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Blu-ray: Messiah of the PS3? |
Listed in: PS3 Tags: Dreamcast, eBay, gaming accessories, Microsoft, PS2, Sony
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Some have argued that what really kept the PS2 afloat (aside from the hype) during the first few months of its release - a time when the console was plagued by production shortages and eBay overpricing - was that the PS2 was a decent and affordable DVD player. There were even reports that at the time, Akihabara was filled with PS2s that are displaying DVD movies. Some have argued that this was surprising since they claim that Akihabara - the Japanese tech town - used to be solely videogame-centric.
Some Dreamcast fans even go as far as to say that if the Dreamcast, the console that came out a year early, only had DVD support instead if the GD-Rom, then maybe (we think that's a big maybe) the Dreamcast would've lasted a few months past March 2001.
Flash-forward to 2007.
The PS3 is facing heavy criticism. Pundits are screaming lower than expected sales, shipping problems, high prices, bad PR, and an underwhelming launch list.
Defenders of the console are screaming that the big black console is built and engineered for a bright tomorrow, that prices will go down in time, that the high price is an investment worth making, and that just like the PS2, the games will come.
Defenders of Sony's big black console are also saying that the PS3 has Blu-ray. They're saying that Blu-ray is the future, and that it will help support the PS3 until the promised franchises and the awaited titles arrive. The sentiment is that Blu-ray will help the PS3 much the same way DVD helped the PS2.
Blu-ray to the rescue?
Well, the situation now isn't exactly similar to the situation right after the Y2K bug. The Blu-ray's got competition. Microsoft is pushing the HD-DVD format for their console that came out a year early, the Xbox 360. Some High-def connoisseurs are saying that the quality of Blu-ray HD movies isn't all that good compared to HD-DVD. The HD-DVD camp is even saying that the contrast and the colors and the detail is better on HD-DVD.
If in the next few months, the Blu-ray format does become the dominant format for HD movies, will that help convince folks that their US$ 600 purchase is justified? After all, most Blu-ray players now are closer to US$ 900, thus making US$ 600 a decent price for a Blu-ray player that's also a game system. Will that somehow give people reason to purchase PS3s while they wait for a second coming of that legendary 2001 Holiday game list? Sony zealots are hopeful.
So how's the battlefield?
A quick look at the list of upcoming HD-DVD and Blu-ray releases seem to indicate that Blu-ray has a big lead when it comes to the number of movies that are going to be available on its platform.
| Upcoming HD-DVD releases | Upcoming Blu-Ray releases |
| February 06, 2007 Failure to Launch (Paramount) Hollywoodland (Universal) February 13, 2007 The Departed (Warner) February 20, 2007 Babel (Paramount) February 27, 2007 Bullitt (Warner) The Getaway (1972) (Warner) Nine Inch Nails Live: Beside You in Time (Interscope) March 27, 2007 Happy Feet (Warner) National Geographic: Relentless Enemies (Warner) April 10, 2007 Payback: Straight Up - The Director's Cut (Paramount) April 24, 2007 Planet Earth: The Complete Collection (BBC) | February 06, 2007 American Psycho (Lionsgate) Failure to Launch (Paramount) First Blood (Lionsgate) Reservoir Dogs (Lionsgate) Running With Scissors (Sony) The Tailor of Panama (Sony) February 13, 2007 Broken Arrow (Fox) Chain Reaction (Fox) The Departed (Warner) Entrapment (Fox) Ladder 49 (Buena Vista) Marie Antoinette (Sony) The Marine (Fox) Phone Booth (Fox) Planet of the Apes (Fox) Reign of Fire (Buena Vista) The Sentinel (Fox) The Usual Suspects (Fox) February 20, 2007 Babel (Paramount) The Prestige (Buena Vista) Vertical Limit (Sony) February 27, 2007 Bullitt (Warner) The Getaway (1972) (Warner) Nine Inch Nails Live: Beside You in Time (Interscope) Stranger Than Fiction (Sony) March 13, 2007 Casino Royale (Sony) Commando (Fox) Dances with Wolves (MGM) Dodgeball (Fox) Hoosiers (MGM) Ice Age (Fox) Layer Cake (Sony) Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Fox) The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) (MGM) March 20, 2007 Big Fish (Sony) Chicken Little (Buena Vista) Finding Neverland (Buena Vista) March 27, 2007 Happy Feet (Warner) National Geographic: Relentless Enemies (Warner) April 03, 2007 Dude, Where's My Car? (MGM) The Fly (1986) (Fox) G.I. Jane (Buena Vista) Hannibal (MGM) King Arthur Director's Cut (Buena Vista) Me, Myself & Irene (Fox) The Silence of the Lambs (MGM) Tristan & Isolde (Fox) April 10, 2007 Payback: Straight Up - The Director's Cut (Paramount) April 17, 2007 Turistas (Fox) April 24, 2007 Planet Earth: The Complete Collection (BBC) June 08, 2007 Con Air (Buena Vista) Crimson Tide (Buena Vista) The Rock (Buena Vista) |
Of course, the titles listed above are only for the confirmed movie releases. Moreover, released titles don't really indicate if the format is selling well or not. So how are format sales shaping up?
Well, it seems that recently, there's a lot of good news for Blu-ray folks. There have been reports that Blu-ray discs are outselling HD-DVDs by over 2:1. In fact, the Nielsen VideoScan results for the week ending January 7 reveal that for every 47.14 HD DVD movies sold, 100 Blu-Ray movies are sold. And there's a lot of speculation that the gap will get bigger.
Fox has even said in a press release that their internal research (we're a bit iffy about this since it's "internal") indicates that the growing sales gap would see Blu-ray outselling HD DVD by a 3.5-to-1 ratio by the end of March this year.
Speaking of March, does it seem a bit too convenient that the PS3 will be launched in Europe this March, and that Sony's "Spiderman 3" movie will be released soon after? Is this starting to sound like a PS3 fanboy's wet dream?
Wait, we might be getting ahead of ourselves.
Despite us pointing out these things, we have to be fair and consider that Blu-ray may still end up a non-factor when it comes to the console war. That, and we still have to consider the opposition.
The people behind HD-DVD does point out that because HD-DVD is an option for Xbox 360 users, those on the HD-DVD side will have a higher "attachment" rate. They said this in a CES press release:
With the knowledge that every Xbox 360 HD DVD player sold is purchased by someone who wants to watch high definition movies, studios supporting HD DVD see significant value in the player, as a great way to bring "The Look and Sound of Perfect" to gamers while helping ensure strong movie attach rates for each and every player sold.
There's also Microsoft's planned IPTV, and Bill Gate's drive to move content away from discs and have users just download the movies that they want. Here's what Bill had to say during an interview:
For us it's not the physical format. Understand that this is the last physical format there will ever be. Everything's going to be streamed directly or on a hard disk. So, in this way, it's even unclear how much this one counts.
Even if Bill himself isn't unsure about how much "this one counts," Xbox 360 HD DVD player sales still look pretty good.
It's still up to Sony.
Sony's big black box has been facing "hate" since even way before it was launched. You'd think that it'll all lighten up after launch but no, the PS3 is facing a lot of criticisms right now. The latest EGM cover even shows a tomato-splattered PS3.
Despite things looking good for the Blu-ray format, it still doesn't automatically translate to a brighter future for the PS3. Not that we'd like to decry the PS3, we just want to see Sony do things right. We have a PS3 here in the office ourselves, and we, like all of you PS3 fans out there, don't want to end up with a dead console.
As much as we'd like to be happy about how things look promising for Blu-ray, Sony still has to exert a lot of effort to make Blu-ray matter for their PS3.
Sony has to make good on their promise that games for the PS3 will come. Sony has to work on that PlayStation Network of theirs. Sony still has to communicate to users that US$ 600 equates to a decent Blu-ray player. Sony has to communicate that Blu-ray movies are starting to sell and are starting to proliferate. Sony just basically needs to communicate.
Given their recent PR attempts involving bad rap and their PSP, this blogger is worried.
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$500 plus a pretty good BR player is a good deal. And with HDTV sales picking up (and Sony HDTVs at that) the console war is far from over.
MS better start looking over their shoulder.
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The PS3 will definitely help Blu-Ray, but as was with seen with UMD, gamers lose interest in movies fairly quickly wears off and the focus moves back to spending money on more important things, like games.
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* Beerfest (Warner)
* Half Baked (Universal)
* The Wicker Man (2006) (Warner)
February 06, 2007
* Failure to Launch (Paramount)
* Hollywoodland (Universal)
February 13, 2007
* The Departed (Warner)
February 20, 2007
* Babel (Paramount)
February 27, 2007
* Bullitt (Warner)
* Digital Video Essentials (DVD International)
* The Getaway (1972) (Warner)
* Nine Inch Nails Live: Beside You in Time (Interscope)
March 06, 2007
* The Good Shepherd (Universal)
March 27, 2007
* Happy Feet (Warner)
* March of the Penguins (Warner)
* National Geographic: Relentless Enemies (Warner)
* School for Scoundrels (Genius)
April 10, 2007
* Payback: Straight Up - The Director's Cut (Paramount)
April 17, 2007
* The Game (Universal)
* The Jerk (Universal)
April 24, 2007
* Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Universal)
* The Nutty Professor (1996) (Universal)
* Planet Earth: The Complete Collection (BBC)
Release Dates Postponed
The following titles were originally given release dates but have since been postponed with no new dates announced. Watch this space for the latest street date updates as soon as they are made official.
* Alexander Revisited: The Final Cut (Warner)
* Galaxina (BCI)
* Golgo 13 (BCI)
* That's the Way of the World (BCI)
Release Dates Pending
The following titles are planned for release in the HD DVD format (as indicated by press release or previous public statements made by the distributor), but release dates have not been announced:
* 2001: A Space Odyssey (Warner)
* The 40 Year-Old Virgin (Universal)
* Above the Law (Warner)
* American PIe (Universal)
* American Pie (Unrated) (Universal)
* American Pie Presents: A Naked Mile (Universal)
* Angels in America (HBO)
* Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (New Line)
* The Aviator (Universal)
* Awake (Weinstein)
* Band of Brothers (HBO)
* Battlestar Galactica: The Complete First Season (Universal)
* Bikini Destinations (Magnolia)
* The Black Dahlia (Universal)
* Blade (New Line)
* Blade Runner (Warner)
* Blood Diamond (Warner)
* The Blues Brothers (Universal)
* The Bourne Identity (Universal)
* Braveheart (Paramount)
* Breaking and Entering (Weinstein)
* Bubble (Magnolia)
* Catwoman (Warner)
* Children of Men (Universal)
* A Clockwork Orange (Warner)
* Coach Carter (Paramount)
* Conan the Barbarian (Universal)
* Contact (Warner)
* Dante's Peak (Universal)
* Dark City (New Line)
* Dawn of the Dead (2003) (Universal)
* Deadwood: Season One (HBO)
* Decameron (Weinstein)
* The Dirty Harry Collection (Warner)
* Elizabethtown (Warner)
* Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (Magnolia)
* Eraser (Warner)
* Executive Decision (Warner)
* Eyes Wide Shut (Warner)
* Final Destination (New Line)
* Flags of Our Fathers (Paramount)
* Forrest Gump (Paramount)
* Friday (New Line)
* Friends: Season One (Warner)
* From the Earth to the Moon (HBO)
* Ghost (Paramount)
* Gothika (Warner)
* Grease (Paramount)
* The Green Mile (Warner)
* Grind House (Weinstein)
* Hard to Kill (Warner)
* Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Warner)
* Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Warner)
* Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Warner)
* Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Warner)
* HDScape: Antarctica Dreaming (DVD International)
* HDScape: Fireplace - Visions of Tranquility (DVD International)
* HDScape: HD DVD Sampler (DVD International)
* HDScape: HDWindow - Hawaii (DVD International)
* HDScape: HDWindow - The Great Southwest (DVD International)
* HDScape: Serenity - Southern Seas (DVD International)
* HDScape: Stargaze II (DVD International)
* HDScape: Visions of the Sea (DVD In
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* Idlewind (Universal)
* Inside Man (Universal)
* Killshot (Weinstein)
* Last Legion (Weinstein)
* The Lemon Drop Kid (Universal)
* The Libertine (Weinstein)
* The Maltese Falcon (Warner)
* The Mask (New Line)
* The Matrix Revolutions (Warner)
* The Matrix Reloaded (Warner)
* The Matrix (Warner)
* Maverick (Warner)
* Mrs. Henderson Presents (Weinstein)
* The Music Man (Warner)
* Mystic River (Warner)
* Next of Kin (Warner)
* North by Northwest (Warner)
* Ocean's Eleven (Warner)
* Ocean's Twelve (Warner)
* Passenger 57 (Warner)
* The Player (New Line)
* Pride + Prejudic3 (Universal)
* Psycho (1960) (Universal)
* Red Planet (Warner)
* The Return (Universal)
* Rush Hour (New Line)
* Save the Last Dance (Paramount)
* Scarface (1983) (Universal)
* School for Scoundrels (Weinstein)
* School of Rock (Paramount)
* Scoop (Universal)
* Se7en (Universal)
* Shaun of the Dead (Universal)
* The Shining (1980) (Warner)
* Shuttle Discovery's Historic Mission (Magnolia)
* Sin City 2 (Weinstein)
* Smokin' Aces (Universal)
* Soldier (Weinstein)
* Son of Paleface (Paramount)
* Spawn (New Line)
* Spongebob Squarepants: The Movie (Paramount)
* Star Trek: First Contact (Paramount)
* Star Trek: The Original Series (Paramount)
* TransAmerica (Weinstein)
* Twister (Weinstein)
* U.S. Marshals (Warner)
* The Ultimate Star Trek Collection (Paramount)
* Vanilla Sky (Paramount)
* Vengeance of the Zombies (BCI)
* The War Within (Magnolia)
* We Are Marshall (Warner)
* Wild Wild West (Warner)
* Young Hannibal (Weinstein)
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I was going to buy a Xbox 360, but Microsoft made the HD-DVD an add-on. The games is always gonna be on a dvd format. The HD-DVD is movies only ,and no HD-DVD games? Hell No! Now what's with the Xbox 360's hard drive? Ninety dollars for a 20 gigs HDD, so how much for 100-200 gigs upgrade? Why is it sooo expensive?! Good thing there is a cheaper way to upgrade the HDD by using an adapter, but then you void your warranty. Let's just say Blu-ray wins...are you guys gonna buy a Blu-ray add-on, too? Microsoft charges 200-400 dollars for their new Windows Vista and when you call the customer service you get the pleasure of talking to people from India? Hey! I thought Microsoft came from USA, then why these fools taking jobs away from the american public? ***** Bill Gate!
Let's go to the Wii...IT'S A TOY!!! They have wires on the controller that connects to make a nun-chuck?. There is another stupid wire that is the IR that goes on top of you TV. The IR is on the outside? Yuk! No HD games? I would love to see Zelda on HD. I'll wait for the next Nintendo console. Damn old school farts!
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Comparison to UMD is pointless, because UMD didnt deliver better quality and was definitely not meant to be in the living room. The target audience was totally different.
A list of movies that might come in the future to the HD-DVD is pointless as there certainly is a similar one for blu-ray movies. They also have a lot of movies listed. I know Duke Nukem Forever is coming, but when?
Having 7 out of 8 studios behind you makes your selection of movies much much larger and that is the difference of those released movies lists of HD-DVD and blu-ray.
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I bought up UMD as an example of gamers supporting a movie format. It won't work, Blu-Ray needs to appeal to non gamers as well.
Yes Blu-Ray currently has support for 7 out 8 major studios but not exclusively.
I think the player that first hits an affordable price point for the regular joe will probably win. HD DVD players are cheap now and cheap to produce, but with Blu-Ray in mass production because of the PS3 it's difficult to tell which player will get there first.
I know one thing though ... Blu-Ray is not the messiah of the PS3. People bought the PS2 because it was a gaming machine.
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http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/releasedates.html
http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/releasedates.html
HD isn't dead, but BR is growing and, right now, have surpasses HD sales.
If current projections hold, and studios keep a steady flux of new releases,BR will have surpassed Total discs sales(counting 2006 sales) in mid february.
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God, You're such a moron.
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im sticking with dvd. Yes the BR and HDDVD is clear, but who the hell needs to see all of that detail? i dunno bout you guys, but dvd is quite enough for me for a while. AND I AM NOT A CHEAP BASTARD BECAUSE I OWN A PS3 AND A WII, IM JUST SAYING THAT I DIDNT BUY A PS# BECASUE OF BLURAY BECAUSE I DONT SUPPORT ANY OF IT!!!!!!!!!!!!
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And most important of all, the vast majority of the public *do not care* about picture quality - they think that SD looks OK, even when adjusted as badly as most peoples TVs are..
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HDTV is great IF you want to play games or watch expensive films in more detail BUT there is one HUGE tradeoff and that being normal Terrestrial, Freeview and satellite programs look TERRIBLE on these TVs the picture is blocky and the whites are either to high or to low and the closer you get the worst it looks,this will not change for years at least not untill HD is broadcast as the standard.
So what you really have in effect is a large overpriced PC type monitor that shows HD films and games and is also capable of showing normal TV BADLY.
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http://ps3.qj.net/Bethesda-PS3-technical-limitations/pg/49/aid/81701
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$500 for any movie player is not a good deal to me. Besides if you have an XBOX 360 it's only $200 more and you get a real game console with the best games and online. HD-DVD has plenty support (including porn), you just don't see new releases announced 8 months in advance. $ony promotes their products with lies, hype, and exxagerations. It's just sad that many consumers are so stupid it seems to work to some extent.
Sony needs to look over their shoulder, because well they're losing horribly. A PS3 fan will lie, exxagerate, use others' names in any desperate attempt to prevent the inevitable: PS3 will have no
None of these announced movies are even any good. More reason to wait.
I finally registered to prevent others from acting like their work for $ony's hype machine is from an XBOX fan. From now on I will be Mister Common Sense since a scumbag already registered my name.
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Just because you're used to PS2 and $ony has you brainwashed into always supporting their company, the graphics are truly pathetic compared to the XBOX 360.
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Like everything in porn, they oversize things :)
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If you say so. But I played Fight Night 3 and one of the Basketball games on my 46" Samsung 1080p LCD on both PS3 and Xbox 360 and there was no question who was better. It was PS3 hands down. Better refresh rate, better blacks, better contrast. That doesn't make 360 a bad system. In fact, they both do many things well. But 360 has a year's headstart. In addition, they also have a very lucrative and monopoly operating system division, that allows their game hardware division to run in the red so they can undercut the price of their competition. If you think that the xbox 360 actually costs less to make than PS3, you need to do your homework
"The PS3 hasn't delivered anything but lies."
(rolls eyes) You haters are all alike. Grow up. Don't buy one then. You'd think that with all the great games and graphics at a low price you boast about you wouldn't have time to waste on the opposing systems forums telling people how bad it is. I know I won't once Oblivion, Saint's Row, and Assassin's Creed come out. Switch to decaf, man. You sound like a jilted girlfriend. All I know is that my PS3 cost about 0. And I will GET 0 worth of enjoyment out of it. With the free online Resistance multiplayer with 720p and surround sound is enough on its own. Beautiful.
As for BD, I would comment this. Blu-ray is recognizable to the anerage Joe Punchclock consumer as a new format, whereas HD is not. That is why it is now and will be more successful, regardless of who has the better specs. In addition, only 15% of people have TVs that can take advantage of it anyway. As for porn, they aren't going to decide anything. Porn was critical in the VHS vs Beta war because there was nowhere else to watch live action unless you wanted to go to a seedy movie theatre. Its role is going to be minimal, and remember it was only one studio that weighed in with HD-DVD. A big studio, but I think that they will quietly adopt Blu-ray also in the coming months, especially when some of their competition does. Because of what I said above, BD's not just going to go away. Over a million people have blu-Ray disc players now. That's a huge built in market for what we're talking about. Enough to keep BD afloat for awhile.
Doc
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Weird. Maybe it was the dollar sign I put in front of it.
Six hundred dollars, will get six hundred dollars of enjoyment out of it.
Anyway, regardless of which system you have, its a great time to be a gamer.
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What's wrong with wires to the two controllers? Are you going to flame them to death for that little thing? How many things in your home isn't wired? Anyhow, give it time and a wireless nunchuck will arrive. Besides, remember that it isn't cordless because it would bump up the price and not everyone wants to pay that.
As for PS3 and the like... I don't see why I should get a BD player when the format war isn't over. I don't even have an HD TV... And from what I know, the whole BD format isn't finalized (plus many players lacking features), so getting one now is a waste when new movies come out. And remember how poor the PS2's DVD playback was? I think I'll wait until there is one standard or get a high-quality stand alone machine.
And I don't really care for the "advanced functionality" of the PS3, seeing as I have a computer that can do everything the PS3 can - and better too. Gaming is the only thing that interests me - and therefore I get a gaming console - not a multimedia console.
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I'm used to wireless now...no mess no fuss. I used to remember the old days when we would wrap the cord around the controller. That's probably why Nintendo change their name from Nintendo Revolution to Wii. There isn't anything Revolutionary with those corded Wii remote with the nun-chuck and the corded IR which goes on top of your TV. Even if you buy their gamepad it's also has a cord...man the fun just don't stop, huh. The Wii games looks like crap.
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Excite Truck is a really, really boring and crappy game, though the only people I know that think it's fun are the Nintendo fanboys that are my friends. (I can't find anyone else that thinks it's fun, except for the mehs...)
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$500 for any movie player is not a good deal to me. Besides if you have an XBOX 360 it's only $200 more and you get a real game console with the best games and online."
Now if THAT isn't a fanboy statement, i don't know what is...
"It's just sad that many consumers are so stupid it seems to work to some extent."
Since when does it make someone stupid to prefer a certain console over another? It doesn't. Your just forcing your idiotic, bias, fanboy-ish opinion onto to other people.
$500 for a movie player is not a good deal to you? Maybe to some people, it is. For me (and most other people), I wouldn't buy the PS3 for just the movie player, but for its HD graphics in games and media center capabilities.
If you decide to make another post, maybe you should consider the opinions of others, and if you disagree with something posted, present logical reasons and facts as to why you do not agree. Not stupid replies like "Quit using my name again dumbf*ck" It makes you look like a 10 year-old.
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is ms perfect? no. is sony? no.
so stop being a godamn faboy!
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