PS3 Fanboy

The Digital Entertainment Group, a consortium of movie studios and electronics manufacturers, presented their "best-case scenario" for winter sales this year. They predict that by year's end, there will be 10.5 million households equipped to play Blu-ray discs in America, with a majority (8 million) being PS3 systems. While the figure may sound impressive, that estimate is much lower than the 14.4 million households predicted earlier in the year.

The sluggish global economy is being blamed for the lowered expectations for Blu-ray. With recessions hitting most economies in the world, consumers may be reluctant to purchase a high-definition entertainment system. "The only dark cloud is the economy," David Bishop, president of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, told a panel. However, he added the consumer products side of Sony Corp. is "showing no slowdown in the adoption of the PlayStation 3."

To help spur sales, Blu-ray players have been going on sale, and players can be found for less than $200. Sony is also confident it will be able to sell 4-5 million PS3s from now until March. "We remain pretty confident that we'll meet our targets for the fiscal year," said Julie Han, spokeswoman for Sony Computer Entertainment America.

[Via Edge]

While we are wondering why the price difference Wall-E two-disc edition and three-disc edition is a mere 4 cents, you guys can check out this week's Blu-ray releases:

Theatrical releases:

• Action Blu-ray 3-Pack (Jumper / Transporter / Transporter 2)
  
• Awake
• The Bird People of China
  
• Blue Streak
• Chick Flick Blu-ray 3-Pack (Juno / 27 Dresses / The Devil Wears Prada)
  
• Encounters at the End of the World
• Family Blu-ray 3-Pack (Alvin and the Chipmunks / Ice Age / Ice Age 2)
• Hard Action Blu-ray 3-Pack (Hitman / Street Kings / Man on Fire)
• Heathers
• Kid Blu-ray 3-Pack (Night at the Museum / Eragon / Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium)
  
• Kitaro
• Lucky Number Slevin
  
• Mad Money
  
• Marvel Blu-ray 3-Pack (Fantastic Four / Fantastic Four - Rise of the Silver Surfer / Daredevil)
• Mirrormask
• Muscle Blu-ray 3-Pack (AVP Alien vs. Predator / Predator / Commando)
  
• National Security
• Paris, je t'aime
• Priceless
  
• Revolver (2005)
  
• Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
  
• Southland Tales
  
• The Stendhal Syndrome
  
• Tropic Thunder
  
• Wall-E (Three-Disc Special Edition + Digital Copy and BD Live)
  
• Wall-E (Two-Disc and BD Live)

Tropic Thunder maybe offensive to some, but that didn't stop it from being extremely funny. Southland Tales might not have been as critically acclaimed as Richard Kelly's previous flick, but you can't miss a movie that has Sarah Michelle Gellar in the role of an adult film star that sings a song called Teen Horniness is Not A Crime. Those of who enjoyed Labyrinth should check out MirrorMask, a children's film with some dark themes that should sit well with tweens and adults alike. Theatrical releases are above, everything else (including TV releases) are after the jump:

Theatrical releases:

• 3: The Dale Earnhardt Story
• Black Christmas (1974)
• British Action Bundle (Casino Royale, Layer Cake, and A Knight's Tale)
• Dragon Ball Z - Return of the Cooler / Cooler's Revenge
  
• Harry Potter Years 1-5
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army Collector's Set
• JFK
• Sci-Fi Superheroes Bundle (Ghost Rider, Resident Evil, Underworld)
• Superhero Blu-ray Collection (Spider-Man - The High Definition Trilogy (Spider-Man / Spider-Man 2 / Spider-Man 3), Ghost Rider (Extended Cut), Hellboy (Director's Cut), Underworld (Unrated),
  Underworld Evolution)
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars
  
• The Story of O
  
• Sukiyaki Western Django
  
• This Christmas
• War and Politics Bundle (Vantage Point, Black Hawk Down, The Patriot)

Band of Brothers, the 2001 HBO mini-series on World War II, is another high-profile fan-favorite TV release debuting on Blu-ray. Hellboy II: The Golden Army, was a pleasant surprise -- entertaining, visually engaging and humorous. Star Wars: The Clone Wars, despite being panned by critics and most fans alike, still managed to earn over $60 million dollars worldwide. The Superhero Blu-ray Collection, with a total of seven films, is a decent deal if you do not already own any of the movies in collection. Theatrical releases are above, everything else (including TV releases) are after the jump:

Besides the five Planet of the Apes films, we've got Get Smart, a film none of us actually saw ... but we know the gorgeous Anne Hathaway is in it. Take a look at the rest of this week's Blu-ray releases:

• Battle for The Planet of The Apes
• Beneath The Planet of The Apes
  
• Caligula
• A Christmas Story (Ultimate Collector's Edition)
  
• Conquest of the Planet of The Apes
  
• Escape from the Planet of The Apes
  
• The Final Countdown
  
• Get Smart
  
• Heroes Franchise Collection (Season 1 | Season 2)
  
• Monster's Ball
  
• Planet of the Apes
  
• Planet of the Apes 40th Anniversary Collection
• Sony Pictures Animation Bundle (Monster House, Surf's Up, Open Season)
  
• Trans-Siberian
  
• Universal Soldier
  

Fans of 80s cinema shouldn't miss the classics from that era: The Final Countdown and A Christmas Story. Peter O'Toole and Helen Mirren in a movie with explicit sex involving Penthouse girls? That's probably the only reason you'll watch Caligula, a wildly inaccurate account about the life of the infamous Roman emperor. Lastly, Monster's Ball is a great movie to watch with friends -- you'll argue and discuss for hours about why exactly Halle Berry won that Oscar. Theatrical releases are above. Other releases after the jump.

With titles like Zombie Strippers! and Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter, this week's Blu-ray releases are like no other before:

• Baraka
• Beat the Devil
  
• Dead Space: Downfall
  
• Elf
• Essential Holiday Collection (The Polar Express / National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation / Elf / A Christmas Story)
  
• The Final Countdown
• Hell Ride
  
• Journey to the Center of the Earth
• Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
  
• The Polar Express Presented in 3-D
• Tinker Bell
• Zombie Strippers!

Coincidentally, there are both several children's movies and several very adult-oriented B-movies being released on Blu-ray this week -- Tinker Bell learns to speak in her very own straight-to-video movie while Jenna Jameson learns to make fun of herself in Zombie Strippers!. Fans of the game can check out the the prequel animated film Dead Space: Downfall. More releases, after the jump.

• The Breed
• Casino Royale (Collector's Edition, 2 discs)
• Diary of the Dead
  
• Die Another Day (James Bond)
  
• Dr. No (James Bond)
  
• Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
• The F Word
• For Your Eyes Only (James Bond)
  
• From Russia with Love (James Bond)
  
• Halloween (2007)
• The Incredible Hulk
  
• James Bond Blu-ray Collection Three-Pack, Vol. 1 (Dr. No / Die Another Day / Live and Let Die)
  
• James Bond Blu-ray Collection Three-Pack, Vol.2 (For Your Eyes Only / From Russia with Love / Thunderball)
  
• James Bond Blu-ray Collection Six-Pack (Dr. No / Die Another Day / Live and Let Die / For Your Eyes Only / From Russia with Love / Thunderball)
• Live and Let Die (James Bond)
  
• The Strangers
  
• Sweeney Todd
  
• Thunderball (James Bond)
  
• The Woods Have Eyes

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed is a documentary hosted and co-written by Ben Stein that serves merely to preach to the choir about intelligent design. Casino Royale, one of the first big successes on Blu-ray when it was released in March of last year, is getting a 2-disc rerelease. Rob Zombie's remake of Halloween might offend purists, but horror fans with an open mind should enjoy the film nevertheless. For a guy who can't sing, Johnny Depp does more than an adequate job in the title role of Sweeney Todd. Theatrical releases are above and non-theatrical ones are after the jump.

Alien skulls, the Russian mob and Monica Bellucci all make an appearance on this week's Blu-ray releases. Due to the large number of non-film Blu-ray releases, we have listed those after the jump. Anyway, we've got something for everyone:

Theatrical releases:

• American Gangster
• Casino
• Constantine
• Eastern Promises
• The Gangster Gift Set (American Gangster, Casino, Eastern Promises)
• Great Expectations (1946)
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
• The Jewel of the Nile
• Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan
• Poltergeist
• Romancing the Stone
• Saving God
• Standard Operating Procedure
• Stuck
• The Ultimate Matrix Collection
• War, Inc.

The fan-favorites of Ultimate Matrix Collection finally defect the red camp and join the Blu side. American Gangster might not have lived up to everyone's expectations, but it is nevertheless an entertaining flick. Three classics make their way onto true High-def: Casino, Poltergeist and Great Expectations are all staples in their respective genres. Did anyone watch the latest episode of South Park? That's how we feel about Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Finally, definitely check out Eastern Promises -- Cronenberg manages again to stay away from deformities of the flesh to bring us an oddly touching tale about the Russian mob in England. Rest of the theatrical releases are above, everything else is after the jump:

We usually refrain from discussing specific movies here on PS3Fanboy except on our weekly release posts, but this movie definitely warrants a mention. The summer's biggest blockbuster Dark Knight has a release date and it is December 9th for the MSRP of $35.99. According to High-Def Digest, this 2-disc Blu-ray set will include the 153-minute feature film on a BD-50 dual-layer disc with 1080p/VC-1 video and English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround audio. The disc will also include some yet-unannounced BD-Live-enabled content, as well as a digital copy of the film. It is now available for pre-order on Amazon for $24.95. Full list of extras, after the break.

• The 40-Year-Old Virgin
• Angel in the Family
• Can't Hardly Wait
• A Christmas Visitor
• Daredevil - The Director's Cut
• Dawn of the Dead (2004)
• Forgetting Sarah Marshall
• Gianni Schicci
• Halloween Starter Pack (Land of the Dead / Dawn of the Dead (2004) / The Thing)
• Iron Man
• La Traviata at La Scala
• Jethro Tull: Live at Montreux 2003
• Knocked Up
• Land of the Dead
  
• Legends: Live at Montreux 1997
• The Man Who Saved Christmas
• Masters of Horror (The Complete First Season)
• Norma (Netherlands Chamber Orchestra)
• Rest Stop: Don't Look Back
• Rest Stop: Dead Ahead
• Roy Orbison: Black & White Night
• The Salem Witch Trials
• The Sixth Sense
• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
• The Thing
• Ultimate Unrated Comedy Collection (Forgetting Sarah Marshall / Knocked Up / The 40-Year-Old Virgin)
• When We Left Earth - The NASA Missions
• Zombie Bundle (Day of the Dead (1985) / Dawn of the Dead (1978) / Evil Dead II)

Horror wins this week in the Blu-ray arena if you only count the number of titles released: Dawn of the Dead (the 2004 remake, not bad), Land of the Dead (not Romero's best), Rest Stop (stay away from these), Sixth Sense, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (the original and the best), The Thing (one of this blogger's favorite movies) and even three bundles. Those of you who crave comedies in full HD can rejoice: The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Knocked Up and Can't Hardly Wait make their debuts on Blu-ray. Finally, there's a surprising number of operas and concerts being released on Blu-ray, so connoisseurs of music should listen up.

All three of the Godfather films are on Blu-ray in a reasonably priced package ... and you still want more? Here are the rest of this week's Blu-ray releases:

• America's Greatest Monuments: Washington D.C.
• Animalia: Welcome to the Kingdom
  
• Blow
• Cirque Du Soleil - Corteo
  
• Deception
  
• The Godfather - The Coppola Restoration
  
• L.A. Confidential
  
• Leatherheads
  
• Madagascar
  
• Run, Fatboy, Run
  
• Sex and the City -- The Movie
  
• Shrek the Third
  
• Stories From the Vaults: Season One
  
• The Way to Paradise - Music Experience in 3-Dimensional Sound Reality

If the Italian mob isn't your kind of thing, watch the four ladies of the New York fashion mafia unite in Sex and the City -- The Movie. Run, Fatboy, Run, the directorial debut of former Friends star David Schwimmer, is an enjoyable but ultimately predictable comedy about an average, slightly overweight guy who enters a marathon to win his fiancée's heart back. Shrek the Third pales in comparison to the first two films, so we can only recommend its third outing to die-hard fans of the franchise. And finally, L.A. Confidential makes its debut on Blu-ray -- not much more needs to be said there, go buy it!

This week's releases take you everywhere: from a supernatural hotel room to the natural wonders of America to a world where a man has the power to revive the dead. Here are this week's Blu-ray releases;

• 1408
• 88 Minutes
  
• Another Cinderella Story
  
• Dragon Ball Z: Tree of Might / Lord Slug
  
• Emperor of the Seas
  
• Great North (IMAX)
• The Hulk
  
• Leatherheads
  
• The Love Guru
• Madagascar
  
• Made of Honor
  
• The Mist
  
• Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy
  
• Pushing Daisies: The Complete First Season
  
• The Pyongyang Concert - New York Philharmonic & Lorin Maazel
• Risky Business
  
• Scenic National Parks: Crown Jewels Collection
  
• Scenic National Parks: Yosemite
  
• Scenic National Parks: Grand Canyon
  
• Scenic National Parks: Yellowstone
  
• Speed and Angels
  
• Speed Racer
  
• Torchwood: The Complete First Season

The psychedelic adaptation of the classic 60s anime Speed Racer by the Wachowski siblings prove to be both a box-office and critical disaster. We really enjoyed Torchwood, which is best described as a dark and realistic take on the ideas from the British show Dr. Who. Those of you want all the Pirates of Caribbean films in one package can now purchase the entire trilogy for a fairly reasonable price. Note that The Hulk released this week is the much-hated Ang Lee version and not the one starring Ed Norton. Rest of the releases are above.

A blonde female samurai and Russian vampires are just some of what you'll find this week. Take a look:

• The Alps
• Baby Mama
• Cool Hand Luke
  
• Day Watch
• The Fall
• The Forbidden Kingdom
  
• Grey's Anatomy: The Complete Fourth Season
  
• How the West Was Won
  
• Jerry Maguire
  
• Kill Bill Volume One
  
• Kill Bill Volume Two
  
• Kill Bill - Volumes 1 & 2
  
• Manilow Live
  
• Mozart: Don Giovanni
• Night Watch
  
• Rudy
  
• Smallville - The Complete Seventh Season
• Then She Found Me
  

Both volumes of the Tarantino blood-fest Kill Bill are out this week, but who would buy them separately? Night Watch and Day Watch marks the first time the initial two movies of Bekmambetov's vampire trilogy is on Blu-ray. The fantasy epic The Fall is one of the better films we saw this year, so be sure to check that out if you enjoy the genre. The Forbidden Kingdom is entertaining ... for families -- those of you who were hoping for a more serious collaboration between Jackie Chan and Jet Li will be left sorely disappointed. Check out all of this week's releases above.

While the HD format wars are over, Blu-ray still has a long way to go before it can tackle its main competitor: DVD. Many consumers still haven't converted to Sony's next-gen format, and Samsung UK director Andy Griffiths doesn't believe there's much time left for Sony's format. "I think it [Blu-ray] has 5 years left, I certainly wouldn't give it 10", Griffiths told Pocket-lint in an interview.

The time to capitalize on Blu-ray is now, the Samsung head said. "It's going to be huge", he told Pocket-lint. "We are heavily back-ordered at the moment." The company is one of few that's heavily invested in the format, with numerous Blu-ray players available on the market.

There will always be new formats on the horizon, but we find it unlikely that Blu-ray will extinguish in so little time. With HD adoption still slowly growing, so too will Blu-ray's momentum. Regardless, it'll be interesting to see where home video stands in the next decade.

[Via Engadget]

Resident Evil fans know how bad the RE movies are. Hopefully Resident Evil: Degeneration -- the CG movie featuring a seven-year Claire and Leon reunion -- will pick up the pieces and make everything good again. It won't be too long before we find out the answer to that as the Sony Pictures film is set to hit stores this winter.

If you're just dying to know more about this direct-to-Blu-ray film release, Blu-ray.com scored some skin-crawling details regarding the zombie flick. Video will be presented in "1.78:1 1080p AVC" which is complemented by a "5.1 Dolby TrueHD soundtrack." With specs like that, stepping into the world of survival horror won't ever be the same. In addition to that info, a full list of Blu-ray Extras can be found after the break.

[Via Capcom Unity]