When consoles meet for battle, usually their weapons of choice are distinctly gaming-oriented in nature. This time around there's home video in the mix.

Sony wedded ('til death do they part) the PlayStation 3 to Blu-ray in 2004, long before it was certain when Blu-ray would hit the scene. Few were surprised, for Sony's central role in the development of Blu-ray and the company's interests in the film industry seemed like a perfect match. Since that announcement, it has been widely accepted that Blu-ray is a critical component of the PS3's total "value proposition," as it were, which is why few were surprised when another delay of the gaming console was blamed not on a gaming feature per se, but on Blu-ray alone. In Sony's eyes, this is a worthwhile trade-off because the PS3 will launch at a price point lower than most Blu-ray players on the market. They believe that the Blu-ray drive will spur not hamper sales.

In this editorial we ponder the question: should it be there?