NY Times says that Paramount and Dreamworks received $150 million.

[shams]

akuma587 said:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/21/technology/21disney.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Here some interesting quotes from the article.

"But money talks: Paramount and DreamWorks Animation together will receive about $150 million in financial incentives for their commitment to HD DVD, according to two Viacom executives with knowledge of the deal but who asked not to be identified."

...

Umm... financial incentives is NOT the same as $150m in cash. For instance, they could be allowed to manufacture discs at half the normal production cost.

18 months is long enough - this mess should be sorted out by then. But until then - Transformers going HD-DVD alone is going to cause a lot of headaches.

The big hits matter a lot more here than quantity - as they push a heap more units.

If Toshiba can put out a deal where a HD-DVD player + Shrek + Transformers is available (as a pack) for $199 - that is going to push a hell of a lot of units. Even more if they can reach $149 or lower.

I still think which ever player reaches $99 first will win (and has enough hardware on the shelves).