Washington, D.C. (November 20, 2006)
--
Blu-ray HDTV DVD players are now in
nearly 500,000 U.S. homes.
Thanks to Friday's launch of the Play Station 3, of course.
Sony's new video game console, which includes a Blu-ray player, sold out on Friday with more than 400,000 units leaving the store.
While previous Blu-ray sales numbers have been sketchy, it's been estimated that less than 100,000 had been sold prior to Friday. The launch of PS3 gives the Sony-backed Blu-ray a large lead over its high-def disc rival, the Toshiba-supported HD-DVD.
However, HD-DVD supporters say that sales of HD-DVD player attachments for the XBox 360 game console have been brisk. The HD-DVD add-on costs $199.
HD-DVD player sales to date are also estimated to be lower than 100,000.
But some industry observers say the PS3 launch could trigger more interest in the new DVD format. Retailers selling the new console on Friday were met with long lines of excited customers.
“Anytime you have lines outside the door, people will walk by wondering what’s going on,” Best Buy spokesman Brian Lucas told Video Business. “They want to see all the cool stuff coming out.”
While Blu-ray is now in more homes, some analysts wonder if the gamers will give the high-def player a try. To help persuade them, Sony included one Blu-ray edition of Will Ferrell's Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby in each box.
Thanks to Friday's launch of the Play Station 3, of course.
Sony's new video game console, which includes a Blu-ray player, sold out on Friday with more than 400,000 units leaving the store.
While previous Blu-ray sales numbers have been sketchy, it's been estimated that less than 100,000 had been sold prior to Friday. The launch of PS3 gives the Sony-backed Blu-ray a large lead over its high-def disc rival, the Toshiba-supported HD-DVD.
However, HD-DVD supporters say that sales of HD-DVD player attachments for the XBox 360 game console have been brisk. The HD-DVD add-on costs $199.
HD-DVD player sales to date are also estimated to be lower than 100,000.
But some industry observers say the PS3 launch could trigger more interest in the new DVD format. Retailers selling the new console on Friday were met with long lines of excited customers.
“Anytime you have lines outside the door, people will walk by wondering what’s going on,” Best Buy spokesman Brian Lucas told Video Business. “They want to see all the cool stuff coming out.”
While Blu-ray is now in more homes, some analysts wonder if the gamers will give the high-def player a try. To help persuade them, Sony included one Blu-ray edition of Will Ferrell's Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby in each box.