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madskillz on 09 December 2007
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makingmusic476 said:
madskillz said:
misterd said:
BR is already dominating, with sales at 2:1 or 3:1. The problem is HDDVD is too stubborn to die, and are trying to pay off studios to keep the format alive a litle longer (I believe the Paramount exclusivity contract expires after 2008).

As is, the PS3 is losing a good chunk of change for Sony, and I doubt that they had planned on having 2 price cuts within the span of 6 months. I think they are doing all that they can do at this point. I would not expect another price drop until this spring at the earliest.

The irony is that the BR is part of what makes the PS3 so expensive, and thus shares a good deal of blame for that systems' low sales, but at the same time the PS3 sales are great next to stand alone HD players, so the PS3 is the thing that gave the 360 the edge. I can only wonder what would have happened had the 360 launched with built in HD, or Sony had launched without it.


Actually, the PS3 is the only thing keeping BR ahead. In a standalone fight, HD DVD is whipping the devil out of BR. However, the PS3 sales are counted as BR sales, and with a lackluster gaming lineup, gamers have no real choice but to buy BR movies while they wait for more good games. Ironically, another report, though older, said that 79 percent of HD movie/hardware sales were video-game related.

Source: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070115-8625.html

Toshiba states they are, not Sony, leading in standalone HD players sold:

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Hardware/Toshiba/CEDIA/Toshiba_Refutes_Sonys_Claims_of_Blu-ray_Stand-Alone_Player_Dominance/943

And those NPD numbers put HD DVD players at 55 percent, with standalone BR players at 42 percent. Those numbers don't include the 360 HD DVD add-on, nor the PS3.

This format war is far from over. Until Sony and the BR camp can counter Black Friday $99 HD DVD players that also include free HD DVD movies, it will be a long, drawn-out war. I could see if there was a clear-cut advantage to owning a BR player, except the better movie lineup, but everything else is exactly the same - with HD DVD players, with Internet access, have many, many more Web-based features and my personal favorite, region-free movie playback.


HD DVD players were a few hundred dollars cheaper than Blu-Ray players from 2006 until just a few months ago, yet they only have an 13% advantage in SAL sales? What about now, when Blu-Ray players are withing a mere $100 of the cheapest HD DVD players?

And those numbers don't include the many people that bought ps3s instead of a SAL. Many people bought a ps3 as a dedicated Blu-Ray player because it is the best player on the market, and is completely upgradeable to BDJ 2.0. Just go to the AVS or High Def Digest forums. Most of the Blu-Ray owners on these websites own a ps3 and bought it strictly for Blu-Ray playback. How many of these people would've bought SALs if the ps3 hadn't existed? After all, studio support, scratch resistant disc coating, and HD extras due to larger storage capacity are justifiable reasons to purchase a more expensive player.

Warner will decide this war by going exclusive one way or the other. Do you think they'll care about HD DVD's 13% lead in SAL sales, when there are over 2 mil. ps3s in the US alone, and Blu-Ray is selling twice as much software every week? You can imagine HD DVD winning in a world where the ps3 doesn't exist, but it doesn't change the fact that the ps3 does exist, and HD DVD is losing severly because of it.


Yeah, I stated that earlier. Those numbers are standalone units - not the PS3 or the 360 add-on. And it's losing because of the fact it really doesn't make sense for someone to not buy a PS3 instead of a SABR - you get a free game system.  But at what cost? Sony is pushing the format - and losing gobs of money in the process. Will it be worth it - to lose a ton of money in hopes of recouping it? What will Sony's investors say? "Yeah, you won the war, but you are broke as the devil?" What does Sony really want to accomplish? And at what costs?

The fact of the matter is - adding BR cost Sony crucial time and yeah, it is beating the HD DVD crowd, but unfortunately, its price is really making gamers - in the U.S. - stop and pause before getting the system.