Yet if it's the Blu-ray drive that attracts one to the PS3, well, sometimes I am happy that here in Australia we won't be seeing the console until March next year, as it gives me the breathing space I need to make my next-gen HD decision.

But what's really interesting is that more and more announcements are trickling through for plans to create players capable of read both next-gen formats. For some time, Samsung has been mooting the player, then denying they ever had the thought after what must have been grumblings from Sony, while Ricoh announced laser technology enabling the reading of both formats not too long ago.

But more recently and quite excitingly, Broadcom have announced a chipset capable of handling both Blu-ray and HD DVD content, with production models due to be sold in sometime in 2007 - if a winner isn't decided by then and someone doesn't beat Broadcom to the punch.

Now all of this may simply be companies making announcements to jump on the HD bandwagon and wave of HDTV take up, marking their territory as it were. But with Hollywood studios already making the jump to either side, with some movies being released exclusively on either Blu-ray or HD DVD, why take the chance?

If you're cashed up and can justifiably plonk a PS3 into the living room as your gaming machine, well you've made your next-gen HD choice and are betting on Blu-ray. Are you likely to buy an HD DVD player as well? Not unless you're even more cashed up.

For me the gaming, price and gamble doesn't justify the PS3 at this point. This is where the beauty of the Australian/European launch in March 2007 is a godsend! By then, the ability of attaching larger Hard Drives to the PS3 (or the Xbox 360 for that matter) will be clearer, the online download services of both Sony and Microsoft will be more mature, other options will be more concrete and my wallet will be safer.

I'm clearly not willing to take a stand for either side at this stage. But are you?
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