Ben-DutkaMany will claim that Sony used the PlayStation 3 as a sort of Trojan Horse for Blu-Ray but these days, after Blu-Ray has already secured the HD format victory, the situation may have actually reversed.
As reported by VG247 , SCEA hardware marketing boss John Koller said that thanks to the rising Blu-Ray market and the consumer's connected interest to the PS3, hardware sales should benefit. Said Koller: "We are looking at a general move by the consumer to understanding the complete value of the PS3, inclusive of Blu-Ray is really gaining a lot of traction for us." He said Sony expects sales of the next-gen console to rise 15% this year in comparison to fiscal 2008, and he also added that the PSP's Remote Play feature will help boost handheld sales as well. The PS3 will also get help from plenty of great software, produced by both first- and third-party developers, and Koller says the "lineup's very strong." We won't argue with that, nor will we argue with the idea that Blu-Ray should have a positive impact on PS3 sales. The only thing stopping it from having a more marked impact is the fact that the system remains somewhat expensive, and standalone BD players have dropped a great deal over the past few years.
Anyway, there's no doubt that Blu-Ray is a driving force for the PS3 and as it begins to eat into the DVD market a little more, and more people desire high-definition in their media viewing, it should translate to a continual rising of hardware sales.
