PS3 to drive out with Blu-ray Talladega
UPDATE: Sony will put movie disc in first 500,000 consoles
By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 10/20/2006
OCT. 20 | Sony Computer Entertainment is hoping to rev up sales for PlayStation 3 by bundling the Blu-ray Disc edition of NASCAR spoof Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby with the console.
During a PS3 press event Thursday, Sony officials said the first 500,000 PS3 units will include Talladega discs. The PS3 bows in the U.S. on Nov. 17.
To not compete with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment’s bow a month later of Talladega on standard-definition DVD and Blu-ray, the PS3 version will not contain any bonus features. Additionally, the PS3 Talladega will be the film’s theatrical version only.
A fully loaded, unrated Blu-ray edition of Talladega will be available on Dec. 12.
Blu-ray backers tout to PS3’s ability to play Blu-ray discs as an advantage the high-definition format has over competing HD
DVD. But the restricted launch quanties of PS3 have tempered some of the initital expectations of its consumer impact.
Sony hopes adding summer blockbuster Talledega, which grossed about $150 million in the U.S., will provide some needed excitement for both PS3 and Blu-ray.
“The main thrust of the promotion is to make sure we have the message embedded in the first wave of consumers who purchase PS3 that this is not just a gaming device--that it’s movie playback too,” Sony home entertainment president David Bishop said.
Bishop added that retailers are likely to participate in “soft bundling” with PS3, offering coupons for further purchased of Blu-ray titles.
“That will drive consumers back into stores to buy more Blu-ray" titles, Bishop said.
Sony’s Talladega move mimicks the company’s decision to pack early shipments of PlayStation Portable with the UMD edition of Spider-Man 2.
