12 million Blu-ray players besides PS3 predicted to ship in 2009

Gamepro writes:

"Despite the economic downturn, global shipments of Blu-ray players, excluding PS3, are expected to total nearly 12m units this year, according to the new quarterly ‘Blu-ray Hardware Performance’ tracking service from Futuresource Consulting.

"We carry out in-depth research on an ongoing basis, obtaining inputs from a wide range of companies operating in the global Blu-ray hardware business, including vendors, retailers and component suppliers," says Jack Wetherill, Research Consultant at Futuresource. "In last year’s crucial Q4 period, three million BD players were shipped globally, which represented more than 50% of the total for the year. And the trend is continuing, with our projections showing shipments for Q1 2009 will reach 1.2 million units, significantly up on Q1 2008."

All eyes will be on Q4 this year, with Futuresource predicting shipments in excess of six million units in that quarter alone, a healthy year-on-year growth that will successfully propel BD into the next decade."