JamieG Analysis

I said this was coming, but am surprised to see it so soon.

PS3 has in the last month, dropped its pants. They have cut the bottom of the hardware costs bringing the price down dramatically. Here in Australia, the price was briefly below the Xbox360 price until they matched it. While at the same time, started to support DivX out of the box.

As I have previously mentioned in my BLOGS, I expected Sony to do this as to bolster sales. The PS3 simply does not have anything going for it apart from being the technically superior hardware solution. This means little when the games are lack lustre, and the online experience is near non-existence. Sony is in “Get some return from this investment back, at all costs.” The media deals passed them by. The game producers have gone with Xbox. The only way forward is to sell boxes, as many boxes as possible. And to do this, Sony will have to give the public what they really want. A box that can play any content in a world. Where DRM is no match for the internet and its ability by bypass blockages.

I do not have a PS3 currently, as I saw no reason to get one, however, now I do. And this is why. Out of all the Set Top Boxes or Game consoles available. The PS3 will now be the first main stream box to support DivX files streaming from your Computer. This is out of the box. It’s not a hacked Xbox1, hacked Apple TV, or special funky software to get DivX on to an Xbox360. This is supported from Sony OUT OF THE BOX.

This will never happen on a Xbox360. Microsoft’s big push for the future is downloading content, purchase or Rent, from XboxLIVE. It’s what they have been building up to for years. They will never allow you to easily play the plentiful pirated content found literally everywhere on the internet.

This makes the PS3, the box to get for anyone who downloads Movies on the Internet from Torrent sites.

As I have stated in the past, downloading of content is going to go ballistic and nothing will be able to stop it. As statistics out of Korea, who have 40mbit connections, recently indicated. 50% of a sample of 2,358 indicated they, on average, downloaded a movie per week. See this for more.

Korea is view as a window to the future of Internet use as it has generally one of the best connected countries in the world (90% household penetration).

The PS3 with DivX support, once it become generally known, is going to accelerate this trend to the general public, as, little or no technical ability is required to start moving this pirated content into the living room lean back experience. Allowing the end user to obtain the most convenient media experience possible. No commercials, and on their time, whenever they want it. No DRM, no restrictions. Who doesn’t want that?

And why not. It is well known that getting caught is near impossible. Around the world, a small number of legal cases have taken place. But in real terms, it makes flying on a plane, the safest form of travel possible (Well that’s what you keep hearing) horrendously dangerous compared to getting caught for downloading a movie.

Addition: It appears that the 360 HAS introduced the capability to play DivX.  I am getting access to both PS3 and XBOX360 over christmas and will review their implementations of how easy of not these new features are to use.