If I didn't know that Netflix was on the way to the PS3, I would have bought one.

As it stands, even at $99 (excellent price - or rather $199 + $100 of free games or a Wifi Adapter), not interested I have to say.

correction: Ice Age 3 - Dawn of the Dinosaurs, not "The Meltdown" (which was Ice Age 2 if memory serves)

Uh .. I'm not sure how to say this anymore :)

Ben, I know that if it's not Disney (and more specifically Pixar) it doesn't seem to count, but one of the biggest box office revenue of the year is releasing this week. It's a little thing called Ice Age 3: The Meltdown.
It's not about the quality of the movie per say, but something that makes close to $200M domestic and more than $650M worldwide, that's got to be an important enough release, no? (for comparison, Monsters vs Aliens, also brushed aside, made $390M Worldwide, and Star Trek made a "meager" $385M WW).
This being said, I am also excited about "The Plan" :)

The Deal is done:

Sony and Netflix have officially partnered to offer Netflix on PS3.
Official announcement:


http://blog.us.playstation.com/2009/10/netflix-coming-soon-to-playstation-3/

Makes the PS3 a little more awesome imo :)
And right before the Xmas period. Nicely done Sony, nicely done.

Not necessarily a bad article, but quite a few points need to be adressed.

First, the obvious.
For true HD content, you need a HDTV.

That's a given, and pretty much everyone is buying one these days. And as you said yourself, Blu-Ray players are getting under the $100 bar this winter, which will make DVD players pretty much obsolete (oh, you forgot to mention that Blu-Ray players make DVDs look better with this "upscaling" function of theirs. So no need to re-buy your collection, contrarily to the VHS- DVD transition).

The price of discs? Yes it can still be a problem at retail. Target and Walmart, among others, have been known to sell discs (or try selling them) full price, between $30 and $35.
This is coming to an end though, and online retailers such as Amazon have the best deals if you are looking for decent prices.
I can seriously say that I never pay more than about $20 for a Blu Ray disc these days which, incidentaly, is about the price someone would pay for a -new- release of a DVD at a major brick and mortar store.
Granted, MSRP prices and catalogue prices still need to come down, but it's coming.

Now, the infamous 'all download' transition.
First the quality difference is stil huge. Go check Netflix HD. Nowhere near a real 1080p.
Then, the convenience. Well, I don't need to be connected with a BR player. I can be, you wil note, for additional functions. I also do not need a subscription to any service, and if my ISP is down, I can still watch movies.
A HDTV (obviously), a $150 player (soon $100), a discs, and bam! you could be in the middle of Alaska in a log cabin, and still able to watch high quality HD.

The all virtual will come eventually, one day, but seriously it is still a ways away for the vast majority of people.
Like all new formats Blu-Ray will take some time to progress (and comparing it to -the- most successful format in the history of video -DVD- is not necessarily a good thing), but going from around 5% of the overall revenue of physical medias in 2008 to an average of 10% or more in 2009 is certainly no niche anymore, and most probably already past Laserdisc market.
It will continue to progress with HDTVs in most homes, and with the falling prices on players and discs.

Uh, guys, same thing you did with Wolverine.

Monsters vs Aliens does qualify for a blockbuster, it was the big Dreamworks animated movie of the year/ summer...

We know you are all waiting for Star Trek, UP, Terminator 4, Transformers 2, Ice Age 3, Angel & Demons, Harry Potter 6 and Night at the Museum 2, but come on ! :)

(let's not forget Year One, Land of the Lost, Drag me To Hell which should also sell decently)

uh ... guys.
You have one of the summer blockbusters in your list, right there.
It's a little thing called X Men Origins: Wolverine.

Granted it didn't really score as high as many were expecting, but couting it as a "catalogue or TV series" is a bit harsh.

Also, by my count, Monsters vs Aliens, a pretty good big animation movie, comes long before another 5 weeks.
So ... It's not like the floodgates of Blockbusters have openened (like they will strting in October), but they are starting to trickle down.

The things you read sometimes...
"What price drop? The price didn't change, it's still starting at $299, same as before."

The PS3 has -never- been officially at $299.
The price have been from $599/$499 at launch to $399/$499 in 2007, and now $299/$399.

The PS3 already has plenty of great exclusives (MGS4, Killzone 2, WipEout HD, Flower, Uncharted, LBP...), but the biggest ones ever yet are just around the corner, which should make the appeal even larger (Uncharted 2, GT5, FF versus XIII, FF XIV, The Last Guardian, God of War 3, MAG and its 256 multiplayer).

For $299 you have a 120Gb HDD, Wifi, Blu Ray player, Free PSN (including tons of Web functionnality thanks to a Browser), rechargeable DS3.
Yes the 360 has the Arcade at $199, but the optionnal HDD alone more than makes up for the price difference. So much for the -1- attractive SKU of Xbox, when it entails that "as is" you cannot use the XBLA or several functions (HDD transfer, Video store, etc.)

The $299 price point will be the sweet spot, and believe me or not (specially if GT5 does release this end of year), the sales are going to be nothing short of huge.

I have Netflix and could stream it anytime on PC. I checked it and there's not that much available on stream that I'm interested in.
It could be a cool feature to have, just not waranting buying a 360.
The only thing it means is that if Blockbuster would ever form a partnership with Sony, I'd jump ship over to BB.
No gain for MS, loss for Netflix.

Until then, I'll keep my Blu Rays rolling in :)

CBHD is not Toshiba. They have sold licences to let the Chinese gov develop their own standard which is apparently not even compatible with HD DVD.
Just like CD-V & co before it, the CBHD will be plagued with pirated copies (as the BR format already is in China), and unlikely to have -any- sort of mipact anywhere outside China.