MAKE Blu-ray necessary

I'm getting a little frustrated with this whole next-gen format war. It used to be I only had to worry about missing games on systems I didn't own. Now I get to tack on missing the high-def experience of movies coming from companies that have signed exclusive deals with either Blu-ray or HD-DVD. I call shenanigans.

My real gripe is this: If a single game is going to cost me sixty bucks from the get-go and most likely fill only eight to ten hours of my life, why not include some extra content to make that half a C-note feel less like a kick to the gut? If Blu-ray truly is necessary for the future, you have to MAKE it necessary. I refuse to believe it would cost any developer much more money or man hours to include some behind-the-scenes videos and what have you on all those gigs of space.

And while you're at it, why not make use of the full PS3 experience with exclusive wallpapers, songs from the soundtrack or themes downloadable straight from the disc? Rather than jack in and out of my current games mindset when I boot up the disc, I'm now making that title a part of my entire gaming life. When I turn on my PS3, I'm constantly reminded of how awesome that game is and how much I want to jump back in and play it thanks to the additional visual and auditory goodies thrown in. When you provide a little extra content outside of the game itself, you're no longer asking gamers to play your game, you're asking them to experience it.

As an added bonus, all that disc space starts looking like a really, really good idea when you're able to cram so much content into a single package. As an added tip to developers out there, enough with these special editions. Include it all for a fair price and gamers will feel less like they're being scammed when they slapped down an additional 20 bucks for a couple added videos and a keychain. If you want to add the content, add it and, if you really think $60 is not enough, adjust the price accordingly. There's no need to have three versions of any one game.