Instead of WalMart doing some sort of market tracking, or Sony creating hype or a marketing opportunity for the BD format, I have another theory on this deal...
Point 1: I actually saw a reference to the "secret" sale on Wednesday night or Thursday night's 10:00 news *ON TV* - including the 80GB PS3/10 BD disk deal. The "secret" sale was also on the web site. I don't think there was much secret about it. Not heavily promoted perhaps, but certainly not secret by any real definition.
Point 2: Somebody made reference to Sony reimbursing WalMart for the 10 BD disks a page or two back, right? If Sony is paying the tab, then it's them looking for ROI, not WalMart.
Point 3: It's no secret that Sony hasn't been selling the PS3 in quite the numbers they had hoped for. Game sales are even worse, since many of the PS3's are only getting movies played on them - not games. In short, they really want to sell PS3's.
Point 4: Sony really needs BD to kick some HD-DVD ass. It hasn't been looking nearly as lop-sided as it was for awhile. Certainly, any additional sales are a good thing.
Point 5: There are over 3,000 WalMart stores in the US. If only half those stores had two takers of the "secret" PS3/10 free BD deal, that would equal "sales" of 30,000 BluRay disks in the month of November alone. What it would cast them... maybe half a million bucks for that many disks? That's barely one big national prime-time ad-buy. How will those Sales numbers look for Sony? Answer: Great.
For awhile, BD was outselling HD-DVD 2 to 1. For the last few months, not so much. I think Sony just wants strong sales, and they're willing to pony up some cash to do it. So, I think this is all about sales numbers and market share. They're "buying" the sales numbers, but they're getting the sales numbers, and they're getting players in people's hands (which results in additional sales). They're also no doubt swaying people who don't want to go format neutral to pick the BD cam instead of the HD-DVD camp.
I've been HD-DVD-only for over a year and was waiting for a $250 BD player that I liked. The PS3 at $400-500 was just more than I wanted to spend. Considering the free movies and net cost for the player, this deal got BD into the ballpark for me (and into my house). I'll now be buying BD disks - which is exactly what Sony wants.
SC
Point 1: I actually saw a reference to the "secret" sale on Wednesday night or Thursday night's 10:00 news *ON TV* - including the 80GB PS3/10 BD disk deal. The "secret" sale was also on the web site. I don't think there was much secret about it. Not heavily promoted perhaps, but certainly not secret by any real definition.
Point 2: Somebody made reference to Sony reimbursing WalMart for the 10 BD disks a page or two back, right? If Sony is paying the tab, then it's them looking for ROI, not WalMart.
Point 3: It's no secret that Sony hasn't been selling the PS3 in quite the numbers they had hoped for. Game sales are even worse, since many of the PS3's are only getting movies played on them - not games. In short, they really want to sell PS3's.
Point 4: Sony really needs BD to kick some HD-DVD ass. It hasn't been looking nearly as lop-sided as it was for awhile. Certainly, any additional sales are a good thing.
Point 5: There are over 3,000 WalMart stores in the US. If only half those stores had two takers of the "secret" PS3/10 free BD deal, that would equal "sales" of 30,000 BluRay disks in the month of November alone. What it would cast them... maybe half a million bucks for that many disks? That's barely one big national prime-time ad-buy. How will those Sales numbers look for Sony? Answer: Great.
For awhile, BD was outselling HD-DVD 2 to 1. For the last few months, not so much. I think Sony just wants strong sales, and they're willing to pony up some cash to do it. So, I think this is all about sales numbers and market share. They're "buying" the sales numbers, but they're getting the sales numbers, and they're getting players in people's hands (which results in additional sales). They're also no doubt swaying people who don't want to go format neutral to pick the BD cam instead of the HD-DVD camp.
I've been HD-DVD-only for over a year and was waiting for a $250 BD player that I liked. The PS3 at $400-500 was just more than I wanted to spend. Considering the free movies and net cost for the player, this deal got BD into the ballpark for me (and into my house). I'll now be buying BD disks - which is exactly what Sony wants.
SC
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but win the fight.
