Sony creating Blu-ray/video game hybrid disc

Sony plans to create a new hybrid disc that will put Blu-ray movies and PlayStation 3 video games on the same disc for consumers to purchase.

"We are actively pushing, and the way that we see the future is that the movie and the game are placed on the same disc," Sony Director of Hardware Marketing John Koller told Video Business  "There are a lot of developers who say, we have this game based on a movie, wouldn’t it be great to marry these concepts?  We will definitely see this stuff this year."

There has been growing interest by developers working on video games to have cinematic tie-ins, Sony reports. The Japanese electronics giant has not yet publicly announced any partnerships, though it should be interesting to see which movie studios and video game designers hop on board.

Despite the fact that PS3 video games take up significantly more space than Microsoft Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii games, PS3s have trailed in overall console sales almost from the start.  Sony hopes to boost sales of consoles, video games and movies using these hybrid products.

"We are always looking for market opportunities," Koller said.  "We are comfortable with the price point we are at today, but we are always looking at the market."

Exact details about the new discs remain unknown, except Sony is interested in putting an entire Blu-ray movie on the same disc as a PS3 video game.  It is possible consumers will be able to purchase these hybrid discs before the end of 2009.