DC R1D3R said:
I just can't see a PS3 retailing at $199 for a very long time to come. Can you?
I would think that if the 360 (20gig/60gig) drops to $199, Sony would have to respond accordingly. You can see that, right? If they didn't, they'd be toast.
As for blu-ray and reality; the reality is that when the systems are at/around the $199 pricepoint, having blu-ray included will probably be a major boon for casuals. Not only will you be able to download/rent through PSN, but you'll also have disc-based HD format compatibilty as well for users without a decent net connection. Effectively a win-win. Plus it plays pretty much all of the same games and has free online (which, if they know about it, casuals will appreciate).
It's important to note that I'm talking about casuals who don't have a preference/affliation with either MS or Sony... That is to say, if someone wants to play Gears 2 or Resistance 2 specifically, they'll go out of their way to get a 360/PS3 and nothing will change that... That said, I think that type of person has already bought their HD console(s), so they aren't included in the sub-$200 casual category I'm referring to (the ones that make up at least half of the 120mil PS2's sold.)
Now if netflix is worldwide or the pricing is amazing ($10/mth, unlimited streaming movies/shows), than that's great and will benefit the 360 massively... will it sell better
to casuals than a physical format like BD? I have no clue and I don't think anyone can answer that with any degree of certainty.
(side note: can't you already stream netflix movies through PS3's webbrowser?)
@Azelover: The casual gamer you've described is the one I'm talking about and I don't disagree with you, but that's why I think peripheral capabilities (like Blu-Ray or Netflix, etc.) will help sell the "next-gen" systems to those casuals who don't really notice the improvement of HD gaming's graphics. That's also why it's the sub-$200 that counts... even if it's a none-noticable graphics upgrade for $200, it'll be an always online, blu-ray player with digital distribution functionality, that also plays Madden in HD. Eventually people will make the leap (unless they're already buying Wiis, which is quite possible.)