manufacturers that Blu-ray is a bad move and swing near-full support toward HD-DVD ... and damage a major PS3 selling point.

[Via Engadget]

The fate of the Blu-ray will not have a big impact by the inclusion of a Blu-ray player in the PlayStation 3, according to Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons. Speaking to an investor conference in New York, Parson called the next-gen DVD format war "unfortunate," remarking that the competing formats -- Blu-ray and HD DVD -- drive costs down and confuse consumers.

We don't mind a competition-spurred price reduction in our movies, but we're also hesitant to purchase a next-gen DVD in the event we pick the losing format. Parsons notes that people were more likely to use the PS3 for games -- but if we want to watch high-definition films, at least we know there's a Blu-ray player already in our entertainment center. If the PlayStation 3 becomes a success in hardware sales, might Parsons be underestimating its impact?

Time Warner is a media conglomerate that owns Warner Bros., Turner, NewLine, HBO and AOL, our parent company. Warner Bros. currently releases films in both HD DVD and Blu-ray. Sony's decision to put a Blu-ray player in the PS3 has been frequently called a "trojan horse" move to drive sales of Blu-ray discs.

[Via Game|Life]

Nintendo Canada's Marketing Director, Pierre-Paul Trépanier, doesn't appear to like HD-DVD or Blu-ray all too much. The sentiment doesn't shock us, especially given Nintendo's history of format choice. If anything, we can set our watch by such statements.

Trépanier told GamesIndustry.biz, "I think forcing a decision on consumers would certainly not be part of Nintendo's strategy." You mean like forcing us to upgrade to a DVD-enhanced Wii if we decide we want to play DVDs? He goes on to say that gaming consoles should focus on playing games -- which hardly explains the Wii's blackboard capabilities, among other nifty non-gaming options. The ire toward HD-DVD is confusing considering the drive is an optional add-on to the Xbox 360 and won't play any games.

Trépanier's opinions are all well and good, but we're getting irritated by the word "forcing" being tossed around like an old football. There are no documented cases of Sony busting into someones home, kicking them in soft places, taking $600 out of their wallet and leaving a shiny PS3 as they climb into their black helicopters. Sony isn't forcing Blu-ray onto anyone; they're putting it into their home console. It's up to the consumer to decide if the price premium the PS3's Blu-ray inclusion entailed is worth it to them. Whether or not Blu-ray is regarded as a great addition to gaming or a lame Trojan Horse has yet to be seen.

On November 22, the anniversary of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft will be offering high-definition television shows and movies for download. The offerings span a large demographic, from CBS and Nascar to Adult Swim and MTV (yes, "Pimp My Ride" will be included). Movies include, Nacho Libre, Superman Returns, and the original Jackass: The Movie. The TV shows will be download to own, while the movies will only be rentals.

The move is impressive, though we can't help but worry about the disk space -- our tiny 20 GB HDD is not going to hold that much. The press release talks a lot about downloading, but what about streaming? Can we watch part of the program while we download it? And, most important of all, how much will these cost? We'll kidnap our trusted sources and let you know what we get out of them. You can view the current list of upcoming titles here.

Microsoft is bringing HD-quality movies to the 360 without requiring the purchase of the external HD DVD drive. Will Sony follow suit or keep all HD cinema / television bound for Blu-ray?

[Thanks to every single person who sent this in!]

A tour promoting HD DVD is launching in September, and Microsoft will be providing its Xbox 360 + HD DVD combo as an example of the experience. Looks like a sign of confidence that the HD DVD extension will be on par with other HD DVD players -- whether the price will also be on par has yet to be seen.

Here are the tour dates:

• September 14 - 17: Denver Colorado Convention Center
• September 22 - 24: Dallas Plano Balloon Fest (Texas)
• September 29 - October 1: Minneapolis, MN
• October 5 - 6: Chicago, IL
• October 10 - 15: New York, NY
• October 20 - 22: Washington, D.C.
• October 26 - 28: Philadelphia, PA
• November 2 - 4: Richmond, VA
• November 15 - 16: Los Angeles, CA
• November 24 - 28: Seattle, WA
• December 6 - 10: San Francisco, CA

In other news, the HD DVD players outsold Sony-backed Blu-ray players by 33% during their respective launch windows, according to NPD.

See Also:
Will Resistance: FoM justify the PS3 pricetag?
MS shows off 360 external HD DVD drive

[Thanks, laserboyjc]

On Monday, Microsoft showed off its HD DVD drive to attendees of the DVD Forum in Los Angeles. While playing The Phantom of the Opera, Senior Program Manager Kevin Collins demonstrated the navigation menus. Microsoft's John Porcaro recently revealed what the "open tray" dashboard interface looks like (tentatively, not final) with the HD DVD drive attached.

"All the audio and video processing is done inside the Xbox," Collins said.

Collins would not give a firm price, but declared the external HD-DVD drive would be one of the least expensive of the HD DVD players to reach market. In May, Games Industry reported rumblings from retail outlets that Microsoft conveyed a price such that the HD DVD drive and Xbox 360 combined would cost less than a PlayStation 3.

The HD DVD / Blu-ray debate still rages on. High-Def Digest recently ran their first two Blu-ray vs. HD DVD reviews, declaring HD DVD as the winner in both trials (Training Day and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang). However, the site does note that Blu-ray's troubles could be the result of the player itself, and not the format.

We'll admit it. When we read the results of Max PS3's recent poll asking readers "Should Blu-ray have been optional?" we did a double-take. 67% said it should not have been optional? Really? It's just that those numbers kind of seems at odds with the zeitgeist ...

... so we thought we'd give you guys a shot. We did take umbrage with their wording, however, so we've decided to tweak it a bit. There are surely many people who might think that Blu-ray should have been optional without altering their intentions to purchase a PS3. We're more interested in whether or not the inclusion of Blu-ray will affect your decision to purchase a PS3. Basically, no Blu-ray = a cheaper PS3.

A plea from Joystiq: if you weren't going to purchase a PS3 regardless, you can choose the third option or simply refrain from voting, kay? Everyone else, have at it:

Will Blu-ray affect your decision to purchase a PS3?
	Yes, I don't want it and shouldn't have to pay for it
	No, it's a fundamental part of the system
	(fill in other answer here) FTW!