The Q1 results for Blu-ray are in, and look very encouraging for the format: a 351-percent increase over Q1 2007. Obviously, the end of the format war is the biggest contributor, for studios and consumers alike. The real question is whether there's enough Blu momentum and mindshare for Q1 2008 to mark the magical "inflection point" we heard about at the CES BDA
press conference. Sony certainly
hopes so, and we hope HD media takes off among the general public, too. But darn those pesky recent VideoScan
numbers that underscore the fragility of Blu-ray sales. Our suggestion (and plea) to studios: adopt a "build it, and they will come" approach by cranking out the Blu-ray titles to fuel demand.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
James @ Apr 22nd 2008 3:03PM
Yawn. The end of the war has NOTHING to do with this.
Of course sales are up big time. Why wouldn't they be?
The BD hardware user base was almost non-existent this time last year.
A whole year of HDM hardware sales and a large increase in the s/w library are the main reasons.
I'm sure the HD DVD sales are up as well. Not bad for a dead format.
Jove @ Apr 22nd 2008 3:05PM
*Gasp* *Shocked* better dont let fanboys know this.
kcmurphy88 @ Apr 22nd 2008 3:09PM
"...a 351-percent increase over Q1 2007. Obviously, the end of the format war is the biggest contributor..."
Not obvious at all. MUCH more obvious is the fact that in Jan 2007 there were only the initial PS3s available as players and the disc selection was minuscule. At the beginning of January 2007, HD DVD had a wide wide lead -- about to fall to the PS3, of course, but the to-date numbers were all HD DVD.
Now, if there are numbers showing BD up Q1 vs Q4 (or even close), then maybe. But attributing the Q1 vs Q1 numbers to one of two major events (HDDVD dying in January and the actual introduction of BD at the end of 2006) is nonsense. The cause is mixed and nothing is "obvious."
kcmurphy88 @ Apr 22nd 2008 3:12PM
There is no way the inflection is in 2008, BTW. Players aren't even done yet. MAYBE this Xmas they sell a lot of players. IF so, then maybe 2009 is their big year. But 2008? I have a bridge to sell you....
kcmurphy88 @ Apr 22nd 2008 3:12PM
And fix your 1-hour-lag comment system.
Jove @ Apr 22nd 2008 4:59PM
this new engadgethd sucks big time doesnt it
Daimyo Nintendo @ Apr 22nd 2008 3:30PM
Great, I just hope Blu-ray lasts long enough and does not get replaced by a “non spinning” format. I would be happy with Blu-ray for at least 10 years…possibly pushing 20. HVC and flash memory will be the last format change…what would come out after those? Nothing, we would simply improve upon its storage and performance. I am happy to hear Blu-ray is doing so well. After investing in a player and over Blu movies, I am just loving the HD life.
Mr. E @ Apr 22nd 2008 4:18PM
I'm with you 100%. Whether Blu-ray becomes fully mainstream is irrelevant to me, as long as there is a steady supply of great movies in glorious HD. So far it's been pretty good, and I'm looking forward to a lot more in the years ahead.
Mr. E @ Apr 22nd 2008 4:26PM
An important piece of information missing from TG Daily's distillation of the Hollywood Reporter article is that DVD sales were down yet again, but home video sales overall were up, thanks to Blu-ray's 1.2% market share. Blu-ray is doing exactly what the studios needed it to do: make up for lost revenue in DVD sales.
I personally have probably bought no more than ten DVDs in the past four years, anticipating HD, and now that I have Blu-ray I've bought about 60 discs in the past eight months. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has transitioned completely to HD, and as time goes on more and more people will be doing the same.
Hollwood Reporter article:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i91323da4b3be14d2f74080ce44d7b5c4
BMZ @ Apr 22nd 2008 4:27PM
How come they never give us the raw numbers?
Truth Teller @ Apr 22nd 2008 6:55PM
Cos if they gave out raw numbers they wouldn't be able to maintain the illusion.
The truth is that 351% more of almost nothing is still almost nothing.
For all the talk of 'DVD sales are down' we are still in a total market that sees DVD movie disc sales of 750 million +.
Blu-ray has barely broken into double figures in 2 years
(it's still not even a true 1% of the annual market sales......despite the ridiculous BS & spin the BD goons are trying to push).
That's why you've been getting all that ratio & percentage sh!te since day 1.
The truth is that the wider public have no interest in Blu-ray, not only is it an unfinished 'spec' right now (they have no proper range of - supposedly - final spec players) it's just way too expensive & as far as the a/v mass-market are concerned the benefits simply aren't worth the premium those greedy SOB CE corps want for it.
......and no amount of PS3 fanboys trying to claim otherwise changes that single truth one jot.
Maybe in a couple of years when it has pricing much closer to today's DVD (both players & movies) then people might give it a 2nd glance but right now forget it.
shawnmos @ Apr 22nd 2008 4:47PM
It won't take off until there are affordable players. Even then there are still people out there without HDTVs. Why would they want to switch from DVD? Blu-ray will never take off like DVD did. The transition over to Blu-ray will be a much slower process, if it happens at all.
Jove @ Apr 22nd 2008 5:00PM
can engadget hd give us numbers on the amount of blu ray players that have been sold since inception or on a month to month basis? im dying to know and i cant find it anywhere.
Steven Kim @ Apr 22nd 2008 7:00PM
At CES, the BDA claimed 3.5 million Blu-ray players sold; about 3 million of those PS3s.
mntwister @ Apr 22nd 2008 5:59PM
The biggest question is not if there is a market, but if anyone has the money in the mainstream to buy into blu-ray. With player prices as they are, and movies at a premium price, and gas, food and other costs sky high, I have a feeling the economy may hold blu back until we get someone in office who cares to try to help our economy.
nick @ Apr 22nd 2008 11:42PM
I've said this before, but I'm pretty much done buying movies. When DVDs first appeared, it was rather cool to own the movie, but I found that I bought way too many movies, most of which I hardly ever watched. There's a handful that I do enjoy over and over again, but that's a small percentage overall. I'm much happier renting. So I have no problem if they 'build it', but my days of owning movies are pretty much over.
JBDragon @ Apr 22nd 2008 11:51PM
I could care less about Blu-Ray and will have nothing to do with Blu-Ray. It's just not worth it. I'll be sticking with DVD's for years to come and adding to my large collection. I still don't know anyone personally with a PS3 either?!?! Wii Yes, 360 Yes, PS3 NO! I hope Blu-Ray dies!!!
XDragon @ Apr 23rd 2008 6:40AM
I read a lot of stupid posts so instead of replying to them and causing a back and forth battle, I'll say this:
Its very easy to forget DVD's past isn't it?
DVD had players near the thousands of dollars for years after it first came out as well as disc prices most commonly at $50 also for years!
Then one day, it started to take off as player prices hit the $250-$300ish price point and the disc prices came down $10-$15 dollars.
Then it replaced VHS and all prices became dirt cheap.
All of the above took many years to accomplish and that was with no initial replacement format war(please don't say it competed with Laser Disc because it really didn't). The difference is, DVD had an immediate impact on a/v quality, size and functionality(instant track indexing and no rewind) where as Blu only shines when the consumer has an HD TV. The PS3 is a big factor because it has sales in the millions and that adds the best Blu-Ray player to many homes much earlier in the game than DVD. By today's standards, people are willing to spend a little more for quality then they were when DVD was new so Blu is performing well if you really look at properly. Its easy to forget the past but if you put a little time into looking up the facts, you'll see the real story,