Blu-ray vs HD-DVD sales update: 9:2

According to the report, Blu-ray outsold HD-DVD an impressive 9:2 while dominating the top sellers list. The only HD-DVD movie to even make an appearence on the list was "The Departed".

Sony's new release "Casino Royale" smashed all previous records by shipping 100,000 units to retail and also in the report Sony has 5 of the top 10 releases for the month of March.

According to the numbers from VideoScan, since its inception there have been 844,000 Blu-ray units sold, while there have been 708,600 units sold for HD-DVD.

However, there are some notes for the numbers. The VideoScan numbers do not include Wal-mart sales and most online merchants. There are also many more Blu-Ray players in use due to the amount of PlayStation 3's that have been sold.

[BIadestarX]

wow, "Casino Royale" smashed all previous records by shipping 100,000" pretty much 1/8 blu-ray movie purchased is Casino Royale.

"The VideoScan numbers do not include Wal-mart sales and most online merchants." that sucks...

[Watapata]

Should change the link to the original article which has a bit more information including some of the charts referenced in the linked article.

** original article also has a link to the .pdf from Sony that contains all this info...**

[mandrake]

If the PS3 trojan horse strategy enables Sony to win the format war, will it have been worth the damage inflicted on its game console business?

[Bigmac573]

has been done to their console 5 years from now when gamers crave the best graphics and games. PS3 has the games, the format, and soon will have the users.

[DJ]

Like what, HD Movies at an affordable price and 5 times more storage capacity for developers?

[sabbath420]

How do you figure that one? Blue ray and ps3 are the most expensive, and quality is the same as the competition. The games on 360 have just as good of graphics and gameplay and in some cases better that the ps3.
HD DVD has the same picture quality and a better interactive experience, with much less cots in both cases.
Thats just the way it is.

[techie]

I agree with all except Blu-ray movies being more expensive...they are actually on average cheaper...look here. http://www.eproductwars.com...

[Ru]

Still looks pretty close.

[NextGen24Gamer]

It would have to over take standard DVD. Average Joes would have to have a blu ray player in their home. ANd of course the 5% HDMI HD TV owners would have to increase to 70 % of consumers having a HDMI 1080p tv. Think about it. That won't happen any time soon. The one thing HD DVD has going for it is....By the end of this year the price of the stand alones will be at the 300 dollar price. Once it hits 200 dollars I believe movie players and movie title sales will drastically increase. Does anyone honestly think that at some point within the next 4 years there will be a Ps3 in most people homes? Come on folks. Sure the early adopters of the ps3 are using it for blu ray movies. I know, because I am. But, I don't see the average Joe, anytime soon, buying a ps3 to play blu ray movies.

The deciding factor will be which next gen format player can get to under 200 dollars for a stand alone. Which ever does that will see and incredible burst in sales and the "Movie Studios" will follow the consumers choice.

I just see it being a ways off from now. Total sales without "Walmart and Onine retailers" are about even. It should be interesting to see what happens when prices of the players drop....To be honest, though I give HD dvd the advantage due to name recogintion and price flexability.....You never know. But its far from over. Its really just begun.

[Watapata]

Believe it or not name recognition is on the side of Blu-Ray right now. Yes HD-DVD is closer to DVD which everyone knows and you can guess what it stands for just by reading it, but Blu-Ray really has a lot more advertising weight behind it right now. Additionally, some of your arguments here are flawed. First off, lets tackle that Blu-Ray is Sony's, its not, yes they are backing it, yes they had a large hand in its development, but it isn't Sony's. Blu-Ray simply doesn't fall into the category of a Sony proprietary format considering the number of companies behind it. Further, Blu-Ray doesn't need to beat DVD to knock out HD-DVD, it simply needs to outsell HD-DVD to the point where there is no further economic feasibility for the industry to support it. When you consider that HD-DVD hit the market much sooner than Blu-Ray the current trends should be rather disturbing for any HD-DVD backers. Especially when you notice that Blu-Ray has over 54% market share since the release of both formats and over 62% market share in 2007 alone, while increasing sales on a routine basis. If these market trends continue over the next 6 months or so you can probably expect retailers to stop carrying HD-DVD as it simply isn't making enough money. At the very least if those trends continue you can expect to see Universal start releasing titles on Blu-Ray and the moment that happens you can probably consider HD-DVD dead as a format. Currently the only advantage enjoyed by HD-DVD is a lower cost per player but the technology is not inherently cheaper its simply that Blu-Ray players have not yet reached economy of scale. With trends like this, it is not at all unlikely that Blu-Ray players could drop in price very quickly.

[TheExecutive]

It will have to overtake DVD before it wins out... However, getting rid of the only competition for HD movies is the right direction. It's like VHS to DVD's, time will make the worse one obsolete. So, if hd-dvd does quit, which i think they will have to, we know who stands to take the thrown when dvd steps down.

[hfaze]

"It will have to overtake DVD before it wins out..."

Why would Blu-Ray have to take out DVD to win? DVD STILL hasn't completely replaced VHS, would you consider it a failure due to that?

All Blu-Ray has to do to win the HD disc wars is to continue outselling HD-DVD on the scale it has been.

DVD will probably be around for at least another 10 years, if not more. If you shop around you can still find new album releases on vinyl, does that mean that CD's are a failure as well?

[MySwordIsHeavenly]

Haha...nice avatar. Anyone heard his music yet? LoveHateTragedy is AMAZING!!!

Wow, Topgamer, i've missed you man. Where've you been?

Is your precious little HD-DVD losing now? What a shame...

I thought it was the next big thing too...dang it!!!

[adult swim]

[techie]

9:2 is quite significant though. Big jump from 3:2... Also with a blu-ray in the top all-formats list (that includes DVD;s of course)...so it's already making it's way on the DVD market...It won't happen soon, but the consumer desperately needs a winner...but a winner depends on the consumer...

ps. out of interest TG...how can you say it's even if this took into account walmart and online? How do you know...I believe the evidence points to a very different situation at least by the trend that is shown on Amazon...ps. Blu-ray movies are at the moment on average $8 cheaper than HD-DVD movies.

[DiLeCtioN]

i checked it was 2:1

[sabbath420]

But if you look at the HD DVD's that are more costly they have both DVD and HD DVD formats on the same disc.

[techie]

oh ok. I guess that's helpful...

[lilwingman]

I consider that to be a pretty worthless point. If someone has a DVD player, they will obviously just buy the DVD. If they have an HD-DVD player, they will be using the HD-DVD side, and the DVD side will just be wasted. Sucks that they're forcing you to spend money on a format that you won't be using.

[MySwordIsHeavenly]

Yeah, it was...

but it's not now...

cuz someone's OWNING HD-DVD!!!

And the European launch went REALLY well.

Topgamer, what you're failing to see is that a lot of PS3 buyers don't even have an HDTV in their house. Honestly, I don't have one. I have an HD-Ready tv that I haven't put a DTV Decoder on yet...but I don't have an HDTV! Most of my friends with a PS3 don't have one either. I'm sure a lot of 360 gamers don't either. People are buying the new consoles not just for graphics, but because you can't play Assassin's Creed or Unreal Tournament III on a PS2 or Xbox...or Wii...haha. <yeah, do you see why the Wii will fail now?

I just think the PS3 will play a vital role in how Blu-ray does. Try any local Video Revue. They have a LOT of Blu-ray requests because PS3 owners want Blu-ray movies. I haven't seen ONE HD-DVD request so far...and my girlfriend works there now.

dbzboy...dude, i didn't realize you were my friend on the PS Network. That's freakin' awesome! Yeah, I was wondering where you came from.

How's tricks?

Edit: whoa...topgamer...how'd you get those bubbles?

[MetalProxy]

I didnt like the DVD name to begin with and now you want HDDVDMPF92SCREWU. HDDVD will not make it through this war, period. And yes there are average joes and jills buying the system for movies only. I could put all sorts of reasons but it seems pointless here. Also just because you have the time to type in your justifaction dosent mean its right.

[CrazzyMan]

when sony launched ps2, this console brought to masses DVD moovies.
and now PS3 will bring 1080p moovies.

hope, that users too will win if blu-ray format wins this format war. :)

[Figboy]

yeah, and since you checked last, it's 9:2. things change.

the PS3 has just launched in Europe, with positive results.

even if Wal Mart is taken into account in terms of sales, the PS3 has a little over 3 million instal base now, including the, apparently 800,000 plus stand alone Blu Ray players that have sold so far.

at best, HD DVD is at 1 million units installed or more, but still not enough to make a dent in Blu Ray's installed base. a base that grows each time a PS3 is sold.

the fact that more studios are supporting Blu Ray exclusively, means more movies on Blu Ray. more movies on Blu Ray means more choice. and you know us consumers love choice.

Blu Ray movies are also on par with HD DVD in the price category, so there really is no advantage to choosing HD DVD over Blu Ray.

Blu Ray movies here in Los Angeles are about $24.99-$29.99 on average. HD DVD movies are the same price.

the key difference is that there are more flicks available on Blu Ray.

"oh, but the price!"

Blu Ray players are, right now, $679 dollars at Best Buy.

HD DVD players are a little cheaper.

the PS3 is $500-$600, plays video games, Blu Rays, music CDs, DVDs, surfs the net, accepts memory sticks for things like digital cameras and PSPs, and is compatible with loads of things from USB and Bluetooth Keyboards, headsets and mice, and you can hook up your PC's external HDD to it via USB, and access the content from the PS3.

it's a great deal.

Blu Ray is winning, and Sony's Trojan Horse strategy appears to be working.

it's still rather early in the race, but if this trend continues through to years end (and with the release of movies like Spider-Man 1-3, X-Men 1-3, and others exclusively on Blu Ray, that may be the case. i cannot wait for a Blu Ray version of "The Incredibles" to hit, as well as Pixar's other movies), then there will be no denying that Blu Ray is the victor.

when you have retail outlets (albiet in Australia), already declaring that they aren't even bothering to stock HD DVD movies, but will be stocking Blu Ray rather plentifully, it's just not a good sign, either way you slice it.

personally, i think HD DVD is a good format. to be honest, i think the quality of both are damn near identical, but there is no way i can ignore the massive movie and gaming industry support Blu Ray has (i won't even go into the relevance of a larger capacity disc for gaming here, as this post would bloom even larger than it already is).

the sooner this format war is over, the better, and the sooner prices of things using said format will drop (ie, PS3's, stand alone Blu Ray players, and, of course, Blu Ray movies).

also, after a clear victor is decided, more people will probably start to purchase HD TVs to go along with their new HD content, and the cost of HD TVs will drop (they already are now. i've seen 32 inch 720p sets for less than $800. by years end, i expect that to drop by at least another $200 or more).

sure, that means people who have put their money into HD DVD have been burned, but hey, that's what happens with early adopters, and they are generally always aware of the risks.

at least if Blu Ray were to suddenly bomb as a movie format, i'd still be getting use out of it for my games.

UMD failed as a movie format, but games are still pressed on UMDs, so i don't feel cheated or robbed.

*as a side note on something completely unrelated, the damn N4G system wouldn't let me post my comment because it said i had the word "b*tch" in my post. i scoured my post for about 5 minutes, before i caught it. i had the words "bit", and "cheaper" a little too close together. lol. damn N4G.

[Dragonopolis]

HD-DVD exclusive camps went with recent movies rather than block buster hits. Still can't get Jurassic Park series (which I would have preferred over King Kong 2005 remake or even Waterworld for crying out loud). I went to the HD-DVD site and most of the a lot of the movies that were release that I wanted were from the dual supporting formats so I expect there is already, or will be, a Blu-ray version of the movie.

Sony might have just learn from their mistakes with betamax. Get the industry behind you first then release the format. Toshiba looks to have repeated a historical mistake and is learning the hard way.

Not like consumers are going to loose quality by choosing a format

Just...........Title choices.

Sucks for Universal though. If HD-DVD camp loses out then all that money focus toward HD-DVD will have gone down the tube.

I wonder if the market does squash one format (lets just go with HD-DVD because its behind), and no more players will be made, if Universal will switch Blu-ray wonder if they will make those people pay full price for the blu-ray version of the movie or give them a deal since they already bought the format. Think about it: how smart Universal might be by choosing a less supported format probably already new based on statistics that HD-DVD will fail. You are the good guy for supporting those people who wanted HD-DVD and you are pretty much blameless for HD-DVD failing (that would be Toshiba's fault) you sell the movies a second time (perhaps at a discount in blu-ray with the idea that eventually the consumers HD-DVD player will bust and they will have to buy a blu-ray disc player thus the blu-ray version of the movie - almost doubling the the amount made). I wonder if Universal has the ability to switch immediately to Blu-ray if HD-DVD does not make the cut.

Just thoughts any comments.....

[UlumaProDave]

The number was higher this time because HD DVD had no releases for like 3 weeks in a row in March. Wait till April numbers come out, and you will see HD DVD will have taken April.

[Watapata]

Are you really that confident of that? Have you considered that since Blu-Ray first gained its sales edge the margin in sales has steadily increased and HD-DVD hasn't retaken a single week, much less a month...

[Robert22388]

What are you smoking?

I can't even begin to tell you how flawed your logic is.

You can go support the format that "had no releases for like 3 weeks in a row." Meanwhile, the rest of us will be enjoying the steady flow of great movies on a player that actually HAS releases.

[specialguest]

I was wondering when Batman Returns was gonna hit Blu-ray. I guess now I know why I couldn't find it.

[Red]

I hadn't realized it would be that easy for everyone to ignore the fact that the "WORLD'S LARGEST RETAILER'S" figures aren't included in these numbers. Hell, with all numbers included, Blue-ray may have a bigger lead, but one can only assume.

[NextGen24Gamer]

"Will Not buy into the HD Player Market untill the price of the stand alones get to under 200 dollars".

So early leads mean absolutely nothing at this point. It neither format has penatrated the Main Stream Base of Movie watchers.

I have invested in both formats. I can afford to do so. I could care less which side wins out.

The price of HD dvd's are generally less expensive than Blu ray movies. The only HD dvd movies that are more expensive are the Combo Discs that have both the regular Dvd version and the HD dvd version on the same disc.

The 9 to 2 comparisson was done by sony on the release week of Casino Royal. The same week that hd dvd had no new releases. So to get excited about that is silly. When you look at the overall sales since the beginning till now....the totals are close for blu ray and hd dvd.

The war won't be won with players costing over 500 dollars. PERIOD. Its pretty common sense stuff here. When a player whether it be blu ray or HD dvd gets a price under 200....Thats when a winner will arise.

[Watapata]

I understand what you are trying to say, but a winner (at least between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray could very well be decided before then if one falls drastically out of favor in the market. This COULD happen, and in fact likely will happen before either side has players out under $200 unless current trends reverse themselves or stabilize. This isn't a matter of blindly following one side over the other or any such thing. Retailers will make the decision themselves if, for an extended period of time, one format consistently and largely outsells the other. It is not to their benefit to carry a format that doesn't sell.

As far as price goes, I can't speak for other parts of the world, or even other parts of the United States, but around me the price difference is negligible as both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD have titles that are more expensive than some titles on the other format and it is fairly evenly split. Though, by my personal tastes, the movies I prefer on Blu-Ray tend to be cheaper than whatever movies are on HD-DVD that I may want to purchase. When the same title happens to exist on both formats, they are uniformly the same price. In fact I've never once seen a movie on one format be more expensive than the same movie on the competing format.

When it comes to the comparisons, yes you're right that over the lifetime of each product the numbers are fairly close. However, considering the 6-month head start HD-DVD had on Blu-Ray, even if the numbers are close, HD-DVD should be at least slightly ahead. This, we know, is not the case. Additionally Blu-Ray is outselling HD-DVD at approximately a 2:1 margin in 2007 with signs that that could increase. This fact makes these comaprisons valid nonetheless, especially if you take the time and look through the entirety of the .pdf file and look at numbers sold for each format and for each title. Whether good or bad, Blu-Ray supporters have something to encourage them here, while HD-DVD supporters could be understandably worried.

When it comes down to it, this is a race into consumer's homes as you more or less said before, but its not at all infeasible that one format could die before the end of the race.

[nix]

they don't have much backing as the sony has. if situation like "casino royale and no HD-DVD on the same week" keeps repeating then it's bad news for toshiba and the camp.

[Shaka2K6]

Hip hip Blu-rayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! for Blu-ray.

[gta_cb]

although BluRay is doing better, the casino royal film and alot of the players sold is to do with the PS3 (as stated) and well, some people buy the PS3 for gaming... so these numbers arnt AS on target as everyone thinks, especially with a small percent of homes not having HD TVs. but saying this... BluRay is still doing well

[techie]

the numbers do not include the 3million ps3's sold. They say 800,000 stand alone blu-ray players...

[Rasulis]

These numbers overall have very little weight to them. They're tainted by the early adopters of the PS3. The PS3 owners overall have very little sway on deciding the leading format because they make such a small margin of the actual market. It is a good start though because it helps keep the backing of the movie companies, but it could easily be turned around once majority of the market starts adopting the new standard, be it HD-DVD or BlueRay.

[Robert22388]

The type of player makes absolutely NO difference. PS3, stand-alone, it makes not difference what the movies are playing on. The fact of the matter is that this war WAS won by the amount of actual titles sold.

[Bathyj]

It would put an end to all of this. There's no reason for this war to drag on anymore. Pretty much everyone knows BR is going to win. It's only that element of doubt thats stopping people investing in HD movies, just in case BR doesn't. Its not like consoles where I want 3 different platforms, each offereing something different and I'm happy to support all 3. When it comes to a movie format (for HD) I only want one.

Think about it, people are having no qualms about getting HDTV's nowa days so it stands to reason alot would want to get HD movies. The uncertainty is holding people back.

Its interesting that HDDVD has so many titles still in the overall top ten but I dont see them staying there. BR is still alot newer and will overtake the top ten overall sales in no time. HD only acheived those numbers without competition. The last 2 months they have been slaughtered. I know Xboys dont like this because they are anti anything Sony but as more PS3's sell BR is only going to streak ahead and thats not even the main reason. You cant ignore the studio support BR has. It's almost an insumountable challenge for HDDVD to get the lead back now. It would take some extremely huge exclusive blockbusters to do it, and even then, a blockbuster is only one movie.

Thats why I think BR has this pretty much wrapped up and it has nothing to do with which console I like best.

Do the smart thing Universal and end this destructive war and we will rule the galaxy as father and s......sorry, went off on a tangent there.

PS, anyone else see Jessica Alba's right boob on Fantastic 4? I love my BR.

[Loopy]

"The war won't be won with players costing over 500 dollars. PERIOD. Its pretty common sense stuff here. When a player whether it be blu ray or HD dvd gets a price under 200....Thats when a winner will arise."

I know a good deal about consumers, sales and marketing, and I can tell you the one thing I am 100% sure of: it's not about price.
Let me rephrase that more clearly: price is the reflection of the features and benefits the consumer is willing to pay.
For example, consumers are willing to fork a big extra money to get an iPod, because it's stylish and has entered into their mind as the only portable music player they know. Many know what an iPod is, but they don't even know it's an mp3 player and that there are other mp3 players out there. That's Marketing my friend.
Same goes for Wii: the marketing has been so tremendous, and the success so phenomenal it has entered into the mind of the mass people, so much that non-gamers are interested in gaming. But, do they realize it's only a revamped very pricey Gamecube with a new control, and that they are being fooled? No, and they don't care.

Now let's go over to the blu-ray and hd-dvd case, which are roughly equal in features. Even though the hd-dvd has been out there a year before blu-ray, it has been very badly marketed. The doubt casted early on on which format would takeover was tremendous.
The ps3 has done a big blow to hd-dvd, because the ps3 name was very largely associated with blu-ray. And ps3 having a huge marketing campaign, many people felt that blu-ray was the right one to choose, even though some may say "obliged to choose".
Not to mention that, simplistically, blu-ray has been marketed as having more storage space, and consumers will feel they get a better experience with blu-ray, even though it is wrong, as they'll only get the same experience.
In short, consumers are willing to fork extra cash for something that catches on, and blu-ray is the format that catches on.

[Robert22388]

Both camps have stated that as soon as the other player goes down the other will as well. This is not an important issue. When HDDVD hits $300, Bluray will be quick to follow suit.

[MikeGdaGod]

them some ugly numbers

[DJ]

so expect to see some pretty significant actions against HD-DVD. I've been reading through Electronics Stores advertisements and Blu-ray almost consistently gets either superior descriptions or superior ad space.

I included two ads from about a month back. If you read the print, Blu-ray is described as having the highest resolution, highest quality output, highest storage capacity, etc. Unfortunately, the relatively cheap HD-DVD player from Toshiba only supports up to 720p while the Blu-ray players are in 1080p.

[ITR]

Will this all change when the Elite drops?

I think it'll def. help the HD-DVD numbers.

I still like the HD-DVD hybrid discs now!
HD on one side and reg DVD on the other side!
Best of both worlds and keeps folks from buying twice!

[Robert22388]

The Elite doesn't have an HDDVD built in. Get your crap right.

Microsoft has completely abandoned HDDVD.

They're all about "Digital Distribution" now.

You really think they are going to support a physical format when they are trying to push digital with their new service. DON'T THINK SO!

(Note: Yes, Microsoft still supports HDDVD, but only by name. Other than that they really don't care about it)

[TheExecutive]

9:2 is crushing. No way to spin that in favor of HD-DVD. If these sales figures continue there is no chance that HD-DVD will be in major retailers in the winter... just no way. In the article they dont even include the ps3's. Its stand alone only.

It sucks that walmart figures arent incorporated in these figures, so some skepticism should be in order. I, however, don't think it would ever be enough to really change these figures drastically.

I just cant believe that its 9:2. Thats terrible.

[Bathyj]

Got home from work today and my free Casino Royal BR was waiting for me. Man I wasn't expecting it so fast. Nice.

[R34GTR]

This top gamer guy thinks he going to get a HD-DVD win from the "average joe consumer"....I cant even respond to that deperation argument. I'll chose to stay out of this thread and just spectate his "only valid in his biased world points".

I said a billion times before. Not liking Sony is a lame reason to be anti-blu ray. I dont have much faith the Xbox360. I dont have much faith in Microsoft as a company they are inexperience,sacred of sony and just shot themselves in the foot with the elite. But that does not mean I dont love my Windows OS. So please. Just cause your pro-microsoft or pro-xbox not knock Blu-ray. Yes its owning HD-DVD. Yes its better technology and every bestbuy,circuit, FYE I go into. The Blu-ray rack looks like an "after christmas sale" just hit it and the HD-DVD rack is usually flourishing untouched. Blu-ray is winning. Learn it Live it Love it. You and the Average Joe...lmfao (SMH)