Random Gaming Thoughts

[Ziggy]

Yes I can see clearly, its like buy this console and get a free DVD player too. I wonder if Microsoft and Nintendo skipped intentionally on this or just didn't see it coming. The other question is, why did Sony decide to make it a DVD player too?! Maybe because the console chose DVD for their games so might as well make it a player too?

Nintendo and Microsoft would have had to license DVD technology from one of the company pools with a patent. Sony on the other hand was part of one of the company pools with a patent so it didn't cost them anything extra to do it.

Nintendo couldn't care less if their consoles could also playback DVDs or BDs, and they certainly would never pay fees to make it possible. Look at the Wii, it was perfectly able to play back DVD movies as evident by homebrew software. The only thing stopping (an unmodified) Wii from playing DVDs was Nintendo paying the DVD forum.

[isiolia]

Yes I can see clearly, its like buy this console and get a free DVD player too. I wonder if Microsoft and Nintendo skipped intentionally on this or just didn't see it coming. The other question is, why did Sony decide to make it a DVD player too?! Maybe because the console chose DVD for their games so might as well make it a player too?

MS didn't skip it, they simply required a hardware key to enable it, in form of the IR receiver sold with the DVD remote. Basically meant they could pass the licensing fee on to the users that wanted the functionality.

To be fair, early PS2 models only had very rudimentary playback out of the box. Sony's DVD remote kit, which similarly included an IR receiver, also included more feature-filled playback software that needed to be installed to a memory card. While Sony did eventually integrate an IR port and the better playback software, early PS2 buyers wanting to use the console as a DVD player would have really wanted to drop the extra money on the remote kit as well.

[marurun]

The PS2 was also not a very good DVD player, and some scenes in movies could really trip it up. There’s a scene in the Vampire Hunter D movie where the screen flashes white and the PS2 temporarily glitches out. Most of the sub-$400 players at that time tended to have occasional difficulties with some discs.

[Ziggy]

The PS2 was my first DVD player. I used it as a DVD player for a couple of years, but once they were sub $200 I picked up a dedicated DVD player as to not put extra wear and tear on my PS2 (even young Ziggy was concerned about this). I never had an issue with DVD movie playback on the PS2, and I never coughed up the money for the DVD remote. But I also didn't have very many DVDs during that time because they were still fairly expensive and being a minor I had limited funds.

[RCBH928]

Nintendo and Microsoft probably didn't care about DVD playback, but I am just thinking, if enabling this will make my console sell 100M+...well I will just enable it. Whatever pleases the masses, but I see Sony's advantage by not having to pay extra for the license. Isn't this against market competition rules?

These DVD player prices raises my question, I hate this with technology, but a DVD player used to cost like $500 now you can find them new for like $30. I mean its the same device isn't it!? My only guess is they try to squeeze the most they can out of people in the beginning, probably to offset the R&D cost but not building the unit itself. This goes same for processors. A new processor is expensive, and old processor is so cheap. Both are just laser engraved silicon. In fact, the old processor used to be so expensive.

[Anapan]

It has always been like that - new technology makes old technoogy obsolete and dictates the price. Sony has, since the PS2 was launched, been trying to make their consoles be an all-in-one entertainment center instead of only a game console. This apeals to many demographics, not just kids or hardcore gamers - the prime targets of Nintendo and Microsoft for the marketing of their devices(imo). I know a lot of families, relatives and friends that use Sony's consoles for all forms of entertainment - they have only the Playstation hooked up to the largest and newest TV and they use it for everything, tho mostly streaming video and playing discs rather than games. The smaller and older TVs are used for gaming and music.

[Ziggy]

Nintendo and Microsoft probably didn't care about DVD playback, but I am just thinking, if enabling this will make my console sell 100M+...well I will just enable it. Whatever pleases the masses, but I see Sony's advantage by not having to pay extra for the license. Isn't this against market competition rules?

Sony having the PS2 also be able to playback DVD movies was a "right place, right time" scenario. Since the price of DVD players kept dropping, by the time the Gamecube and Xbox came out you could get a stand alone player for much cheaper than a game console. And in Nintendo's case, they really only care to make their console focus on video games and not be a home media center like Sony wants. Again, the only thing that stopped the Wii from playing DVDs was Nintendo purchasing the licensing for it. But at that point they wouldn't be "pleasing the masses" because not that many people would use a console as a DVD player.

It worked to Sony's advantage once, but again it was just the perfect time for it. Look at the PS3, having it double as a BD player didn't help drive launch sales when it was $500 and $600! The PS2 being a DVD player didn't exactly drive sales, it just helped.

DVD player used to cost like $500 now you can find them new for like $30. I mean its the same device isn't it!? My only guess is they try to squeeze the most they can out of people in the beginning, probably to offset the R&D cost but not building the unit itself. This goes same for processors. A new processor is expensive, and old processor is so cheap. Both are just laser engraved silicon. In fact, the old processor used to be so expensive.

They actually use to cost more than $500. I get your point, but there's more to it then just artificially raising the price to make more profit. Usually when new tech hits, the manufacturing cost is high but lowers over time. Yes, a CPU now is made the it was 20 and 40 years ago on a very high overview of the process, but they are not the same. An Intel 8008 had 3,500 transistors, the Motorola 68000 had 68,000 transistors. The first Pentium 4 was released in the year 2000 and had something like 42 million transistors. Fast forward to today and an i7 CPU has BILLIONS of transistors. That's an astronomical increase. The same manufacturing technologies that made a CPU with a couple of thousand transistors cannot make a CPU with a couple of billion transistors. The manufacturing process changes, so the price again starts high and then lowers over time.

A DVD player from the year 2000 really isn't the same as one from 2020. I mean, they're approximately the same, but there's 20 years of price reduction and improvement to manufacture going on. And FWIW, you can still buy a really expensive BD player. Crutchfield has a high-end player for $400, 500 and $1000. Heck, CD players (older tech than DVD) on Crutchfield range from $300 to $4000. Granted, the only people buying a CD player in 2021 are niche enthusiasts, but still.

[noiseredux]

when the PS2 launched, I was 20 and in college, living in a small apartment with no cable TV. So the added DVD player capability of the PS2, coupled with the video rental place 10 mins away made it an up-sell for me at the time. It was basically, "I can buy a Dreamcast AND a DVD player, or I can buy a PS2." The latter made more sense at the time. (Though, I did end up eventually getting a Gamecube as well, and the PS2 turned into just my DVD player, haha.)

It's funny, years later I remember that when Netflix started doing streaming (OMG, the future!), our Wii was our main way to watch Netflix. Funny. We had to get a Netflix Wii disc to do so.

Ironically, now streaming apps are so prevalent on every device, I haven't used a console to stream media in years. People bemoan that the Switch doesn't have a Netflix app, and I always just forget that's even true because I feel like I have so many cheap devices that can stream Netflix and every other media app.

[Ziggy]

It's funny, years later I remember that when Netflix started doing streaming (OMG, the future!), our Wii was our main way to watch Netflix. Funny. We had to get a Netflix Wii disc to do so.

Yeah, IIRC even the PS3 had a disc for NetFlix at first. I still have mine somewhere.

[Anapan]

I've actully gifted most of my extended family various hand-me-down HD consoles and streaming devices just so they could watch Netflix in HD because they had already gotten rid of all of their SD displays and were still only using their Wii for Netflix through composite. Most said thanks but admitted they couldn't see much difference between 480i through composite and 1080p through HDMI except maybe brighter colors.