Yes the PS3 is fantastic, why not build them all with bulit in wireless?
You're out of date - all PS3s currently made have wireless built in. Only the first gen. 20GB models didn't have this.
However, the general public doesn't want to navigate through the menus of a game console to get the update, or play a movie.
The general public - or you? In fact, you aren't even aware of how the PS3 works are you when you say such a thing...
The PS3 will automatically start disc playback as soon as the disc is inserted into the player. My wife walks up, sticks a disc in, and that's it. So, what navigation is it she needs to do?
As for updates, I can press the left arrow a few times and the down/up arrow once or twice to something that says "CHECK FOR UPDATES" - it's as easy as it was on the Toshiba players which everyone swore by for sure.
The PS3 is a perfect example of how it should work, but apparently not even Sony can replicate this perfection in their players.
Yes, I agree completely, and I wonder what people would say if Sony released the PS3 in a component looking box with IR control?
By the way only 23% of people that have a PS3 are using it to play Bluray, that is up from 17% last December, and that was after a expensive campaign by Sony.
This isn't even close to the numbers that have been reported recently. About 23% use it full time perhaps for BD playback, but over 85% have actually played a BD movie on it.
Yes PS3 represents a significant portion of Bluray players, but they aren't being used as such. Standalone players, are the work horses.
That is provenly, and pantendly false. A 1500% increase in disc sales (according to WB) from last year, while only a 400% increase in hardware since last year indicates that the PS3s already on the market are doing a very marked job of increasing sales of software, far moreso than stand alone players - as of right now.
Simple solution is to put in the wireless connection, or allow it to hook up to a telephone line, or ethernet connection, allow it to update as soon as you turn it on, nothing to think about or press.
I'm in 100% agreement on this, and think that wireless, ethernet, and a phone connection would all be great things to put on players - always. I see this in the future, perhaps not on all players, but on certain models for sure, and those will likely do very well.
Don't get me wrong -there are crappy players out there. There are manufacturers that should be ashamed of their product. But, there have been some very conciensious manufacturers as well, with some very good product... yet that doesn't mean there isn't a ton of room for improvement.
Has that affected sales? I think perhaps it has. As has price, as has availability, as has the format war, as has consumer recognition, as has many other factors. But, considerable increase in sales compared to last year, is what is truly occurring - despite the negatives that DO exist.
DRM? That's not going to be what will stop Blu-ray - DVD is easily the biggest reason BD could fail.