The future of entertainment technology may lay in the hands of the new generation of video gamers.

The newly developed, Sony-promoted Blu-ray disc is in direct competition with the Microsoft-promoted HD DVD, and movie studios are relying on the polarizing game consoles to choose a dominant format to use for their media.

Not surprisingly, it’s been found that people use their Xbox’s or Playstations instead of DVD players to watch movies, despite warnings from some that it could lead to malfunction. Because Xbox will use HD DVD technology in a future add-on accessory and Playstation will use Blu-ray technology, movie studios are confused over what format they should use for their videos.

Blu-ray discs and HD DVD both have the ability to record, rewrite and play back high definition video. A key difference is the capacity: Blu-ray can hold up to 50 gigabytes compared to HD DVD’s 30 GB capacity. Standard DVDs can hold about 9.4 GB.

Both formats use the new blue-violet laser technology instead of the standard red laser used for CDs and DVDs. The new laser uses shorter wavelength, which means it can focus on the disc with greater precision, making it possible to store more information in a smaller space.

Kevin Arvidson, a junior history major and game tester for Microsoft, said despite the larger storage capacity on Blu-ray, HD DVD is what’s “in” at the moment.

Blu-ray is just starting to show up on the market and will be expensive when it reaches the United States – probably similar to when DVD players first hit the market, selling for $400 each, he said.

“Once the average consumer can afford Blu-ray technology, then it will become the future of entertainment technology,” he said.

For once, the hype isn’t hyping itself. There’s no doubt that partisan video gamers will decide the fate of this format war, Arvidson said.

The new PS3 will have Blu-ray built into the console, but Xbox 360 gamers will have to buy a separate attachment if they want to play HD DVD movies on their system. There was discussion about updating the console by installing the drive directly into it, a sort of Xbox 360 v.2.0, but an external drive was settled upon. No word on price yet, but Microsoft has said it will be relatively inexpensive, having learned from the mistakes of past developers like Sega that overpriced its add-ons.

Many experts say HD DVD games are not on the 360 menu: It would alienate gamers that don’t have the external drive and complicate the development process for game designers.

Despite the addition of the attachment, gamers will stay loyal to their system, said game enthusiast Jeff Pyritz.

Brand loyalty is especially strong among console owners, he said.

Gamers enjoy the feel of a particular system, its controller and its graphical style, and invest their cash in a library of games for that specific system. A switch would not only be costly, but also a shunt to their gamer faith, Pyritz said.