HD DVD told: 'you're missing the boat'

Asher Moses reports on the state of HD/DVD and Blu Ray in Australia:

Paul Uniacke, managing director of the Franchise Entertainment Group, which owns Video Ezy and Blockbuster in Australia, said the local roll-out of HD DVD had been too slow as its supporters did not see Australia as an important market compared with the US and Europe.

The trend in player sales is consistent with sales of HD movies. More than 102,000 Blu-ray movies have been sold to date, as against just under 18,000 HD DVD movies.

[Zhuk]

HD DVD's presence and marketing in Australia has been nothing short of terrible, while the Blu-Ray camp has spent millions ensuring their format wins. It's so bad most Australians don't even know what HD DVD is, but if you ask someone what Blu-Ray is chances are they know it.

HD DVD is going to have to do a lot better if they wish to have any chance at winning this format war

[bootsielon]

After all, you know how to talk like a true Xbox 360 marketer, as if you were truly working for Microsoft. The HD-DVD group could surely use your inflammatory rhetoric skills.

[mikeslemonade]

I don't know if it's a bad thing or a good thing to own a hd-dvd player in Austrailia. The good thing is that you can say you're part of less than one thousand people in the entire continent/country to actually own a hd-dvd player.

[Cysquatch]

With Superbad and Pirates releasing today, its going to be another ugly week for HDDVD and yet another nail in the coffin.

[marinelife9]

I think the whole war is the difference between companies that made smart decisions and ones that did not. I think we can all agree that both technologies are basically the same with Blu-Ray just offering more space. However the key decisions that were made along the way is what made and broke both camps.

1. Sony putting a Blu-Ray drive in every PS3 was smart.

2. Toshiba and Microsoft not putting a HD-DVD drive in the 360 with a year head start was not a slightly more expensive 360 with a year head start might have ended the war early.

3. The BDA focusing their efforts on gathering studio and CE support was smart.

4. HD-DVD spending money on buying studio support from Paramount sans Spielberg instead of Disney or Warner was not smart.

5. BDA spending their resources on advertising and mobile tours to try and push Blu-Ray into the household name category was smart.

6. HD-DVD dropping their player prices dramatically was the one smart thing they did. It will keep them in the race longer but will also keep them in the red much longer. Toshiba knows the point where they will not be able to recoup the losses of selling players below cost and short revenues because of giving away so many free movies. They will make their next smart business decision then.

7. Both were dumb by not working this out before hand.

But the consumer at least gets a much cheaper player and lots of free movies because of it.

[sicknnyc]

http://www.shootfortheedit....

[Evil0Angel]

i thought the figure will be like 20:1 but it is only 5:1

[bootsielon]

"Only", LOL

You know, in Japan, Blu-ray is outselling HD-DVD by "only" a 9:1 ratio. That must be bad, as it isn't a "50:1" ratio. *sigh*

[PS3PCFTW]

Its been over.

BLURAY WAS ALWAYS THE CONSUMERS CHOICE IN A HIGH DEF FORMAT.

to the gamer below me, post a pictur of what u drive with your handle on it an ill do the same.

[Led Zeppelin]

It's been barely a year! What ALWAYS are you talking about?

[MADGameR]

You are right. 360 fans were proven wrong saying ''Noone needs Bluray and noone wants it!'' A lot of people thought BD would be a failure, but they've been proven wrong just when the PS3 outsells the 360. SONY made the better choice as in the beginning, people thought they were stupid. I guess we can't predict after their decisions even if it sounds like a bad idea! People say the PS3 is too expensive, but in reality, they refuse to see what the console offers! The PS3 was all along $400 but because they included Bluray, thats when the price jumped to $600. MS just wanted to make it seem cheaper by NOT including HDDVD. If they had included HDDVD, it would've went to $600 the price of the PS3 and thats not EVENLY equipted with the stuff that PS3 comes with. You need to buy MS's X Box 360 Headset which is what? $59.99, then Wifi $99.99, X Box Live $49.99......OH WAIT...you have to buy Halo 3! ANOTHER $69.99. THATS OVER $800 just to have your 360 EVENLY equipped against PS3. So really in the beginning, the 360 was the most expensive console to begin with, but noone ever saw that. Now that the 360 is $375.99 or 379.99, it STILL goes over $800 If you want to get Halo 3, Wifi,HDDVD Drive,Headset. OH you want Gears of War as well? $59.99!

[ruibing]

So the HD-DVD seemed to have abandoned AU for the time being to concentrate on US and EU, which shows from the delay of their biggest exclusive Transformers. It's amazing the low number of standalone sales there compared to the PS3s.

[PS3PCFTW]

u mean in the bent over position?

i dont know...even pornstars get tired.

fact is hddvd is fvcced, and no false advertising nor misprinted numbers and hidden agendas can help them now.

if it was my company, id take the loss and recoup as much as i possibly can.......

[akaFullMetal]

yea, doesnt seem like hd-dvd is doing to well, wonder how long they can stand to be in this position???

[v1c1ous]

Blu-ray is the 360
HD-DVD is the ps3

oohhh significance!?

[rofldings]

yes

[Foliage]

Actually blu-ray is the PS3, future proof.
HD-DVD is the 360, US only.

[Lord Cheese]

The link between the 360 and hd-dvd is far weaker than the link between blu-ray and the ps3. If hd-dvd fails, its not too much of a leap to think that M$ could bring out a blu-ray addon, just like they did with the hd-dvd addon before. Clearly m$ have to back hd-dvd in public, but in private, given the sort of company they are, i'm sure they'll have contingencies being worked on.

The major reason why blu ray is percieved to be winning is the ps3 - if the 360 came with an hd-dvd drive built in from day one, the race would be a lot closer i'm sure. What m$ have done in not building a hd-drive enabled 360 is good and bad. Good because they're not tied hard and fast to a particular format (if hd-dvd fails, they can just adopt blu-ray) but bad because they're left with a disadvantage in storage terms when it comes to games.

At the time the 360 was released, M$ really didnt have too much of a choice in the matter - if they put all their weight behind hd, and it tanked, its not a good position to be in, just like with sony and the ps3 and their backing of blu-ray. Sony have a history of backing their convictions when it comes to media formats (ok, not always with success) and so it wasnt surprising they took a risk on blu-ray where m$ weren't willing to do the same with HD.

[Relientk77]

yea hd-dvd isnt doing that great

[Rice]

If there is ever a Blu-ray player released before christmas thats under 250, I would think that Blu-ray won it, so HD-DVD still has a chance...

[DRUDOG]

Seems like the same story over and over. HD-DVD getting slaughtered in every country, on every continent. The Aussies don't even know what HD-DVD is? Pathetic. HD-DVD should through the towel in already. This isn't even like 360/PS3 since the PS3 is holding it's own. HD-DVD can't say the same even when they try to count everything their way (not counting PS3's as BD players). The movie numbers are bigger than 2 to 1 in NA, but the rest of the world is much higher yet. Poor Toshiba, should've stuck to their guns when they had decided to pull out two years ago.

[DeejayTai]

The kicker for me was Sony putting the Blu-ray in the ps3. People wanting a kick-ass video console got a bonus (albeit an expensive one) and I truly doubt if anyone who owns a ps3 would go buy a HD-DVD player. I sure as hell won't.

[v1c1ous]

xbox 360 is the reason HD-DVD is failing.

If 360 had gone with HD-DVD built in, HD-DVD sales would be through the roof due to the headstart.

360 already trounces both wii+ps3 in software sales combined, logically this would have translated to people buying HD-DVD movies.

Toshiba should have used up that Paramount money for microsoft to put in their drives. but microsoft learned that leasing parts to other companies in their systems meant that they couldn't use em in the next gen console.

that's why 360 has to rely on emulation instead of a chip.

EDIT: i wonder who's disagreeing. pro-blu, pro-hd-dvd....weird.

[PS3PCFTW]

that would add another factor to the rrod issue............i guess you overlooked that.

hddvd drive built in= more 360 usage= more rrods

10.2 and 10.3 make very valid points.....

had the 360 waited and launched simultaneously with the sony, would the rrod affect the war? i think sony would have xbox beat if ms chose to wait.

good thing ms jumped the gun and got a headstart or else theyre would have been no viral marketing of any sort........sales of sony consoles would just bury the xbox.....youd have perfect dark up against resistance for 1 instance. Everything else such as rrod and disc scratching would heavily sway consumers to the sony console, since theres no way xbox would have launched with hddvd @ 400.00. factor in no wifi and no hdmi and yes ms would have had a problem.......among others.

[Meus Renaissance]

That makes little sense. Including a HD-DVD drive into the 360 would have ensured it matched the PS3's launch price. And with that price tag, how would it be outselling the PS3 or have this installbase that it already has?

[enzobot24]

The Xbox 360 came out in November 2005. HD DVD launched in April 2006.

If Microsoft had chosen to incluce the drive, they would have been competing with the PS3 at a similar price - in the same holiday season.

Microsoft doesn't care about HD DVD's fate... well, as much as it does the Xbox brand.

[Bathyj]

50 of those are mine.

Australia has decided. HDDVD has NO precense in OZ. I've never even SEEN a HDDVD Player. My brother in law manages a store and they sell BRs 20:1. Every time I go there no stock has moved at all. I see the same covers sitting in the same cardboard stands.

On the plus side for HDDVD JB Hifi's promise to stock it (because of Transformers) has just started. Dumb move in my opinion. All they've done is take shelf space from BR and HDDVDs arent selling.

[greenenvy]

...the format war is far from over remember zhuk....

HD DVD is going to take a large chunk out of them in europe & america, because the stand-alone BD players aren't selling....

I say just start bundling it with a host of HD-DVD movies, like 5 or 6 at a time......of the best ones...then throw out the ads & watch them fly like candy...

[DRUDOG]

You're kidding right? This article just illustrates that nobody knows much about HD-DVD not to mention that software is getting killed everywhere, worldwide. I don't mean to bash you, but "bundle some movies, throw out some ads, watch 'em fly? WTF? You think they aren't trying that? You think BD isn't doing the same? Come on, please come with something better than that.

[goldenxbox]

I say bundle the hd-dvd with the new movie Die Hard 4 !!!

Just in time for Christmas and the greatest sales plate of all !!

Do it with some new marketing ads on TV, especially with someone you know like Bruce Willis, and watch them sell out everywhere !!!!

Its time for HD DVD to get creative !!

Oh and buy out exclusivity to Indiana Jones IV, put Indiana 4 on HD DVD only and watch the sales soar past mount olympus !!!

We need more great HD DVD movie bundles from Toshiba for the greatness !!

[enzobot24]

Are you joking about Die Hard 4?

Cuz it's pretty well-known that Fox is Blu-ray exclusive.

[Biphter]

And as far as "Europe" is concerned with HD-DVD, it should read "UK" because thats the only part of "Europe" left that gives a small sh!t about HD-DVD and thats fading FAST. Its DEAD over mainland Europe, there are virtually no movies in shops and no players no adverts on tv or anything. Everything is Blu here. The only place left where HD-DVD has a chance is USA, and looking at the way Toshiba's dumping efforts have played out (Blu-Ray STILL selling 2:1 in disc sales) its grim.

It shows that most if not all the $99 buyers haven't even gone out and bought any HD-DVD movies, They didn't NEED to! they got probably just about all the good HD-DVD movies available for free with the player! if they had bought more it should have shown in the disc sales. If anything Blu-Ray increased its margin a little that week!!!

What else is left for HD-DVD? they have hit rock bottom prices now, that was supposed to be the moment it took over... it hasn't... why? because it all boils down to support. Most of the best movies, or movies people want are on Blu-Ray.

Microsoft could have made this whole scenario different. They support HD-DVD, but never had the balls to REALLY support it (Build it into Xbox 360), why? because they really want Digital distribution. They knew if they chose HD-DVD it would prolong the war to let them get into the gear with digital distro. If they chose Blu, this whole war would have never happened.

[marinelife9]

You forget Spielberg is directing Indiana Jones IV. He wont' let any of his films be released on HD-DVD.

He made Universal retract and apologize for suggesting that his movies were coming out on HD-DVD.

He is a known Blu-Ray supporter according to his camp. (google it)

His only movie released so far is Close Encounters exclusively on Blu-Ray.

[DeejayTai]

Technically, if the ps3 is selling then BDs are selling. This will go down as who can sell the most discs, not who can sell the most players.

[bootsielon]

Remember what happens on Puzzle Quests when your character falls of the screen? It's exactly the sound that comes right after that.

[theoneandonly]

Its selling out at Sams Club and other huge shopping centers like COSTCO, and its only getting better for them.

I'm sure it will be an interesting road ahead, but one thing's for certain......The future is looking very HD-DVD friendly.

And of course, we can't predict what will happen with these formats until the war ends in 2 years or so and we say where they both finally were able to reach. Potential is not so easily tapped.....

[PimpHandHappy]

Sony proving to the world Blueray is the way to use your fancy new 1080p TV

Just so happens they make one of those also!

Format war is over. I guess 150 million buy out buys you that many HD-DVD movies

face it

Sony thought ahead of you all and its not just in TV's and in formats

[blackmagic]

Blu-ray is controlled by the Blu-ray Disc Association not just Sony, HD DVD is controlled by the HD DVD Consortium, not just Microsoft. Many on this site need to learn that although the HD formats overlap with consoles, you can own a Blu-ray player without being a 'droid' and you can own an HD DVD player without being an 'xbot'. In fact, I might point out that the vast majority of the home theatre world couldn't give two licks about the console gaming world and although gamers are among the early adopters, it is the doorsteps of the non-gaming world which will ultimately decide the format war.

[PS3PCFTW]

INNOVATION>IMITATION

[Meus Renaissance]

I hope Blu-Ray camp boycotts Paramount or punishes them for going HD-DVD exclusive. Consumers lost out, so its only fair they now lose for that.

[DeejayTai]

To be honest, I don't really care. It's not like Paramount's been putting out must-have movies anyway. Shoulda went with Disney or Universal.

[zag]

LoL, HD-DVD doesn't exist in Australia, even the 2 stores that do sell players don't even bother with it.

I only know of 1 shop that stocks 40 HD-DVD disks this compared to about 500 of Blu-ray.

Doing bundles etc is completely pointless here, it's more like 100% blu-ray if it's not on Blu-Ray then the studios get no sales in Australia unless it's DVDs.

Prices of Blu-Rays are the same as new release DVDs anyway so no real price diff at all here between DVD and Blu-Ray.

As said HD-DVD is only in the US and it's pure struggle street in the US for HD-DVD at best.

[bumnut]

why do people associate hd-dvd with xbox 360? it only an addon.

if hd-dvd loses, so what, it will not effect 360 in any way.

[PirateThom]

No, it won't, because it's an add on and they'll probably firesale them and a lot of people will get it cheap and a load of cheap HD-DVDs. What it does affect though, is the XBox 720/XBox 3.

It'll be great when Microsoft have to include an HD optical drive in their next console, all the while lining Sony's pocket with it. That's the only reason Microsoft stopped HD-DVD from dying two years ago.

[Andronix]

PirateThom you hit the nail on the head. Earlier this year Microsoft said optical media will be dead by the time the next next-gen comes! and games would be download only. This sounds like Back to the Future II predictions illustrated everyone driving flying cars in 1996!

whilst there will be an increase in downloadable games, the bigger stuff will still need to come on optical media. As internet speeds / storage space wont increase so massively in the next 5 years.

when MS realise that the future is optical media, they didnt want to support blu-ray. So thats why they got behind hd-dvd.

[karlostomy]

It doesn't matter which format wins... MS will have to license the technology from either HDDVD or BLURAY. SO MS doesn't care who wins that race. it will cost the same regardless.

Unless, that is if... (SEE MY POST 29 BELOW)

[peepingtom]

If they forced the price of Blu ray discs down to a reasonable price

[MRMagoo123]

Anyone who says M$ havent got to worry about HD-DVDS sales are idiots u do realize that if bluray does win which is looking more likely all the time M$ will probably have to put in bluray players in the next xbox (that is if they bother making another crappy unreliable console)thats money in sonys pocket and that being said means microshaft are gonna be paying sony for the rights to use the technology which in turn will help finance sonys next playstation lol

[Altair-HD]

NICEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, instead of Boomerangs they can use the "HD" DVD !!!!

GO BLU !

[Mr Tretton]

HD really needs to give up. All those companies need to admit defeat, join the BD association and make it easier on the world, and themselves. Instead of ripping off people by selling them soon to be obsolete products. I don't see why anyone who knows better would go HD right now. Bad decision.

[Gantrfaxx]

Thats goooooooood!

[xg-ei8ht]

Tbh, just kill hd-dvd. Save your money and go over to the bigger and better blu-ray format.

Its that simple, no need for war. There is only gonna be one winner and thats blu-ray. Make sure your onboard.

[DeejayTai]

There's a 100% sure-fire way HD can beat BD. Get porn on HD first. That's the only way!

[Leathersoup]

HD-DVD responds to Blu-Ray, "Yo Mamma's so fat....."

[REbirth]

one like titanic? oh...i'll pass:P

[sonyfanonly]

ITS NOT ABOUT PRICE IN THE HDDVD PLAYERS OR BLU RAY PLAYERS ITS THE SUPPORT THAT DRIVES A CERTAIN THING TO VICTORY AND BLU RAY HAS ALOT MORE SUPPORT PARAMOUNT UNIVERSIAL AND WHAT EVER ELSE MADE A MISTAKE BY GOING HDDVD EXCLUSIVE JUST LOOK AT THE SALES NUMBERS OF THE PIRATES MOVIES AND SPIDER MAN 1 2 AND 3 ITS A SHAME I WANT SEE JURASSIC PARK ON BLU RAY BECAUSE THAT IS THE BEST UNIVERSIAL MOVIE THEY HAVE EVER DONE BUT ILL STICK WITH MY REGULAR DVD

[eagle21]

hd dvd is a joke. Support is all you need.

[karlostomy]

I cannot actually believe that no one has thus far mentioned the phenomenon that occurred when there was a battle between DVD-R and DVD+R. That is right +/-R used to be COMPETING dvd formats.

Buy any standalone DVD player these days and you will get a DVD+/-R player.
In other words, as soon as was technologically feasible, manufacturers included both formats in their players, ensuring that cosumers could use both types of discs.

Now, I am willing to BET that pretty soon we will see HD players with bluray/HDDVD hybrid ability. Given the recent history and manufacturing advances it only seems logical. Especially with high speed broadband threatening doom for portable formats.

Who agrees?

[SSCOOLCHEA]

All these people who bashes sony for putting the blu ray in there is suggesting they should have put hd-dvd in the 360 . if you look at that way than the 360 and hd -dvd would have never survived with the cost of the console . To go against sony with the same price is death

[Boink]

population of autralia: 20,434,176
population of europe: ~750,000,000
population of North America: ~514,000,000

I wouldn't be focusing my efforts there either.

no offense, I love australia, but they won't be the ones that tip the scale of this useless "war" either way.

[DeejayTai]

I think it's a stupid business practice to alienate ANY of your potential customers.

[damnwrx]

Too much $$$ to produce and too expensive to purchase! I can't afford that isht, I work at McDonald's I went to Ronald McDonald University to become an employee.....hmmmmm

[Tyrael]

Im going to make my own format. It will be called HD-Ray, so that both sides win. Likewise, the laser and theme will be purple in color. Standalone players start at $75. Any takers?

[crank]

no

[damnwrx]

Plus 20 hd movies...no, 50 movies

[Tyrael]

awww cmon man, you're gonna run me outta business...

[Bolts]

HDDVD movies are not selling, why bother stocking the players if movies for that format doesn't move? A trip to the local Best Buy can show you this. HDDVD need more exclusives, Transformer and Shrek isn't enough.

[Dmack79]

If they truly wanted hd dvd to win then they would have added it into the 360s. BUT NO, they knew that it would drive up the price to what the PS3 was originally - $600, or perhaps even more. So they decided to separate the format and their console apart, thinking that hd-dvd would do well on its own without the help of the gamer community.

unfortunately for them they made a big mistake.