Why Warner Killed HD DVD by Going Full Throttle With Blu-ray
Warner announced earlier today it was 100 per cent Blu-ray. We just talked a bit with Warner about some of the whys behind the decision. In a sentence: Because the format war is killing regular DVD sales on top of hurting sales of both HD formats.
Home entertainment president Kevin Tsujihara told us that what was “somewhat troubling” is the “impact consumer confusion was starting to have” on regular DVD. “Consumers were saying ‘Hey, I might was well wait.’”
If another studio had switched “it could have possibly impacted” Warner’s decision. Tsujihara said he “can’t anticipate” the other studios moving over to HD DVD “given the numbers that are out there.” And what are those numbers?
Blu-ray hardware sales in the 4th quarter were accelerating, especially in December “despite the price premium,” which Warner thought was “telling” about consumer demand. Rationally, they’re going to go for the growth market, especially if they’re looking at the possibility of both stagnant (HD) and declining (DVD) markets on their hands.
Regarding the transition to Blu-ray exclusivity in May, they haven’t figured out what the “window” between HD DVD release and the standard and Blu-ray releases. They’re also not sure if they’re going to keep producing old HD DVD titles—it depends on the retailers. [Gizmodo]
- Next Post: Spykee the Skype Robot Gets Three Friends With iPod Dock Crotches »
- « Previous Post: Toshiba Is “Quite Surprised” Warner Left Them for That Blu-ray Hussy
Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
I didn’t commit to a format but was hoping for a HD-DVD win. Sony really screws Australian and European consumers with ridiculous overpricing and their nonexistent customer service, so this is sad news. Worse is the Blu-ray region coding and whatever money grabbing schemes studios dream up when BD+ arrives. Now we’re going to be stuck with inflated movie prices and locked out of getting disks OS. Thanks Warner. I sure as hell won’t be *buying* any movies from any of the Blu-ray studios in protest.
Good decision. Someone had to do something to stop this stupid format war. A commercially based decision is the best way to go.
Toshiba committed a strategic bungle by allowing HD-DVD to be alinged with Microsoft and the 360, rather than positioning themselves for the home theatre market. By allowing Microsoft in, they presented the view that HD-DVD was the format favoured by gamers and computer geeks, groups that have no alignment with the real target market of home theatre.