Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) has recently reported that total sales of Blu-ray movie discs in Europe have already exceeded the one million mark. While SCEE has linked the brisk sales of the Blu-ray discs to the launch of new movie titles, there is another reason for the Blu-ray format's success.

Find out what it is after the jump!

Korea's IPTV service for the PlayStation 3 we reported on last month will be launched tomorrow, November 20. Named MegaTV, the video-on-demand service is a joint effort between Sony Computer Entertainment Korea and KT, one of Korea's top telecom operators, to bring PS3 users some high-definition games and Blu-ray content.

How soon before other regions get their own PS3 IPTV? Here's to hoping... As for those in Korea, setting up MegaTV is fairly simple.

Followers of the almost never-ending struggle for dominance between Blu-ray and HD-DVD know that SCEE's decision to implement a pricecut on 60GB PS3 consoles may possibly make a difference in the format wars. However, those in the HD-DVD camp believe that it will only have minimal impact in the format wars, saying that the "real battleground" will be between standalone players.

The HD-DVD group cited a research carried out in UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland, saying that sales of standalone HD-DVD players exceed those of its opponents by a fat margin of 70%. The number does not take into account the Sony PlayStation 3, which could also function as a Blu-ray player.

In other words, gaming does not make any difference in the format wars, or that's what the HD-DVD group believes to be the case.

Remember last week when the European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA) awarded the PS3 with the "Best Home Entertainment Gadget of the Year" title? Well, you can either take this as good news or bad news, but still, it's news nonetheless. EISA has just confirmed the reason why PS3 bagged the award: it's because of Blu-ray.

The EISA committee, composed of 50 editors of electronics magazine spanning 20 European countries, awarded the PS3 despite its being a games console as well.

Not to say that that's bad. If you'd recall, SCEE prez David Reeves himself was quoted to have said that they've very honored for being able to "receive [an award] for a product that is usually thought of as simply a games machine." So, with that, how's it both good and bad news at the same time? Judging from what we've been hearing online, it depends on how you look at it.

The wet blanket folks feel as if all the PS3's purpose was Blu-ray and not games (booo!). The "silver lining on the cloud" types, on the other hand, feel as honored as David Reeves for owning a games console that's (even more so now, because of the award) being recognized as a home entertainment hub.