Okay, I know that Blu-ray hasn't proved to be a difference in gaming. Truth be told, it hasn't, or so we think. While it doesn't create noticeable differences in gaming, we have to remember the true purpose of blu-ray in the first place.
Blu-ray's intent is to fight piracy. Piracy is a major issue wherever the media is concerned. We already know this, though. Nevertheless, many companies of the movie industry have approved of and accepted blu-ray in movie releases, and I feel it's for this one reason: to defeat piracy.
Therefore, the next time you think blu-ray isn't needed, well to consumers, it isn't. However, the companies value it so much as a chance to sell their products. Though it hasn't been as profitable as DVDs quite yet, it has the potential to change the market for the better. If Blu-ray becomes widely accepted by consumers as well as the companies, then the solution to piracy may be discovered.
So why does movie piracy affect games? Well, games are released on disks that can be pirated as well. It may have been a risky investment, but Sony wanted to make sure their software was as profitable as possible, and limit the priacy to much less than that on the PS2 or PSP. Fortunately, Blu-ray has allowed them that. Unfortunately, however, blu-ray is tough to profit off of due to its high price tag, and it has high production costs barring the chance of further price decline.
The additional storage and the protection of the discs from damage are certainly reasons to have them, but they aren't the true purpose as to why it has become accepted well, unlike UMD and HD-DVD, which are failed formats. Although Blu-ray does work well with the cell technology, but I can't prove whether that benefits the format or not.
The companies are still widely aware of any issue of piracy, and are trying to fight it out once and for all. Blu-ray's encryption and security features allow them that fighting chance. If Blu-ray were to fail, however, then it would harm many companies' profits.
I have a feeling that one day, Blu-ray will become the default format. It's still a new format, and it has a lot of time to gain momentum. If it doesn't succeed, at least something similar has to outpace DVD to eliminate the piracy issue as much as possible.
That's why Blu-ray is needed. It's a risky investment, but if it wins out in the end, it could prove to be a solution to piracy in movie and game media. Music industry is another story.:P That would benefit the industries in profit, that is, if it proves profitable in the end.
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