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Message: <blockquote data-quote="John Crichton" data-source="post: 3182041" data-attributes="member: 4779">** No, this isn't a thread about people getting beat up and/or shot while waiting in line for a PS3.  **After much internal back and forth I decided to skip the lines and hold off on the PS3.  The hassle and money were just too much for a system with no must-have games (just like the 360 & PS2 launches).  I really wanted the thing more for the Blu-Ray player than anything else.  So what did I do?  I picked up the HD-DVD drive for my 360.  After reading that it came packed in with King Kong and a remote (not a big deal, but still cool) I was on board for $200.  There are some drawbacks that I won't get into to that purchase but I am happy with it overall.Why?  Cuz the video quality is excellent.  Yeah, I have a display that isn't huge but the 32" 16:9 Sony CRT still shows the upgrade from DVD.  I actually haven't seen King Kong yet but I do own the SE DVD.  After comparing the picture and sound from the upscalled HMDI version of the DVD to the HD-DVD I liked what I saw.  In the brighter scenes, you could really see the detail of people's faces and clothes.  There were no smudges in the video or small pixelations to be found.  Don't get me wrong, the upscaled DVD still looks good but not as good as the HD-DVD version.  Had it not looked better I would have instantly returned the machine.  The menus are also cooler.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />So I instantly start looking around online for HD-DVD releases to get my hands on and check the future releases lists as the holiday season is sure to have a bunch of movies from the summer and late last year coming out.  Well, that was true but it appears that Blu-Ray has more titles that appeal to me coming out.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f641.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":(" title="Frown    :("  data-smilie="3"data-shortname=":(" />  That is a real let-down and makes me actually regret not getting a PS3 (for the Blu-Ray) a bit just so I don't have to worry about the format war.  And no, I'm not willing to drop $1000 on a stand alone player that is just good for movies and no games.HD-DVD release date list - <a href="http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/releasedates.html" target="_blank">http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/releasedates.html</a>HD-DVD's already available - <a href="http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/releasedates_historical.html" target="_blank">http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/releasedates_historical.html</a>Blu-Ray release list - <a href="http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/releasedates.html" target="_blank">http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/releasedates.html</a>Blu-Ray discs already available - <a href="http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/releasedates_historical.html" target="_blank">http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/releasedates_historical.html</a>Click around to see what I mean but it's not a huge deal as tastes vary.  While HD-DVD has the current head start and some excellent titles available I can't help but feel that Blu-Ray [BR] is coming on really strong based just on selection.  As PS3's become more available (mid-2007, I figure) folks will already have a built-in reason to skew towards BR.  I don't have a problem with that as I'll eventually be able to own both formats, but it is a little annoying at present.Moving on, the Wii hits today (it's Sunday after all) and that's just grand.  The new Zelda is getting rave reviews and the new controller by all accounts works excellently with the game.    That is exciting but I need to play it first before plunking down the $$ for a new console when I can get the game on a system I've owned for years.  The upgraded graphics and widescreen are nice, too and could sway me.  All that aside, I can't help but think that this is the same song all over again with Nintendo.  Gamers will get their Zelda, Mario, Metroid and a few other exclusive franchises on the Wii while the rest won't be worth it compared to the PS3/360 offerings.  I guess it's worth it for Nintendo to pump out a new console every 5 years just so they can have control over the media and controller design but I'm way past sick of the skimpy offerings by comparison.  But, they should absolutely continue to produce excellent handheld products.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />I guess I'm just wishing that I didn't have to but a new console just to play ~12 games over a 5 year span.I want to continue and talk about micro-transactions, interconnectivity and the like for all 3 new consoles but I have little to no exposure to 2 of the 3 systems so that will have to wait.  Anyone else thinking about all this "next-gen" stuff and getting just a little agita?</blockquote>

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