Paramount Drops Blu-ray Support; Does Not Include Spielberg Movies

Despite selling more movies on the Blu-ray format, Paramount has announced today that they will begin supporting HD DVD exclusively. This move, rumored to be driven by a $150M exclusivity deal with the HD DVD group, comes after Paramount began favoring Blu-ray releases with higher quality video encodings and more HD features. The deal covers all of Paramount's properties excluding those directed by Steven Spielberg.

The move will inevitably lengthen a format war which should never have been. Consumers will unfortunately suffer the most, as they will be forced to support a format which is being supported by corporations instead of consumers. No word was given as to how long the exclusivity agreement is for, but rumors indicate through 2008.

[xfrgtr]

"Sources tell me that Paramount, which has been publishing on both Blu-ray and HD DVD, will receive $50 million to continue publishing in HD. "The deal is that anything they release on Blu-ray, they'll have to release in HD," a source told me. In addition, the studio will give the HD format exclusivity for some older titles in its catalogue".On Dreamworks: "But the $100 million from HD-DVD for DreamWorks Animation is a huge $$$ infusion for that still struggling public company. Sources tell me the money is for "promotional consideration" on future titles beginning with Shrek The Third. "Exactly what 'promotional consideration' means is that if there's an ad running for the Shrek The Third DVD, it'll mention that the pic is available on HD as well Blu-ray". I don't call this Exclusive,but the money is for their continuing support of the DEAD hddvd.Microsoft gives HD DVD group money through Toshiba, and then they hand out money to studios to 'keep those studios publishing on HD DVD' - does anyone else not see that HD DVD is dead - it's on life support.

[sticky doja]

So how is it HD DVD is dead or on life support. If you want to watch Shrek the 3rd and Transformers, buy an HD DVD player.

[coolmatrix]

Do you ride the short yellow bus to school? Not a knock, just a question!

MS sell the most expensive, unreliable DVD player (Elite) in the world at $479.99 and another DVD (HD) at $179.99 for a TOTAL : $659.98.

Am I missing something?

PS3 is for $499.99 or $599.99 complete HiDEF experience with all the features MS 360 DVD players have.

So you play games ONLY on the MS DVD. Want to watch HD, buy another expensive DVD (HD-DVD) player.

SO MS IS SELLING SUCKERS TWO DVD PLAYERS: one low end and one in HD!

Wow! Way to go. A sucker is born every second. Now I know why!!!!!

But wait, you will be buying another Xbox in what 3 years with no Backward Compatibility. WOW! Every second.

Milk, milk, milk.

Oh yes, MS is forcing consumers to buy HD DVD!

I did not buy any 360, will not buy VISTA and heck not even wasting my time with MS and Paramount. If I really want SHrek the Third that bad, I will watch it on DVD on my PS3.

360 Elite + HD DVD addon + LIVE + another XBox in say 3 years. WOW!!!

Milk, milk, milk, milk em dry.

MS meeting: How do we increase sales of our products?

People want to watch movies in HD, yes Mr Bill. We need a way to make them buy our HD DVD addon and then also buy and Xbox and Live. What can we do team? Think, think!!!!

A sucker (ahem customer) is suckered every second!!!!

[ALI-G]

MICROSOFT DO NOT GIVE MONKY A@@ ABOUT HD DVD .
ALL THEY DOINTG IS FCUKING UP BLUE-RAY > taking the biggest advantage the PS3 will have if Blue-ray won the format
milk milk milk your dumb useless unreliable brain ( if you had brain you would not bought BS3 and forced with BLUE-RAY format )

another xbox in 3 years goooooood news i am the first to buy it
becuase xbox = GAMES GAMES GAMES

[A Man]

Now all the sony fanboys will get angry... Once again you live with the truth. HD DVD will win in the end, better quality, better movies and more surport in the long term. If Blu-ray goes under the player in the ps3 is useless. Get ready for a HD DVD ready PS3. LOL

[IRISHCALIBER]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Viacom Inc's Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc said on Monday they will release their DVD titles exclusively on HD DVD, the high-definition digital movie format whose sales have lagged those of rival Blu-Ray so far this year.

Paramount, which distributes DreamWorks Animation's DVDs, settled on HD DVD after determining that the format offers better quality and lower-cost players and lower manufacturing costs, the studios said in a statement.

Two competing technologies -- HD DVD and Blu-Ray -- are waging a battle to dominate the next generation of DVD players that promise crisper video, audio and in some cases more content in the multibillion-dollar home entertainment arena.

Paramount's first releases under the exclusive HD DVD program include "Blades of Glory" on August 28 and the summer blockbusters "Transformers" and "Shrek the Third," due for release later this fall.

The exclusive agreement does not include movies directed by Steven Spielberg for DreamWorks SKG, which is a Paramount unit. His films are not exclusive to either format, Paramount said.

The agreement does include all other movies distributed by Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Nickelodeon Movies and MTV Films.

HD DVD was developed by Toshiba Corp and backed by Microsoft Corp and is supported by Warner Bros., Universal Studios, New Line Cinema, HBO and the Weinstein Co.

Blu-Ray discs use Sony Corp -backed technology and are supported by most of the major U.S. movie studios.

Both formats came on the market last year. Blu-Ray outsold HD DVD by 2 to 1 in the United States in the first half of 2007, according to Home Media Research.

An estimated 3.7 million high-definition discs have been sold, including 2.2 million in Blu-Ray and 1.5 million in HD DVD through the end of July, Home Media Research said last week.

[Gamespot-equals-EGM]

Will be interesting to see what Blockbuster does.

Blockbuster ***has*** to stock Transformers and Shrek 3 in HD in its brick and mortar stores. If they don't, they're leaving so much money on the table. My guess is they'll probably just make exceptions for those two movies (and any other big Paramount movie coming out on HD-DVD).

[cuco33]

is more proof on my theory how HD DVD is far from dead and this 'war' is far from over. studios will either go multiformat or switch sides (like you see here with paramount)

be ready to embrace both formats since they are here to stay. the only question i have is how will sony's camp handle the BR side? will they bastardize it like they did with UMD and MiniDisk or allow it to strive as a neutral format in high def viewing?

to below: this is a tad side tracked but ofr HD DVD player i wouldn't own the add on. it would be HD-A2 unless i hold off for the 3rd gen toshiba player.

[eLiNeS]

The Disagrees are on the high in here, just showing a lot of pissed PS3 fandroids. Disagree all you want but we've been saying it all along, HD-DVD FTW!

What will Fony do with 4 million PS3 they will have to recall?!?!?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAH A HA

[Kaneda]

I think Transformer produced by Steven Spielberg...but directed by Michael Bay...

So is it only HD-DVD exclusive?

[drtysouf21]

and its probably safe to say that this format war is going to last a lot longer. Good thing i have a PS3 and HD DVD add on for my 360 in the mean time but still having two formats isn't a good thing.

http://www.reuters.com/arti...

Looks like i'll be getting Transformers on HD DVD.

[sticky doja]

Transformers is tha shiznit.

Edit: Whoever disagreed, can you tell me why you didn't like Transformers? Chicks weren't hot enough? Action not crunk enough? Optimus Prime not cool enough?

[drtysouf21]

http://www.viacom.com/NEWS/...

[blusoops]

Transformers was produced by Spielberg, so I guess I'll be getting this one on Blu-Ray anyway!!! LOL

[Bnet343]

for having a playstation avatar and not being a fanboy.

[Delive]

http://www.allmovie.com/cg/...

24th name down on the list of the Credits for Transformers.

Steven Spielberg - Executive Producer

[eLiNeS]

No Blu-ray for you, it says in the press release it will be on HD-DVD, "Paramount Home Entertainment will launch its exclusive HD DVD program with the release of the blockbuster comedy hit "Blades of Glory" on August 28th and follow with two of the biggest grossing movies of the year "Transformers" and "Shrek the Third"."

[DeadIIIRed]

Oh and you get Tom Cruise too. I'll admit it hurts a little, but at least we'll get Superbad, chika chika.

[blusoops]

Hmmm...well even if it doesn't come out in Blu-Ray, I'll still get Transformers on regular DVD and have my PS3 upscale it to 1080p. Not as good as Native 1080P but pretty dam close!

[MikeGdaGod]

i can get Transformers on dvd and upscale it through the ps3. no need to buy an EXTRA player just to do that.

i think Paramount is just trying to get as much money as possible from whoever. wont work with me. i already got it on bootleg....ha!

[Loudninja]

I guess this will go down as one of the mistakes in this war.I mean really, how can they be so stupid First of all, there movies already sold better on blu-ray.And second, Blu-ray sold more has a whole.

No where does it say they will drop Blu0ray

[ALI-G]

http://www.viacom.com/NEWS/...

[eLiNeS]

"Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B) and DreamWorks Animation SKG (NYSE: DWA), each announced today that they will exclusively support the next-generation HD DVD format on a worldwide basis. The exclusive HD DVD commitment will include all movies distributed by Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Nickelodeon Movies and MTV Films, as well as movies from DreamWorks Animation, which are distributed exclusively by Paramount Home Entertainment."

[Antan]

So a combo player it is then!! lol.

[sticky doja]

"The move by the two studios will include the upcoming blockbuster "Shrek the Third" and all movies distributed by Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Nickelodeon Movies and MTV Films, as well as movies from DreamWorks Animation, which are distributed exclusively by Paramount Home Entertainment.

Paramount previously released movies in both formats.

"Part of our vision is to aggressively extend our movies beyond the theater, and deliver the quality and features that appeal to our audience," said Brad Grey, chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc. "I believe HD DVD is not only the affordable high quality choice for consumers, but also the smart choice for Paramount.""

Looks like the war is FAR from over.

Edit: @Sony Loyalist
I doubt Microsoft forked the bill, since Toshiba owns HD DVD. Also on thinking the 360 will be third, it very well could be, but if it is it won't be third by very much. There will be no winner of this Console war like there was with the PS2 era. All 3 systems are too good for that to happen.

[xfrgtr]

"$150M exclusivity deal with the HD DVD group":LIFE SUPPORT

[The Brave 1]

hey sticky wake up dude!this is just microsoft pooring money into this war that they soon will loose.all signs point to a blu victory.the problem is the longer it lasts the better for microsoft.ther loosing the format war ,they will soon loose the lead in the console war ,and come a distant third by the way.

[sjappie]

they're just one off the companies that back it, if anything, Sony has a hell of a lot more at stake with Bluray.

[Nameless]

Loudninja Blu-Ray still gets Speilberg Movies

[Vojkan]

People its the "source"? My chicken source told me this and that....

[alexander22rednaxela]

Jack Tretton said "HD-DVD will be dead in 4 months".
Peter Moore said "Sony have economic reasons to want that, let`s talk about this after CES (consumer electronic show)".

Who is right? Who is wrong?

[scrillakiller]

is this confirmed.i think its bs as bluray outsells hddvd

[sajj316]

I have both. Seriously though, not good news for Blu Ray only owners. Transformers and Shrek the Third. Those are two big titles.

[monkey602]

shrek 3 was a failure of a movie i dont know anybody personaly who wasnt dissapointed by it, but i'm really worried about transformers i wanted that on blu-ray

[Loudninja]

and they are some of the best.People also forgets that Spider Man 3 outsold all those moves.They are just dragging it on in the mud

[sticky doja]

But that was before people realized Spider Man 3 sucked. They went to see it because they liked the first 2.

Edit: Transformers did not suck, it in fact brought me back to days when I was a kid waking up on saturday mourning to watch Transformers. The movie played out just like I remember, not to much going on other than alot of cool action. Spiderman 3 had so many different sub plots it was hard to stay focused on any one of them. I did like that Harry and Pete ended up joining forces, but by the time the movie was over I was just kind of ready for it to be over. When Transformers was over I was ready for part 2.

[Armyless]

Transformers sucked, unless you're an impressionable adolescent.

[jedicurt]

hey... i loved Transformers and i'm not an impressionable adolescent. I'm an impressionable adult, thank you very much... with perhaps an adolescent sense of humor... but that's beside the point

EDIT: Someone disagreed with me as to whether i am an adolescent or not? Now i remember why i don't post on this site all too often

[Gamespot-equals-EGM]

I enjoyed both Spiderman 3 and Transformers but liked Transformers a little bit more. But I had to watch Spiderman 3 twice to really understand all the subplots (thanks BiTorrent for getting me 'discount' to see these movies).

But the one scene at the beginning of Transformers where the dad drives his son to a Porsche dealership (and psyches out his son before driving to a crappy used car lot). That scene was sooooo fvcking funny. One of the funniest I have ever seen in a movie. Top notch entertainment there.

[Xbox 360 Will]

I will stay humbly silent on this topic. Format war is far from over now.

though i will say cdzie1 is about to throw a celebration party lol!

Edit: LOL i was right look at comment 15!

[Whoooop]

We're waiting cdzie1..

This is your chance at glory...

[mccomber]

meet Fan.

Talk about huge developments, this is a big coup for HDDVD. If it's only for one year it might not make a difference in the long run, but this will definitely help to guarantee another year of this format war.

[cdzie1]

Official Press Release:

PARAMOUNT AND DREAMWORKS DECLARE EXCLUSIVE SUPPORT FOR HD DVD

Movies Distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment Including Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Animation SKG, DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Nickelodeon Movies and MTV Films to be Released Exclusively in HD DVD

Exclusive Program To Begin with Release of "Blades of Glory," Followed by "Transformers" and "Shrek the Third," Films Representing More Than $1.5 Billion in Combined Worldwide Box Office

http://www.hddvd-blog.com/c...

[JokesOnYou]

just uttering the words HD DVD is blasphemy, HD DVD is dead! remember sony said so, ha ha this is too funny, I'll keep saying it everything sony kids rant about and bash the competition with always comes back to haunt them= EVERYTHING, look at every claim to fame sony kids have been screaming the last 2 yrs and right now its all biting them in the @ss. lmfao, I've said it before the war is far from over, but I have to give you some respect cause sony kids have beat the hell out of you for insisting it wasnt over yet, we all knew it but you were probably the loudest voice= credit to you for stickin to your gunz and once again to the sony kids=

JOY

[SuperSaiyan4]

HAHAHAHA HD-DVD FTW!!!

[OMG 360 RUL3Z0RZ FTW]

I should amend my username...

[scrillakiller]

of this frmt bs.bluray is highest seling it should be the only frmat.im so sick of this

[Ignorant Fanboy]

Should we get rid of it?

What the hell are you talking about? Highest in sales? These things havent even started to sell yet. The numbers for both sides are poor.

[XxZxX]

wow that's really unexpected...hmmmmm

2 studio vs 4 ...

[J Allard 360]

I ain`t playin' with sony! Sony I`ll whip that head boy!

[Rooftrellen]

"Consumers will unfortunately suffer the most, as they will be forced to support a format which is being supported by corporations instead of consumers"

Haha at the article. A report from a bluray website talks about corperations supporting HD DVD, nevermind the bluray exclusives that I KNOW people would rather play on a cheaper HD DVD player).

This is certainly a huge blow for bluray. Paramount makes a lot of very popular movies, and is a fitting counter to Disney, in fact.

Do you want Spiderman or Transformers? Pirates or Shrek?

This could, actually, quite easily totally tip the balance of the "war."

No, wait, now I think I can actually call it a war, though I've been saying for a long time the war hasn't started yet.

Yeah, the war is on.

Edit: typos

[ArmrdChaos]

"Consumers will unfortunately suffer the most, as they will be forced to support a format which is being supported by corporations instead of consumers"

SONY is the one from the very beginning that courted the movie studios to create a monopoly on content. They are the a$$bags that were forcing the consumer to buy blueray if they wanted to see certain movies. They knew damn well that if they did not lock down content then the cheaper HD player would eventually win the war. If the movie industry really wanted to end the war then they should put movies out in both formats (whether separately or dual disc) and let the CONSUMER decide this holiday season based on free choice WITHOUT limitation to content.

[Salvadore]

Expect this war to go on a bit further.

[TheFatOne]

I thought that transformers directed by Steven Spielberg.

[sticky doja]

Directed by Michael Bay.

[Nameless]

Transformers was directed by Michael Bay & Steven Speilberg was the Producer or w/e.

[SuperSaiyan4]

Transformers is fantastic! So much so I take that over any blu-ray movie!

I have both players but I prefer HD-DVD! The look and sound of perfect ;-)

[rev20]

Money talks :)

[EZCheez]

I really just want it all to be over. Am I to assume though that this is a timed exclusivity though? It's amazing how much money these companies have to throw around.

Man, what I could do with $150 million. I'd probably invent my own format and tell everyone else to F off.

[M3RCUTIO]

Hopefully this proves to be enough to help usher in a world of dual formats.

[Rooftrellen]

Hopefully not. Dual format means expensive. If I don't want to spend money on a bluray player, I don't want to spend money on a bluray and HD DVD player in one, or extra for dual discs.

Hopefully it ends the war faster, with a heavy player exclusive to the cheap side.

When its cost against content, the war looks to be long, but when its content against content and price, it could end the war fairly swiftly.

It may be interesting to see a spike in 360 HD DVD add-ons again.

Hopefully the war ends in favor of HD DVD so we don't all have to dump a lot of money into a bluray player, wait for its price to lower to a reasonable amount, or wait for PCDs and players for them to develop and become cheap enough for the average person.

This is actually almost enough to make me want to get a HD DVD player, but I think I'll be holding off a least a little longer.

[EZCheez]

I really can't think of one positive about having dual formats coexist. This will probably only prolong some much needed price drops by both camps that would have gained support by the average consumer. I see the logic in this, I just don't like it.

I bet a lot more of the LG dual format DVD players sell now.

[rogue zero one]

how stupid could paramount be? why prolong this war? how is it good for anyone?

[sticky doja]

Otherwise blu ray players would still be $600.00. Everybody wins with compatition, monopolies hurt the consumer.

Edit: I'm not just talking about players, but movies themselves. And the prices for HD DVD players and blu ray players would not be as low as they are right now, without the other format being in existance. Everything related to price of the two will be lower because the other exists.

[EZCheez]

Using specific formats doesn't necessarily mean a "monopoly." Any company can make a blu-ray or hd-dvd player. Just like any company could make a DVD player, a CD player , or a VHS player. There was no real monopoly with those formats and when this war is over it will all be the same. Yes, a few companies will collect royalties for inventing the hardware but that is the case with every format ever used. Any company can make a profit by making a DVD player of either format and make a profit off of said DVD player, so the "monopoly" theory makes no sense.

[Loudninja]

HD_DVD may be cheaper but it still does not have as much studio support as Blu-ray.Sony will just counter this as well just watch.Aslo HD-DVD sales will not just go up, remember not many people are aware of this stuff.

[Mr Murda]

I agree with you that there are not going to be people aware of the Paramount exclusivity deal, but they will be aware of the movies that are and aren't available on each format. People will see Transformers on the shelves of HD DVD and not on the shelves of Blu-Ray....that's how people WILL be aware, and that is the most effective tool.

[snoop_dizzle]

360 addon soon.

[benny o klaatt]

i'd consigned myself to not getting either until a winner was decided, but now..... hmmm i'll wait till matrix trilogy is out and i'll see how i feel then.

[XxZxX]

Paramount dont care about the sales. The sales are pretty low. They want the $150 million deal and i think they expected their sales number do be low.

[TheFatOne]

I think it is a really stupid move by paramount, but i don't think they could just ignore 150 million.

[BLaZiN PRopHeT]

wow that mean Transformers will only be in HD-DVD didnt see this one coming.

[mistertwoturbo]

This is just great. Although I have both HD-DVDs and Blu-Rays, this is just bad news to me. I seriously hate having two formats and I was putting my money on blu-ray cause it was doing a lot better in sales. But now this is just going to pro-long this stupid "format war" even longer.

[Fighter]

From the beginning we all knew that Paramount wanted HD-DVD to win so this was not such a big surprise to me. We will have to wait and check out the numbers in a few months to see whether HD-DVD will start to pick up sales.

HD-DVD are such big hypocrites. Remember when they complained to European Union about why Blu-ray was getting all the exclusives and they wanted to check all the dealings of those Blu-ray supporters on paper?

[power of Green]

Its going to be an intresting battle. I never knew why PS3 fanboys always say HD-DVD is dead when PS3 pulls Blu-ray's weight.

EDIT:

Some Idiot dissagreed lol, Blu-ray would be finished without the lead the PS3 offers. At least tell me how I'm wrong in a reply moron. Seem alittle ass hurt to me.

[Audiggity]

Double snaps in fact.

Screw it, Microsoft should start offering $100 rebates for the HD Drive and start buying the movie studios that support blu-ray. They really want to secure marketshare? If PS3 doesn't have any Blu-Ray movies... we all know it doesn't have any games... it wouldn't have a leg to stand on.

I hope this trend keeps up, well done Paramount!

If MS would just announce that they are buying Rockstar as well... Sony's PS division would go belly up in about a week.

M$!!! Listen to me! LOCK UP THE MARKET... BUY, BUY, BUY!

[Rooted_Dust]

Does 150 million dollars really offset the cost of the loss of near 5 million Blu-Ray owners?

[Rooftrellen]

But nearly all of those are PS3 owners, and about 60% of those don't know they have a bluray player.

Besides, Paramount could get a win/win situation here. With some of the must-haves they have to counter bluray exclusives, and with the cheaper cost of an HD DVD player, they could push it to victory in the war.

So they very well may be getting $150 million to push a format to victory, and not lose any sales in the long run. It could backfire, as well, if HD DVD loses, and they may lose a lot of sales, but $150 million is a lot no matter how you slice it, so its not a huge loss either way.

Edit: You want to know my source? http://n4g.com/gaming/News-... There you go.

[KeMoBLUE]

WTF. "60% of those don't even know they have a blu-ray player" HM??? so there are roguhly 6-7 million ps3s out right not so what your saying is about 4-5 million of them don't know they have a blu-ray player?? please i have got to know were you found this information because im pretty sure about 75-80 percent of ps3 users actually know there is a blu-ray player in there. but only about 60% actually use it for movies. please link me your information because i don't see how that can be.

edit: seems more like a guesstimate to me considering they weren't able to ask every ps3 owner those questions bt some how come up with a pecentage based on all the user globally. but IMO no one is gonna pop in a damn movie console every 5 seconds they actually expect people to watch a movie atleast once every ten time the turn on a GAME console. that doesn't mean they don't watch movies. i find it hard to believe that 4 million people aren't aware of the blu-ray player yet blu-ray is blowind HD-DVD out of the water. just doesn't add up IMO

[fjtorres]

http://www.viacom.com/NEWS/...

Score: Universal, Paramount, Dreamworks -- HD-DVD
Sony, Disney, Fox -- BD
Everybody else, neutral

This is going into 2008 at least.

[XxZxX]

Wow thanks for gladly miss out two more exclusive studio for blu-ray.

Blu-ray still have Lionsgate, MGM exclusive.

[mistertwoturbo]

this now explains why Universal wants the format war to continue. I'm pretty sure there are long talks and plenty of corporate meetings about this way before this was announced.

[SuperSaiyan4]

I just reaslised wasnt there talks that Paramount might be the publisher of the movie? That meant on Blu-Ray as well...

Who knows to throw more wood onto the fire maybe HALO the movie had something to do with it?

[Fighter]

I'm not sure if paramount is involved too. I also know that Universal studios is making the God Of War movie. The format wars will probably be over once those movies are finally out.

[BlazinEurasian]

The techno'logical' decision is Bluray as it has significantly more storage space, which is important for computers but less important for movies. The issue is that 1080p (the next progression) is supported by two formats, one of which is more expensive. The non-electronic, non movie buff, non audiophille, the non-enthusiast will obviously choose the least expensive format.

The worst case scenario would be if movies all came on HD-DVD while PC was dominated by Bluray. That would give most major corporations leverage as we could no longer download movies, games, ect, and play/watch them on our HD TV sets. I would like to think HD DVD does not pose a threat to Bluray for the PC, its larger capacity makes it the more obvious choice, as well as its larger streaming abilities.

If all consumers were versed in basic game theory and read electronics news sources HD-DVD would probably never made it out the gate...

[ArmrdChaos]

If superior technology was the simple answer then I should go out and drop $10,000 dollars on a holographic drive...its specs blow everything else out of the water, but as with everything price matters. While Blu-ray may be considered marginally better, it may not be economically the best choice for the mass populace. I would guess that less than 15% of the population has the disposable income to go out and buy a $10,000 - $20,000 surround sound setup to make that difference apparent.

I think it is safe to say that if not for Sony's early attempts at content monopoly and the inclusion in the PS3 the Blu-ray format would be in far different position right now.

[BlazinEurasian]

Thats kind of what I'm saying. The added space makes a difference for PCs but is marginalized as a movie format.
The question arises is a significant storage increase more imporant than a significant price difference. I'm saying for computers the storage is worth it but for movies not so much.
I also believe that whichever format wins the PC will win the format race. People can compare this format race to the last one all they want but the last one didn't involve computers or video games. It only involved movies.
So the question is would you chose HD-DVD over Bluray for your computer? If so why? Just because its cheaper? All tech related prices come down.. its like waiting a year to buy the superior video graphics card as opposed to buying the standart one today.

[kewlkat007]

I guess, while Toshiba was working on HD-DVD features and it's hardware, Sony was Paying cash for support, behind the scenes.(doing their dirty work hehe)

Looks like that money is starting to run out.

Like I have always stated, with the PS3 being what it is(as it was a good move by sony) it gives the BD much needed support, even if it is not counted as a Stand-alone. If Ms had put an HD-DVD drive in the xbox 360's,(while that strategy would off-set it's low-price) we wouldn't be talking about PS3 having that EDGE.

Example: 10+ million > 4+million

The only thing that would be left, would be, the support BD has gotten from the Movie Studios. Lets face it HD-DVD has better features.(IMO) As Blu-Ray's hardware is far from being finalized.
The only thing HD-DVD has never gotten was the huge support. (THATS IT)

So another Twist, that's why I'm not buying sh!t. Well, when I purchase a PS3 it will be nice to have an HD player(since I have no choice) but we'll see how this War goes. If manufacturers start pulling out Dual Players like LG, then who knows.

+1 for HD-DVD(They need all the support they can from Studios)

If that tide starts to turn and MONEY start to TALK, then I'll have to say HD-DVD is far from being Dead. Yes BD is still on top for that matter. I currently know why that is, so no need fo rme to read BS.

[Says you]

Excellently with Blu Ray why are they making it exclusive to another format that is basically dead in everyway?.

[mighty_douche]

but it seems like what ever happens they seem to want one group of consumers, either blu-ray or HD-DVD to lose out on money! companies seem to be forgetting about there customers and just putting themselves up for the highest bidder, im sure tomorrow if blu-ray came in with a bigger offer it would change again!!

technology companies aka SLAGS!!

[BlazinEurasian]

Paramount just getting money like that seems like a corporate bribe.

[Anything but Cute]

Looks like this is the start of a long format war that won't end. And if any console wants to win the console war, it's gonna be with games.

Who knows maybe the studies are true, few people use their consoles as movie players anyway, this whole HD DVD vs Blu ray is probably overblown by gamers.

[ThaGeNeCySt]

"Who knows maybe the studies are true, few people use their consoles as movie players anyway, this whole HD DVD vs Blu ray is probably overblown by gamers."

It is.

[Ju]

It made a difference for me, at least. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one.

[Panthers]

Does Transformers count as a Speilburg movie? He did produce it. If so, it will still be on BluRay.

EDIT: Nevermind, it says directed by Speilburg.

[SuperSaiyan4]

As Paramount Studios is the publisher.

Also HD-DVD sounds a lot better than Blu-Ray who cares about the space? Dual layer 30gb is more than enough for a movie.

Also ALL HD-DVD's are REGION FREE!! Only some Blu-ray movies are region free and the quality of most Blu-Ray movies is poor.

I am looking at my 3 Blu-Ray movies and its making me sick...I have over 10 HD-DVD's and the box colour and name look awesome.

[sajj316]

be a PS3 owner but you are sooooooo biased to one side on this site. You equate Blu Ray to PS3 and HD DVD to the 360 yet most people on this site proclaim the freedom of choice that MS gives you.

"I am looking at my 3 Blu-Ray movies and its making me sick" .... sure yet you own 3 Blu Ray movies. You can't appreciate the PS3 yet you own one.

HD DVD sounds better ... Box Color looks cool .... (a large sighh .....)

I have never heard of someone that has bought something yet hate it.

[540damn]

you prefer 30gb over 50gb? you wreak of bull5hit. how does the hd-dvd group afford $150 when they are practically giving away players? are they bill gates' new charity?

[xfrgtr]

The real reason why Paramount switched isn't because they felt like HD-DVD is the better format, it's because they got a huge some of money from the HD-DVD camp which had no choice but going for desperate acts. Anyways, things are getting more interesting once again.

[Loudninja]

That movie sold more than all of those movies.

[BIadestarX]

Typical fanboy... trying to undermind a giant studio like Paramount.... all of the sudden Paramount does not have good movies... nor they matter... ehh?
Did you also know that Spiderman 2-3 sucked compared to spiderman 1? and that they better give spiderman a few years break... because it getting old and lame? Now... transformers is something that makes you want to say... #$(%&^&#^$ spiderman.

[XxZxX]

hey look fanboy calling people fanboy. lol

[BIadestarX]

wow.. look at the Sony fanboys all down and depressed... weren't you doing a dancing ritual over HD DVD being dead? Do you see how much influence you fanboys have over the outcome of the format or console war? You have 0... nada! none! helpless isn't?
Do you see how things can change from one day to another? If HD DVD managed to stay alive even after the massive support blu-ray is getting... let's see how it does now.
Sony better start doing something... blu-ray must win for the PS3 to have a future. For anyone wanting Paramount and Universal movies blu-ray/PS3 is not an option.

Why arent you laughing now?

[Bordel_1900]

It's sucked that Paramount let them selves be bought by the HD-DVD group.

But, I'm laughing at your sorry ass bladestar. You really are a sad bloke.

[timmyp53]

anyway this is gonna be a heck of a disc format battle. Both sides have great studios. Lets see what happens.

[Anything but Cute]

Gamers are making too big a deal about this, when it doesn't matter to them.

It's not like Blu ray was some huge asset that was selling PS3's. Blu ray wasn't doing jack for PS3. Nobody was demanding blu ray. People see PS3 and XBOX 360 as gaming consoles and it's gonna be the gaming that matters.

[sajj316]

If there is a market for 3 consoles, there can be one with 2 formats (short term). A format war is bad because it causes confusion. In one way its good because it keeps both sides honest. How else will the price go down?

Blu Ray in my opinion will win at the end, just like I envision the PS3 winning in the long run. You guys have to look past the length of your nose. Its going to be a long battle .. both on the format and console fronts.

"Do you see how much influence you fanboys have over the outcome of the format or console war? You have 0... nada! none! helpless isn't?" .... I might have forgotten the concept of consumerism but isn't it the consumer that decides. Not the game company and not the movie publisher!! Fanboys are also consumers.

[sajj316]

If there is a market for 3 consoles, there can be one with 2 formats (short term). A format war is bad because it causes confusion. In one way its good because it keeps both sides honest. How else will the price go down?

Blu Ray in my opinion will win at the end, just like I envision the PS3 winning in the long run. You guys have to look past the length of your nose. Its going to be a long battle .. both on the format and console fronts.

"Do you see how much influence you fanboys have over the outcome of the format or console war? You have 0... nada! none! helpless isn't?" .... I might have forgotten the concept of consumerism but isn't it the consumer that decides. Not the game company and not the movie publisher!! Fanboys are also consumers.

[snoop_dizzle]

what are they, and why do i never see any sony fanboy respond to that?

Just wondering.

Also bluray disks might hold more info, but is that really necessary for movies especially when you can make a dual layered HDDVD movie?

As for me i have a few bluray movies and they look excellent btw. Im just wondering about HDDVD.

[Bordel_1900]

Well, I have a PS3 and and lots of BD's. I couldn't tell you what these extra hd-dvd features are 'cause I don't have a hd-dvd player.

Maybe you should ask the hd-dvd camp to tell you about them?

[Rageanitus]

We need one format not 2

[DaEnforcer]

$150M exclusivity deal? How cheap is Paramount? Shouldn't they earn $150M with just a single movie?

[MaximusPrime]

fair enough.

I'll get it on DVD and use my PS3 HD upgrading.

I still dont trust HD DVD. Im fully supporting Bluray.

[540damn]

come on man you know youre not supposed to sound that reasonable on this site, lol.

[jedicurt]

That means that hd-dvd gets stuck with having "The Core" and "Mean Girls" on HD-DVD...lol

actually this will be a big blow... that means no Star Trek on Blu-Ray... not the movies, not the tv-series... nothing.... a sad sad day for the ps3 owning Trekies out there

[Figboy]

that's unfortunate.

looks like i won't be owning *ANY Paramount or Dreamworks movies. not even on DVD.

i'm *DONE with standard definition, so i'm not buying any new DVDs anymore.

when it comes to HD, i own a PS3, and therefore, i'm using the PS3's Blu Ray functionality.

i'm not going to go and buy *ANOTHER HD player, so i can watch the few Paramount movies i enjoy (ie, Transformers).

sorry, Paramount, but you just made a *TERRIBLE mistake.

i'm sure myself, and the 5 million PS3 owners out there (sure, supposedly 60% don't know about the Blu Ray drive, but you don't expect them to be in the dark *FOREVER, do you?), aren't going to bother to purchase the film; either on HD DVD, *OR DVD.

what i don't understand, is that Blu Ray versions of movies have *CONSISTENTLY sold *MORE than HD DVD, and yet they go and do this deal.

like i said, it's unfortunate, especially considering that the families they talked of in their press release, rent a lot of movies to watch with the kids, and Blockbuster, the largest brick and mortar rental chain in the US, is backing Blu Ray exclusively in 1500 of their worldwide stores (out of a total of 1750 stores).

it just doesn't make any *BUSINESS sense.

money most certainly talks.

we're all being used as pawns here. the format war was *ALMOST over, people were clearly making up their minds and choosing *ONE format over the other, then *THIS happens, which, sure, it gives the HD DVD camp something to cheer about, but, ultimately, it's just going to hurt *ALL of us. the shorter this war, the better. i just can't understand Paramount's reasoning behind this.

[BenzMoney]

really *CARES about your *SILLY little *RANT on *N4G dot *COM!

[JokesOnYou]

Figboy
"sorry, Paramount, but you just made a *TERRIBLE mistake."

so says the blu-ray camp, meanwhile HD DVD camp is smoking *CIGARS on their way to *VEGAS to do a lil gambling & party hard with some *NICE girls.=

JOY

[Figboy]

what would really be constructive, would be to, say, offer an *EDUCATED REBUTTAL to what i have to say, instead of being immature douches about it.

doesn't matter, both of you are ignored anyway.

[KeMoBLUE]

the consumers are decieding whether to go Blu-Ray or HD-DVD and they have obviously chosen blu-ray which draws exclusivity from companies such as disney, blockbuster, woolsworth (like wal-mart in the UK), Warner Bros just to name a few but when it comes to movies on HD-DVD the HD-DVD group has to pay for exclusivity (much like microsoft) the article says it aswell 150 million for exclusivity. the article even notes that paramount favored blu-ray and sold more movies on that platform but 150mill is alot i would have done it too.

[Bnet343]

That just pulled HD-DVD up , this is going to be interesting

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

I don't even care about this war but HAHA! Sony fans.

[tomfoolery]

I love seeing Sony colon-collaboraters get in a defensive tissy
every time their little world comes crashing down a little bit.
I love that HD DVDs putting up a fight.........classic.

[mistertwoturbo]

Well this is continuing the "format wars" or whatever, it still doesn't settle the fact that the PS3 will always outsell standalone HD-DVD players. Which leads to the fact that there will always be more potential blu-ray buyers in people's homes. And what it's even more stupid is all you idiot fanboys out there and in these posts jumping in joy about HD-DVD. Don't you get it your morons? This is bad for the consumers and it's just more and more confusing for new potential buyers.

[jlytle1234]

I guess transformers will just have to magically appear on a hard drive in a computer that plays movies on a tv in an apartment where I just happen to live. I dont know how it got there.

[power of Green]

http://www.engadget.com/200...

Movies don't need 100 gigs so don't even try it.

I see I'm still getting dissagree's up there, explain".

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

I love how it's 51, it's like Toshiba was saying "Snap in your face, one more that you Sony b!tches"

[Fighter]

A firmware update is not going to help read those 51 GB discs. You will have to replace your old HD-DVD player with a new one. Read the last paragraph of my link. http://www.reghardware.co.u...

[Rageanitus]

In order to use a 51 gb disc new players have to come out, meaning hd-dvd will have to rebuild their user base, thats if they start making discs with 51 discs for movie purposes.

[synetic]

200 GB bluray disk ....
http://www.earthtimes.org/a...

this news date is from 04 Sep 2006 so it will not take to long now to release

[Yosking]

This just shows you the world revolves around money. I wonder what else people would do for money...
Oh yeah..Didn't paramount just say last month that hd-dvd didn't have the space needed to put hd picture, uncompressed audio, and special features on their discs?
Hope blu-ray wins

[SpenserTracy]

Who cares about HD-DVD, only a few 360 fanboys. Everyone else wants the better format Blu-Ray.

[OMG 360 RUL3Z0RZ FTW]

I wonder why "everyone else" on here likes bluray[/sarcasm]

I see exactly what I expected to see on this site with some anti-bluray news.

Have a nice day, fanboys

[dragonZ28]

The war is over. HD DVD wins. I have been calling it from day 1. The price was going to kill Blu-Ray alone, and this is just icing on the cake. Blu-Ray is dead - quote me on that.

Give up Sony fanboys. Enjoy Spider-Man 3... a movie that should have never been made. If you like drama filled chick flicks, Spider-Man 3 is the shizzy.

[heroman711]

umm dude... are you on crack. one studio wont make a difference. blu ray has way bigger exclusives and i think that makes paramount the second big exclusive for hd dvd while blu ray has the majority. Spiderman 3 was the sh!t and a crap load of people will buy it. only reason they went exclusive was cause hd dvd started showing the money to make paramount do that. shrek the third SUCKED BADLY, transformers was awesome. so i think this wont make much of a difference since disney went blu ray exclusive, 20 century fox, lionsgate ( creators of saw ) , blockbuster is exclusively stocking blu ray, On July 25, 2007, Target Corporation announced they will carry Sony Blu-ray Disc stand alone players in their stores and promote them with end cap displays including exclusive Blu-ray Disc movies from Sony and Walt Disney. So yeah.. i think you are on crack

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

OMFG! I have never seen this many scared sh!tless Sony fans. What will Sony sell if Blu-Ray is a miss, GAMES?

I have a question Sony fans if any of you have the balls to answer. Why do you Sony fans think Microsoft owns any part of HD-DVD and why do you allways think Microsoft puts up money for somthing they don't own?

[Bordel_1900]

Scared? Why scared?

Disapointed, yes. But scared, no.

It's the likes of you, sorry assed fanboys that get all pumped up, adrenaline pumping and your little d!cks hard at the faintest anti-sony news you hear. Now that is scary!

[nobizlikesnowbiz]

I guess they don't want to back down to the Japanese trojan horse format.

They're fighting it.

Which sucks for me, because I just want one to win so I can get a cheap HD player...well maybe this competition will force prices down...hopefully...

Maybe I'll buy an HD DVD add on after all...

[BenzMoney]

I'm considering jumping in on that HD-DVD attachment as well - I held off until now, for obvious reasons. ...and I know of at least one other friend who's bought it since this news broke!

[SpenserTracy]

Im really starting to hate Microsoft. I dont get why they are going against the public. They should stick with making better OS instead of sticking their big ugly noses into everyting. Typical american imperialist behaviour.

edit: Disagree all you want, Microsoft wants to own the world, but they will never succeed. Do you really want to be ruled by a nerd called Bill = dollar bill.

I dont hate americans you stupid Biyatch, I hate Microsoft and other imperialists, ok hate is a strong word. You send me that flag and I will Paint it Yellow and Blue cause Sweden Rules. Maby I will post it back to you with an enclosed PS3. LOL

[tomfoolery]

no need to hate over video games and movies.
Where's the love biyatch?
Tell you what,PM me,leave me your adress,and I will personally see to it that you receive a nice big red white and blue,star covered
American flag in the mail,to help you through your times of anger
and emptiness.
See,some people do care.

[ArmrdChaos]

And Sony doesn't want to rule the world either...man...take off those glasses. They're all coporations looking to take over and claim supremecy...if not your money.

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

Someone apparantly doesn't know WTF they are talking about, "American Capitalist" I can understand but not "imperialist". American Capitalist, last time I heard Japan and most of Europe are capitalist and since I am assuming you bought your PS3 at a store so are you.

[Ravenator529]

Digital downloads are fine for me. Either I download them through my Tivo or my 360.

I am usually an early adopter to new technology but I refuse to be part of this format war.

Both of them can fail for all I care.

[makingdamage]

I know a bad move when I see one and this is certainly one hell of a bad move. They sure will loose a lot of money.

[SpenserTracy]

I think Paramount will suffer for this many years from now. Making deals with the Devil (MS) will always end with certain death.

[Cartesian3D]

more close competition >>>> FASTer Price drop

before this news HD-DVD had nothin compare to Blu-ray.. now they have more than 1 exclusive studio support...

hope to see dual format Player and BURNER in low cost very soon ...

like DVD + - RW :)

[kn]

If you buy a next gen stand alone drive (not the PS3, of course, as the drive is the game media) whether blu-ray or HDDVD, you, the consumer, are making a choice. If it is wrong, yeah, it costs you but in the end, did someone force you to buy the damn thing? The competition will drive the price of players and media down to a reasonable level where one will ultimately exit the market. Who cares who that is? I'm not going to pay 30 bucks for movies... Ain't gonna happen. If the war ends today, what incentive is their for either camp to lower the price of their players or their media? Answer: NONE! Put away your fanboy hats and think for a moment. "The format war that never should have been". Stupid statment!

[Pika-pie]

This is just damn stooopid but who could probebly blame them for that amount of money.

Its only temporary and they will have to go back to Blu-Ray in the end as it will ultimatly be the winner.

There are not meny places around here you can get HD-DVD anymore, the stores have just sold through its remaining stock and not bothered ordering anymore in. Everywhere is going bluray.

LOL@ Jason xg1 - why are we scared? what of exactly?

Most people buy the PS3 for the games, bluray play is just additional. I dont back sony for bluray, I back it for its exclusive games line up in 2008.. And im sure most people do the same.

[Rooftrellen]

Paramount makes for strong support.

Unless bluray can reduce prices to HD DVD levels, it will lose after this change.

HD DVD players are right on the edge of being out there for the average Joe. If we can get an HD DVD player for about $100, even if its very low end, the war will end quickly. Though bluray could say the same, the bluray players are just generally more expensive, and not even finalized yet.

What's a few billion dollars now to win? If HD DVD introduces an HD DVD player for very cheap, even if its a limited time thing (though that would reek of legal trouble), they could end the war this year.

It's a price race now, and HD DVD has a head start. Even the article from a pro-bluray site is against bluray, the format "supported by corperations, not the consumer."

Now that the movies are about even, let's see who can drop the price low enough first.

[trueltie5]

People are forgetting that Steven Spielberg movies were the best Dreamwork titles...This isn't that big of a deal...All Toshiba/MS did was awaken the Giant...I can assure Blu-ray is going to announce something a lot bigger very soon....Do you really think Shrek the third and Transformers are really going to push High Def players that much ? Wow..if it's anything as a consumer i'd be pissed off at the Sh#% MS/Toshiba is pulling

[THE_JUDGE]

that Ms had something to do with this. Does everyone forget that MTV debuted the 360?? Who owns MTV? Viacom! Who else does Viacom own? You guessed it, Paramount. I don't know how long the agreement will last but I don't see how Paramount will gain in the long run. The format war extends beyond America and BD is selling all over the world.

[Rageanitus]

hd-dvd will die late 2008- begining 2009.

Now we will neve rsee an end, unless wb says they will do blu-ray only.

[Audiggity]

Claiming that HD DVD is 'dead' is like saying Lamborghini is 'dead' because Ferrari sold 7 more cars this year. We're dealing with very low volumes right now... Blu-Ray got a surge in sales, because of PS3 owners. The HD market isn't large enough for there to even be a de facto winner... we can argue all we want, but at the end of the day Americans still have VCR's and 22" Tube TV's.

We're a country with a small percentage of early adopters, and a large percentage of stupid people who do just enough to 'make it by'. The high percentage of stupid people is made obvious by the PS3 fanboy population.

[Anything but Cute]

It's a bit disappointing but that's all. Why? Because Blu ray wasn't doing crap for PS3. It's been proven to me that people see PS3 and XBOX 360 as gaming machines and it's gonna be the gaming that matters.

If it was high definition format that mattered, PS3 would of been selling better and it wasn't. Gamers will look for games when they buy a gaming console. The mainstream people will pick up a stand alone High Defintion player when the they have HDTV's and the prices are in range. probably like $99 - $199.

[Mr Murda]

People are buying the consoles for gaming, and any type HighDef format is just an added bonus...not the focus.

It's no secret though that HD DVD will be the first to hit the $99 - $199 range.

[Tsukasah]

I would think paramount would still make more money with bluray exclusivity =/. I bet if BluRay becomes the only format the prices would lower down to where HDDVD players are..

30GB is just, not enough space! Sooner or later we will need that full 25-50GB BluRay, maybe not now, but very soon at best. Just an estimate =/

[SpenserTracy]

Think im going to buy a mac to.

[Primetimebt]

This only give Sony another reason to bring out the 40GB for $400 and increase the deadline for the 5 free blu ray movies that ends next week to 2008. Which will make a bigger impact at X-MAS time a HD DVD player are a PS3 with 5 free blu ray.

[Mr Murda]

You said that as if you're the one making the decisions.

[Bloodmask]

I guess Paramount got sick of the PS3 slanting the format war. If standalone players only counted (which is the way it should be) HDDVD would have already won.

This is the beginning of the end for Bluray.

Sony has lost every format war to date. So they fought dirty with Bluray. Too bad cheaters never win in the end.

Justice prevails.

[dragonZ28]

You fanboys are dumb as rocks. This will do some serious damage to Blu-Ray. Do yourself a favor - quit buying Blu-Ray movies because you'll wish you hadn't when they become obsolete.

Paramount was obviously catching winds of things to come such as super low prices coming up this Christmas on HD DVD players that Blu-Ray simply can't match. They are simply getting on the winning side early.

Wait until HD DVD kills Blu-Ray this Christmas. You will then have excusive support from Fox movies on the HD DVD side, with others like Disney soon to follow. Hang it up. Paramount is a huge studio - almost as huge as Universal. Sony pictures and Disney can't beat these 2 titans; I'm sorry but they can't. If you can't handle the truth, go play your Atari and convince yourself it isn't obsolete either.

Laters... Blu-Ray is dead. I want a post with a picture of an HD DVD foot stomping on the Blu-Ray logo right now. HD DVD is the superior format with more data storage now thanks to the 51GB discs, so your only argument is now moot as well.

HD DVD wins. HD DVD wins. HD DVD wins. HD DVD <----champ.

[Mr Murda]

Sluggish PS3 sales have to be a motivating factor behind all of this, because the $150 million check from HD DVD is a drop in the bucket compared to the profits made on the "winning format". Paramount obviously thought that the PS3 would surely drive BD sales and that this format war WOULD already be over...otherwise they would NOT have switched camps. I totally agree with you that this won't be the last studio to either switch exclusivity or at least begin publishing for both formats. FOX is next...mark my words.

[Pika-pie]

IMO all this is very unfair to the consumer.

So if we want to watch filmes like Spiderman 3 we can only get it on bluray. But if we want to watch films like Transformers then we have to buy a HD-DVD... Its total BS and we shouldnt have to.

This really is the war that never should have been and both sides are going to suffer greatly as these new HD formats will never leave the ground unless every movie is available.

If I had bought a bluray player (not a PS3) i would be extremly miffed right now and would probebly try and return it.

My closing comment is that both formats will fail unless the madness stops.

[etownone]

I really stopped buying hd-dvd discs a while back because i was starting to lose faith, but this is a huge boost for hddvd.
Now I can go back and buy 300, planet earth and matrix.

this xmas their will be massive advertising:

ONLY ON HD-DVD - Transformers and Shrek
ONLY ON BLU-RAY - Spider man 3 and Pirates 3

All consumers will be confused on which format to buy, but if they do start selling hddvd player below $200 vs blu ray players at $450 (the cheapest so far) then we will most likely see a huge boost for hddvd players since blu-ray will also see a huge boost of bluray players due to ps3 selling this holiday season too.

yeah....this format war is going to go on for a while.....hopefully by 2009 some chinese company will make a cheap player that can play both formats from one disc drive....thus no winner or loser.

[DJ]

Transformers on Blu-ray...but now I'm stuck with the crappy DVD version. Thanks Paramount.

[dragonZ28]

Blame Sony. Sony has this little thing called "self-interest" involved with Blu-Ray. Sony makes movies, so they have instant bias in the format situation. Toshiba, on the other hand, is solely an electronics manufacturer dedicated to producing low cost hardware for you to enjoy. There is no monopolistic "self-preservation" tactics by Toshiba. Want me to prove Sony is ripping people off? How's this - $50 for Spider-Man 3.

Sony is a company that has some shady tactics and extremely stupid loyalists who will support it at, literally, any cost - including $50 movies.

Buy a Toshiba player - they don't make movies and they didn't "Trojan horse" the entire world.

[BlazinEurasian]

Bill Gates probably made the cheque out peronsally.

I can see Kirk yelling 'BILLL!' now instead of Kahn... on youtube while wearing an altered Sony Rul3s starfleet uniform.

[Jdash24]

Wow.......read the details people, does NOT include Spielberg movies.........Transformers was directed by Spielberg which means its not exclusive to hd dvd, as for Shrek the third, that movie just blows.....not funny and a terrible plot

and as for that 51 gb hd dvd toshiba is coming out with, DUMBEST MARKETING MOVE EVER........all hd dvd players/add ons will become obsolete...and the general consumer will be pissed and not support hd dvd anymore because they spent like $200 on a player that the company just made uselesss, they could lose most of their support from the consumer, so all you fanboys that say the $179 add on was a great purchase you just got a very useless paperweight.........besides 1 gb isnt that much, no blu ray supporters are going to say OMFG I NEED THAT!, 1 gb makes very very little difference

edit...........whoops didnt mean to type directed......meant excecutive producer.......i was just thinking director...........but still doesnt include spielberg movies......so their should be a blu ray version too

[DJ]

Spielberg was Exec Producer... =/

[dragonZ28]

And that's what we call "frustration".

Your whole post was angry. I know that you're upset that Blu-Ray is going to lose, but make your anger productive and quit wasting money on Blu-Ray movies.

This is it. I am selling my Gaystation 3. Afterall, it has ZERO good games, it is getting ZERO good games, and it's Blu-Ray abilities were a nice run, but it has ultimately flopped and fell off the face of the Earth. This is going to kill Blu-Ray movies, and in turn, kill the PS3 as well because Sony has been pushing it as a Blu-Ray movie player and not a games console.

Hell, it was never made to be a game console - that's why they put Blu-Ray in the thing in the first place. It was made as a Spider-Man 3 movie player. Bye bye Sony.

BTW, you fanboys had better sell your Sony stock ASAP if you don't want to lose it all.

[Jdash24]

and thats what i call ignorant fanboyism........your say the ps3 has zero good games........resistance has kick ass multiplayer......and warhawk is coming in 1 week.........and then Lair followed by heavenly sword....there are many more to come after that, your just stupid

ps. i hope after you sell your ps3, your 360 dies

[Vip3r]

I'm not really bothered much about this. If HD-DVD was to win the "HD Wars" then I'll simply buy a HD-DVD player. If Blu-ray win then I'll just use my PS3. But to all the fanboys who think that just because HD-DVD has done a deal with Paramount doesn't mean that HD-DVD has automatically won. Blu-ray still has more studios supporting it. So fanboys don't get too excited over this because you never know what's going to happen in the future.

[SJL480]

Storage and movies are two different things. Blu ray will not die it will just get niched to the comp market if hd-dvd wins. 360's drive is external it can switch formats later if needed, and as for as being "FORCED" into blu ray by sony, last time I checked it has usb ports too so why couldn't it do the same. As long as blu ray sells in some form or other it's no loose for console

[tplarkin7]

The deal was good, so I bought the HD-DVD add-on. I felt that Blu-Ray was winning, but I bought it anyway. So this works for me. :)

[Mr Murda]

If anyone thinks that Blu-Ray wasn't a gamble then they need not read on.

Sony has been making these same mistakes for the past 25 years. (don't accuse me of being a fanboy, cause I own all three systems and both next gen DVD players) Why make Blu-Ray standard in the PS3? Don't give me the disc space issues, cause seriously it is not NEEDED (key word being NEEDED). Sony did this to themselves with BetaMax, Mini Disc, UMD, and potentially Blu-Ray. I'm just saying that there is no need to totally ally your company with one format in order to try to score the big win. If the format fails then there is a lot to lose, and obviously if the format succeeds then there is a lot to win...but why put your company through that. Why take that chance? I'm sorry, but it does not make business sense.

Obviously nothing is decided by this Paramount announcement, but anyone who thought that the investors in HD DVD would just quietly fade away are just plain ignorant. Companies have not invested hundreds of millions of dollars to just give up...no one would. So, we're going to have to live with 2 formats for a while longer, but my guess is that this won't be the last big HD DVD announcement.

[Da Ghostdog]

Like I said before, this war has just started. Keep reducing your "stand alone" Next-gen DVD player and the masses will come. The tide has shifted. But I'm not declaring HD-DVD or Blu-Ray a winner yet. But the Sony fangirls are throwing their pom-pom's down on the ground screaming "Foul"?!!! LOL!!! This is better than watching Chappelle Show Season 1.

Disagree button to far right hand corner

[kingjkv]

FFS. the amount of people who own a DVD will all move shift to NEXT GEN format in 5 years. By then we'll have a new format. So what if i can't watch paramount movies in Blu-RAy, it's still the same movie in DVD. I don't need to see the actor's pimply face. It's all the same.

[Charlie2688]

And the consumers go to hell >.>

I guess Toshiba is VERY contradictory with statements about "there is room for 2 formats" and "we are not war with Blu ray" if they say that why do they need to throw 150mil to make someone go exclusive on them?
hell the fact that they NEED to throw 150mil is proof enough things were not going very well

but at the end the Paramount executives will be buying new cars tonight while the consumers are left wondering what are they suppose to buy

[kewlkat007]

becasue of the same situation. DVD's are king, and I have no 1080p TV.

The formats have been out for like a year and some change and it was too early claiming "VICTORY" by some camps. Too much companies and Money Invested here.

I have always said, while the PS3 has helped Sony sell BD movies, since the PS3 is game player first(I would hope)it would not be the deciding factor. I have always known this:

"but settled exclusively on HD DVD after deciding that it offered better quality, lower-priced players and lower manufacturing costs, Kelley Avery, president of Paramount Home Entertainment, told Reuters.
"
Price people it's the price. Not having to change your manufacturing Bus mastering lines will keep prices down, and the better quality, an d features, you can't dispute.(that takes advantage of that lovely EXTRA GIGS.(well you can whine and disagree, that's OK) This thing all come sdown to "STUDIO SUPPORT".

The tide is turning. We'll see if the Paramount announcemnet sends a ripple effect.

DVD's are still KING here. Over the long-run we will see which HD players become the cheapest and are adapted by most consumers. Not gamers which were forced with the PS3 and had not choice. (not that its a bad thing besides the price)

It will be a long one. I wonder if this coeinsides with that rumor about MS adding HD-DVD to the future consoles.

Stay tuned.

Charlie2688 - Above, Not really "EARLY ADOPTERS" always get screwed in the end, or should I say in the beginning of the End. See Blu-ray is not even finalized yet, so the hardware has to change leaving the PS3 and the early players gimped. The casual masses have not bought much HD players, just hardware sony ps3 fans and early adopters, but they know how sh!t goes with technology so it's a no-brainer.

Consumers are still buying DVD's.

[RadientFlux]

What the heck does MS have to do with HD DVD beside making a external drive for the x360. Little to people know that MS makes money on both Blu-ray and HD DVD since both use one MS's video codec.

[jared81799]

their war, our world, whoever wins...we lose

[synetic]

dont really care i have both .. the only prob is that in my country i only find hd dvd movies in online shops .. but blu ray i find in every store that sell dvds

[Bordel_1900]

Paramount won't be seeing any of my cash any time soon though.

@104
Same story where I come from, Blu-ray only in stores. HD-DVD you have to order online.

[beavis4play]

i own a ps3 and like the blu-ray movies i have. if paramount wishes to make movies for hd-dvd only, doesn't bother me at all. i'll just buy movies that are on blu-ray and be happy with that. i think people are really over-hyping this. if paramount doesn't do well with the format, they'll come back to BR. just like other studios would leave BR if they don't sell well. it will take time to sort it out and i suggest everyone just calm down.

[heroman711]

u ppl do realize that is one group, blu ray has way more exclusive groups. by the way, only reason they doing that is cause hd hdv started to show the cash

[bootsielon]

Why are they bringing back the dead? Enough already. I'm getting sick of the "DVD forum".

Anyway, all movie companies would have stood to make a lot of money had they backed blu-ray. It would have been a lot more convenient. Hel, $150 million dollars is just peanuts to a studio! The move is akin to paying a whore to having sex (since they're getting everything for cheap).

[PimpHandHappy]

I own a ps3 but i dont own the TV to fully surport it at this time and its going to be 6months easy till i get a 1080p TV. So this isnt a huge deal. I have some cool blueray movies but i still down have Planet Earth and when i get a real 1080p in a year i think i will have many movies and many games to choose from at that time.

Till then

this means nothings cept ppl still have a use for HD DVD! Beta tapes lasted a few years also!

[Primetimebt]

I found it funny HD DVD fanboy are cheering that a movie studio drop support for blu and went for HD DVD. Let me know if this really gonna help spur software sales? Last I check Blu Ray was selling twice as many as HD DVD with no sign of giving up. It's gotten to the point where retail chains, rental chains have been choosing sides, and let's not forget that every Movie commerical usually ends with coming to DVD & Blu Ray. This announcement to me is just a dollar short and 1 day to late and just shows Paramount knows the mass market isn't ready for HD yet and would take the 150M and bleed HD DVD to the very end.

[Shaka2K6]

Cash that will go down the drain soon enough anyways, Paramount flicks sell better on Blu-ray this really makes no sense are they stupid or what? transformers was big this summer, its the only worth watching flick from Paramount, obviously Paramount or universal got nothing on Disney or Sony Pirates and SParamountider 3 continue to be the best selling films this year.
Paramount losses.

[heroman711]

u guys are all forgetting piracy. no one will win cause of piracy. if someone does win it will clearly be bluray. i said it b4 ill say it again, only reason they went exclusive is cause hddvd showed the money otherwise paramount would spit in their face

[Keyser]

How long will this last? What happens when the 50 mill dry's up? That's really not a lot of money when you're talking about movie sales. I'm curious as to how long this will last.

So Shrek 1 and 2 are going to be bluray exclusive and Shrek the 3rd is a HDDVD exclusive? WTF???

[heroman711]

dosent matter cause shrek 3 SUCKED BALLS

[predator]

thats set im buyin a hd-dvd add on for the 360 and gettin transformers and shrek 3, get in

[WilliamRLBaker]

""The move will inevitably lengthen a format war which should never have been. Consumers will unfortunately suffer the most, as they will be forced to support a format which is being supported by corporations instead of consumers. No word was given as to how long the exclusivity agreement is for, but rumors indicate through 2008.""

yes because blu ray is all about the consumer, and only supported by consumers right? *laughs hard*

[Xbox is the BEST]

When both formats were launched Blu Ray had all the studio and CE support but got beat down until the PS3 came out. Sony forced Blu Ray unto gamers saying that BD disc is real HD but games look better on DVD-9 Xbox 360. No games for PS3 will match 360 with the outdated tech. Why did Nvidia say "Unified Shaders are not the future" then they made one??? Go figure Disagree all you want Blu boys but when your crown gem MGS4 come out next year don't be mad at Konami they working with a weak outdated crippled chipset blame Sony.

[BlazinEurasian]

Transformers is the right of all next-gen formats.

[ashtar313]

it's time to get a dual format player then

[P1MPDADDY]

What is all the fuss about. High defintion movies have nothing to do with videogames. NOTHING!

Here are the facts. HD-DVD has sold alot more standalone players than Blue-Ray has. Why? Because of the price difference. HD-DVD players and discs are cheaper to produce.

Blue-Ray players are in more peoples homes only because of the Sony PS3. Standalone Blue-Ray players are way more expensive than HD-DVD, and dont sell as well as a result of the PS3.

Look at total sales of high definition movies between the competing formats this year. Blue-Ray has only outsold HD-DVD by 700,000 copies.

What about last year when Toshiba released its HD-DVD player first and cheaper. Remember the PS3 didnt release till the end of November.

So with potentially more Blue-Ray players installed and a potentially much larger selection of movies due to move movie studio support, Blue-Ray still didnt pull away from HD-DVD????? Houston theres a problem.

The fact is high definiton movies are not going to replace DVD any time soon. Why? Because you need a 1080P HDTV with HDMI 1.3 and surround sound to get all the benefits that upgrading to high definition movies from DVD gives you. Why? Because you can buy a DVD player for under $30.00 now, heck I just saw a progressive scan DVD player for $29.00 made by Toshiba at Costco the other day. Why? Because the cheapest HD-DVD player I saw was $249.00 and the Cheapest Blue-Ray player I saw was $449.00 Why becuase each format has it's own exclusive movies and multiformat movies. Why? Because people still buy VHS tapes instead of DVD's. Why? Because a DVD player works with people's existing Standard Definition 4:3 TV's.

High Definition is along way from becoming the established standard. So this supposed high definition DVD format war is a long way from being over.

Todays announcement makes Sony's decidion to forcefeed it's loyal Playstation fanbase Blue-Ray alot harder to swallow.

[Bloodmask]

You make all very valid points. But you have to realize something. N4G is an extremely Sony biased site.

It isn't really about a debate. It is more about if you don't bow down to the PS3 you are always wrong and everyone disagrees with you.

I have been a PC gamer for many years and I also own all the consoles that you mentioned. You just have to realize that a PS3 fanboys train of thought is never in the realm of logic or reason.

It is simply if it isn't Pro-PS3 it is wrong.

[FirstknighT]

Maybe I should invest in one of those dual players. Damn I really wanted that samsung bluray player! :(

[P1MPDADDY]

*****What's New
By Henning Molbaek
FIRST PUBLISHED Aug 19, 2007
"The division of Home Media Magazine said total sales of Blu-ray discs, using a Sony Corp (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research)-backed technology, totaled 1.6 million units from January 1 through July 1, compared with 795,000 HD-DVD discs sold in that period." said a recent press release from Reuters.

It continues "Both formats were launched in spring of 2006. An estimated 3.7 million high-definition discs have been sold, including 2.2 million in Blu-ray and 1.5 million in HD-DVD through the end of July, according to Home Media."

No doubt good news for the Blu-ray camp. However, this does not mean we will get one format anytime soon. Both formats seem here to stay, at least for now. Much as we have seen with next-generation gaming consoles where Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft are fighting for the same customers.*****

Sorry for the earlier post. These are the sales figures since the release of both Blue-Ray and HD-DVD last year. Only a 700,000 difference. Only 3.7 million movies total between both formats. Todays annoucement shakes things up even more. Just like the console wars, this high def movie format war will take a long time to decide, if ever...

[damnwrx]

Why should PS3 owners buy a standalone Blu-ray player when they know that their system is capable of playing regular DVD and Blu-ray movies, Duh. That's why HD-DVD movies was "outsold" by Blu-ray movies.....
GOOOOOO Blu-ray

[P1MPDADDY]

I never said PS3 owners needed to buy a standalone player. I sometimes wonder if PS3 fanboys actually read, of if they are too busy being insecure and defensive about thier PS3 purchase and Sony brand loyalty to actually engage in a real debate? Your right Blue-Ray movies did outsell HD-DVD movies because more Blue-Ray players are in homes and more studios support Blue-Ray.

That changed today. HD-DVD players will become affordable long before Blue-Ray players do. My comments were directed to the average consumer. Cost is always a factor. HD-DVD wins the cost factor.

Also why say go Blue-Ray? Do you have any thing to gain from Blue-Ray or HD-DVD winning? I have never understood brand loyalty. I owned a Dreamcast, PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube last generation. The only reason I havent bought the PS3 and the same reason most consumers havent is because of the price. I have the money, just dont feel the need to overpay for a "videogame" console. Why do you think the Wii is killing the 360 and Ps3 in sales. Price. You dont have to buy a new TV to use the Wii's full capabilities. You dont use the Wii to watch movies. You dont have to use the Wii online. It's simple, affordable, and different.

[Covenant]

Great.

Now the format war--already complicated, frustrating, and confusing--gets even more screwy.

Just #$@*&^% great.

[diatom]

All of those Blades of Glory BD's must be pressed, boxed and ready to ship as the release date is next week.... What is going to happen to them, back to Paramount and into the grinder? How does that work? Paramount still has to pay the BD manufacturer...

(Or will we see some very Dusty copies of this movie in 2009?)

[Mikelarry]

for me i think ill just get the hd dvd player and if other films go exclusive to blu ray ill just get them on dvd untill i can afford a stand alone blu ray player

[Real gamer 4 life]

people dont seem to realize that the only reason they switch was beacuse they was getting pay 150 million, FOR ONE YEAR! they just made easy money. after that quick year goes by they will go back to selling blue ray movie and make more money, Plus they will have 150 million. this reminds of how microsoft paid 50 million to rockstar for special contents exclusive only on the x box, but then come later to hear that they are going sony exclusive.

[Genki]

but if it's just until the end of next year, that's not TOO bad. Blu-Ray seems to have enough exclusive and multi-format support to be ok, but if another major studio jumps ship, things could take quite a turn then. Again, a hard hit, but this won't sink the ship.

[Adamalicious]

Just another example of greed ruling the industry. The only logical reason for them to do this is that they can make more money by accepting what is essentially a bribe than think they would make on selling BRD movies. Or maybe they're just hedging their bets - one thing's for sure though, it must be better for their bottom line, at least on paper.

Universal is making the same play and I'm sure it's to their financial advantage as well.

The consumer is the biggest loser of all here

[JokesOnYou]

hey whats going on in here? HD DVD is dead sony has been saying that all along so why are you crazy people even bringing it up? stop making up stuff, let it go there is no format war, bluray is the only format in fact you can only buy HD DVD on the blackmarket and undercover spg members are all over the country calling the feds to raid underground HD DVD locations. ha ha I hear the HD DVD resistance movement is very elusive, ha ha sony kids are so funny=

JOY

[darthv72]

nuff said!

[heroman711]

indiana jones is speilberg movies so they wont be exclusive to hddvd. learn to read

[LOL PS3 IS JUNK LOL]

Wow,

All you PS3 fanboys that ruin this site must feel pretty stupid right now. Now you are losing your movies. At least you never had any games to lose so look on the bright side!

Christmas is coming up though!!!! You can catch some great deals on an XBOX360/HD DVD combo! Happy shopping.

XBOX360 / HD DVD FTW!!!111!!!!1one!!eleven!!1!t wo!

[Audiggity]

He just kicked all you Blu Ray peepz in the teeth!!!!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

"This isn't fair to the consumers"... my nards it's not!! It's not fair to the stupid consumers, but it's fair for the smart ones.

Like the seashells in Demolition Man, go see if you can wipe yourself with Blu Ray discs... that's all they'll be good for soon. In the meantime, utilize PS3 games for a coaster, or perhaps, a lightshow in your microwave oven.

I'll take a red-ring 360 over a PS3 anyday. It's more entertaining waiting for it to be repaired than to sit @HOME on your virtual couch, with your dumb friends using your virtual PSP to launch all of the games you DON'T have!

If MGS4 comes to 360, it's over.

[game-over]

Isn't the future of hd-movies downloadable content?

1. Huge Hard Drives keep getting cheaper and cheaper.

2. The downloadable hd-movies would be cheaper and more convienant to purchase. ( Buy them from your couch, no reseller fee ( the percent best buy gets on each movie sold ) no packaging, no disk, or box art, no paying a truck driver to deliver it to the store, etc - I think it would be far, far cheaper than blueray or hd-dvd )

3. You dont have to have a hugh stock pile of movies sitting in your entertainment center or swap movies in and out of a player; its all on the hard drive to select by remote.

4. Midnight releases on every movie easily possible if studio desires.

5. Don't have to worry about scratching movie disks. They could assign purchase codes to the downloadable movies so if your harddrive ever crashed or you swaped it out for a new one, you could re-download all your old movies at no cost.

6. Access your movies on your at home hard drive hd-movie player via lap top anywhere in the world you can get an broadband internet connection.

This is just off the top of my head. There are probably more advantages. Discuss

[LOL PS3 IS JUNK LOL]

In 15 years. The internet is still way too slow overall to download a 15-30 gig hd movie (in a reasonable amount of time). That and with all of this DRM crap its just gonna hold more things up.

Edit: must have had a PS3 fan disagree with that one. They are the only people I know that love to hit the disagree button and give no feedback. WAaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[The Dude]

Best HD Format news in awhile next Disney HD-DVD only. : )

[LOL PS3 IS JUNK LOL]

Considering Disney is a direct funder/supporter of Blu-junk. Who cares though? I'm not a virgin so I have no reason to watch cartoon movies. I also don't have any kids...that I know of but regardless I'm not buying any Disney movies. HD DVD for the winz0rs! HAHAHAHAH

[ITR]

Word on the street is Disney is going format neutral later this yr or early next.
This comes from our Toshiba Rep. that just visited. Apple's Steve Job(on Disney's Board of Directors) is pushing for this as Apple is also going format neutral this fall and winter.
From my understanding both Disney and Fox are getting the work over from Toshiba and HD DVD community to go exclusive or go format neutral.

I can really see Disney going format neutral due to the Apple influence in the company.

[cooke15]

Very anti HDDVD source lol.

[Lex Luthor]

Transformers and Shrek are NOT comming out on Blu-Ray, it has been confirmed by Viacom and Paramount. HD-DVD Exclusive.

[ApocalypseShadow]

i was told it was funny,but there is no loss there.as for transformers,i'll get it on dvd.

but it seems a move to support hd-dvd long enough to see what sales they can do this fall.possibly to get the bluray camp to make concessions before unifying both formats.hence the "we are not at war with bluray."it could be a tactical move to force hd players prices even lower.

it also gives toshiba extra breathing room to continue making royalties on standard dvds.and force consumers to not buy hd movies just yet.but transformers is not going to sway me to purchase an hd-dvd player.not when i already have one built in the ps3.

in any case,as 360 gamers would say about buying ps3 for $200 more for one game(some time ago),why would i buy an hd-dvd for $200 dollars more to see one movie?

i'll admit,it's an interesting chess move.but if this move fails,a lot of consumers are going to eat a lot of change.

...................mag lev super train...............

[akira]

THE REASON MY FRIENDS IS VERY PLAIN AND SIMPLE THEY CHOSE MONEY OVER THE CONSUMERS(PEOPLE). THEY DONT CARE WHAT PEOPLE THINK AND LOVES BECAUSE GREED IS THEIR ULTIMATE MASTERS! BUT I BELIEVE SOMEDAY THEY WILL SEE THE BLUE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL! PEACE YA ALL!!

[LOL PS3 IS JUNK LOL]

Made a better argument without the capslock key on. Now we all know that you are a 10 year-old PS3 owner who has spent the last 8 hours crying.

[Raptors]

I'm glad to see new life in HD-DVD. Every single time i've gone to best buy and have seen a blu ray movie beside the HD-DVD movie the HD-DVD picture quality always seemed a lil better. I don't know how the settings were on both tv's but it looked more vibrant and more detailed. It's interesting to see where the format wars go now.

[Cat]

how much is a bad decision worth? 150 million.

[Foliage]

Desperate times call for desperate measures. 150 million is sure a lot of money.

[kornbeaner]

For $150 million, I'll support your format till it dies!!!!

Then I'll laugh to the bank with it HA, HA, ha ha ha.

[Mandangoof]

So an excellent business strategy which makes Paramount richer while having ZERO effect on the war. Retailers have dropped HD-DVDEAD already, they know it's dead. Paramount comes back to BR in 2008 and that's it.

But please, be pathetic and consider it a victory while Sony will never change, Disney will never change, and Fox will never change. Universal and Paramount will 100% come to BR.