It Plays Games
This is a bit of a no-brainer, but obviously the biggest difference between a PlayStation 3 and any other Blu-ray player on the market is that it can play games. Not just the casual trivia games you may find on other Blu-ray players. Real games. We're talking about blockbuster titles from AAA-developers, like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Uncharted 2, Grand Theft Auto: IV, and others. Chances are if you're reading IGN, you know this already, but the point is that the PlayStation 3 gives consumers more bang for their buck than any other solution.
Blu-ray is Sony's Game
You may be asking yourself: what happens if Microsoft or Nintendo decide to adopt Blu-ray? Well, just like Betamax and VHS battled it out for home entertainment supremacy in the 1980s, Blu-ray found itself competing with a comparable format when it first launched, known as HD DVD. Of the big game console manufacturers, Sony backed Blu-ray, Microsoft sided with HD DVD, and Nintendo stayed out of the fray with DVD. Since the demise of HD DVD, Microsoft has said that they are now committed to digitally distributed media on the Xbox 360, and the Nintendo Wii cannot technologically support a Blu-ray player in its current form. Long story short, it'd be unlikely for Blu-ray to find its way on another game platform anytime soon.
Virtually Limitless Expansion
By the very nature of this console generation's web-enabled technology, the PlayStation 3 can be expanded via downloadable software updates to incorporate new features and functionality. In other words, as Blu-ray software continues to grow and encompass new, more advanced features, so will the PlayStation 3. Initially, Blu-ray services like BD Live promised unprecedented supplemental viewing experiences through web-enabled content, but now companies seek to take the concept a step further with interactive features like text chat and live commentary. Should the technology expand further, the PlayStation 3 will be able to accommodate it through its powerful built-in processor, massive hard drive, and peripheral support.
Ready for an All-Digital Future
Many have argued that the future of home entertainment isn't Blu-ray or any other hard copy medium for that matter; its digital distribution. Whether or not these arguments prove true, the PlayStation 3 is ready for the digital revolution through the distribution service Sony has built into the PlayStation Network. Users can download full high-definition movies and television shows through a high-speed internet connection. The PlayStation 3 is also capable of adopting streaming media services, like their recent incorporation of Netflix's instant movie streaming software. When and if the shift from hard copy media occurs, the PlayStation3 will be ready, and in the meantime, you'll still be able to play all of the movies in your Blu-ray and DVD collection.
The Price is Right
When the PlayStation 3 was first introduced, it was priced as high as $599, which certainly played a role in dissuading consumers from picking it up for its Blu-ray functionality alone. Now, the PlayStation 3 has reached a competitive entry-level price of $299 that makes it hard to resist for both gamers and non-gamers alike. But we wouldn't expect the price to remain static either. As production costs continue to drop and competitors become more aggressive with their pricing strategies, Sony will drop the cost of the PlayStation 3 even further.