Freedom Gate Co.
Banned
When you look at the many interviews and books, it was clear that Blu-ray only won the war due to the bribing of two big holdouts, one being FOX, and it convinced many to line-up behind that flag. But HD-DVD losing the war was not only devastating for media in general, but for video games as well.
HD-DVD was the superior format in almost every way and every way it wasn't could be solved with an update, including size. The only one thing that SOME argue is a pure advantage was the covering on Blu-ray discs, damage protection wise. But otherwise HD-DVD was faster, more relatable to DVD, cheaper, and was interactive compatible. The latter of which Blu-Ray had limited features for.
But here's why Blu-ray was detrimental to the video game industry specifically, especially on the consumer end:
1. Blu-Ray started video game installs. No longer was it as simple as reading from the disc, parts of your game, or all of your game, had to be installed to the hard drive more and more.
2. Blu-Ray is responsible for the fast and complete eradication of owning the video games you brought. Blu-Ray was great for DRM and other features that made it easier to use the DISC more as an authentication measure than a physical product. Which moved the industry to buying "licenses" instead of Consumers owning games. Once those few court cases settled things changed for the worst.
3. Blu-Ray discs were slow to drop in price as well as the technology running them. This kept the prices of consoles that use it, and the games, from dropping in price. Analysts show that games could have been $50 new and with quicker price drops due to the lower prices of HD-DVD in 2009.
4. Load times for games got worse instead of better. Especially since early Blu-Ray lasers were not very stable under extreme use.
5. Blu-Ray never really took off after the "war" ended. DVD handily smacked it around. Pushes for PC blu-ray drives cratered, Blu-Ray Laser for scanning and media transfer equipment also faltered. This aided not only point #3, but also caused game development prices to rise. Some people forget how much money some third-party devs like THQ, Square, etc spend on game development tools to take advantage of Blu-ray capabilities. The fact that it wasn't replacing DVD and many plans were scrapped that would increase demand, made it so that the prices of these tools also never really dropped. In fact over time it INCREASED.
6. 4K Blu-Ray offered very few fixes to many fixable problems. The only thing 4KBR was designed for was an increase in resolution and asset compatibility. The BR council did not think that their new revision should have included fixes, even though Panasonic had partnered with 4 other board members to discuss fixes. Nothing ever came of those meetings, no one even leaked what the final result was. But whatever it was, it led to 4K Blu-Ray basically having all the same issues.
7. Lastly, Blu-Ray has caused the rise in 4K asset creation for CG due to rising costs and the fact many movie and game studios distribute primarily on Blu-Ray. This mean that pretty much every industry employing CG in their products and uses BR as the main distribution platform are fighting off rising costs. This is why you're starting to see more outsourcing for cutscenes and other assets that would originally be done in house. Contractors however are asking for more money due to rising prices, and eventually everything is going to collapse into itself as we already have reached and passed the point of un-sustainability
Due to trying to make profit due to rising costs, and trying to keep contracts in check, most attempts to replace BR with another format has failed. I take it next gen will still be Blu-ray with more rising costs. In hindsight Blu-Ray was one of the biggest mistakes. But especially for video games, and how fast it changed things.
HD-DVD was the superior format in almost every way and every way it wasn't could be solved with an update, including size. The only one thing that SOME argue is a pure advantage was the covering on Blu-ray discs, damage protection wise. But otherwise HD-DVD was faster, more relatable to DVD, cheaper, and was interactive compatible. The latter of which Blu-Ray had limited features for.
But here's why Blu-ray was detrimental to the video game industry specifically, especially on the consumer end:
1. Blu-Ray started video game installs. No longer was it as simple as reading from the disc, parts of your game, or all of your game, had to be installed to the hard drive more and more.
2. Blu-Ray is responsible for the fast and complete eradication of owning the video games you brought. Blu-Ray was great for DRM and other features that made it easier to use the DISC more as an authentication measure than a physical product. Which moved the industry to buying "licenses" instead of Consumers owning games. Once those few court cases settled things changed for the worst.
3. Blu-Ray discs were slow to drop in price as well as the technology running them. This kept the prices of consoles that use it, and the games, from dropping in price. Analysts show that games could have been $50 new and with quicker price drops due to the lower prices of HD-DVD in 2009.
4. Load times for games got worse instead of better. Especially since early Blu-Ray lasers were not very stable under extreme use.
5. Blu-Ray never really took off after the "war" ended. DVD handily smacked it around. Pushes for PC blu-ray drives cratered, Blu-Ray Laser for scanning and media transfer equipment also faltered. This aided not only point #3, but also caused game development prices to rise. Some people forget how much money some third-party devs like THQ, Square, etc spend on game development tools to take advantage of Blu-ray capabilities. The fact that it wasn't replacing DVD and many plans were scrapped that would increase demand, made it so that the prices of these tools also never really dropped. In fact over time it INCREASED.
6. 4K Blu-Ray offered very few fixes to many fixable problems. The only thing 4KBR was designed for was an increase in resolution and asset compatibility. The BR council did not think that their new revision should have included fixes, even though Panasonic had partnered with 4 other board members to discuss fixes. Nothing ever came of those meetings, no one even leaked what the final result was. But whatever it was, it led to 4K Blu-Ray basically having all the same issues.
7. Lastly, Blu-Ray has caused the rise in 4K asset creation for CG due to rising costs and the fact many movie and game studios distribute primarily on Blu-Ray. This mean that pretty much every industry employing CG in their products and uses BR as the main distribution platform are fighting off rising costs. This is why you're starting to see more outsourcing for cutscenes and other assets that would originally be done in house. Contractors however are asking for more money due to rising prices, and eventually everything is going to collapse into itself as we already have reached and passed the point of un-sustainability
Due to trying to make profit due to rising costs, and trying to keep contracts in check, most attempts to replace BR with another format has failed. I take it next gen will still be Blu-ray with more rising costs. In hindsight Blu-Ray was one of the biggest mistakes. But especially for video games, and how fast it changed things.
