Will the PlayStation 3 be the key to success for Blu-ray? Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons (right) doesn't believe that to be the case. He's clearly disappointed that the format war between HD DVD and Blu-ray is continuing as well.


One of the biggest features of the PlayStation 3, and indeed one of the reasons why it's been in short supply (blue laser diode shortage) and is so expensive, is its Blu-ray drive. With Blu-ray in the PS3 Sony is betting heavily on the notion that this proprietary disc format will beat out HD DVD as the next-gen format to replace today's DVDs.


Much like Sony packed in a UMD of Spider-Man 2 with the initial run of PlayStation Portables to help push that format (which hasn't exactly been a huge success), the company is including a Blu-ray copy of Taladega Nights - The Ballad Ricky Bobby with the PS3.


With that said, however, according to reports in Reuters and the AP, Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons doesn't believe the PS3 will have the same effect on the Blu-ray format as the PS2 did on DVD. Speaking at the Credit Suisse media and telecom conference in New York, he said referring to Blu-ray on PS3, "Do I think that the game console platform is really going to drive the conversion? I don't think so. People get those things to play games, not watch movies."


Parsons also called the format war "unfortunate," noting that it's causing confusion among consumers and that it wouldn't make sense for a major studio to only back one format at this time—Warner Bros. has been essentially neutral, putting its movies on both HD DVD and Blu-ray thus far.


Of course, Time Warner may have bigger plans for its movie business if the digital download revolution takes off as many suspect it will. "We're looking at ways of working with (movie) studios to have some sort of subscription format that's electronically distributed through the existing windows," Parsons explained.


Time Warner's AOL purchased GameDaily back in August. And Time Warner is clearly still on the acquisition hunt. Parsons noted that there aren't many limitations, either. "Almost anything you could think of other than the really big, established portals is within striking distance for us," he said.




by James Brightman