AP article: Sony CEO comments on format war - Blu-ray Forum

Zotar · 11-09-2007, 08:15 AM

Quote:

NEW YORK (AP) — The head of Sony Corp., Howard Stringer, said Thursday that the Blu-ray disc format the company has developed as the successor to the DVD is in a "stalemate" with the competing HD DVD format, chiefly backed by Toshiba Corp. and Microsoft Corp.

"It's a difficult fight," said Stringer, speaking at the 92nd Street Y cultural center in Manhattan.

Toshiba has been selling its players for as low as $200 heading into the holiday season, while Blu-ray players cost more than twice as much. The HD DVD camp also scored a significant win in August, when it induced Paramount Pictures to drop most of its support for Blu-ray and put out high-definition movies exclusively on HD DVD.

"We were trying to win on the merits, which we were doing for a while, until Paramount changed sides," Stringer said.

At the same time, he played down the importance of the battle, saying it was mostly a matter of prestige whose format wins out in the end.

"It doesn't mean as much as all that," Stringer said. He added that he believed there was an opportunity of uniting the two camps under one format before he became CEO, and he wishes he could travel back in time to make that happen.

Stringer was more upbeat about the PlayStation 3, the game console that has so far had disappointing sales compared to the rival Nintendo Wii.

The CEO said the console is the best-selling console in Europe after a price cut three weeks ago. In the U.S., a recent price cut has doubled sales.

"We are coming back up again," Stringer said. The company aims to sell 10 million PS3s by the end of its fiscal year in March. Nintendo has already sold 13.2 million Wiis.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i...kRhRAD8SPU1BG0

DealsR4theDevil · 11-09-2007, 08:20 AM

That isnt very reassuring Blu-ray talk.

WarCraft · 11-09-2007, 08:22 AM

Ugh -- does that mean we are in for a long fight? I dont want two formats.

There can only be one! *(/slashes head of HD DUD)

*Highlander

WarCraft · 11-09-2007, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DealsR4theDevil

That isnt very reassuring Blu-ray talk.

Indeed -- methinks Toshiba has reached the Sony president in its bid to win this war ha ha ha.

And is so contrary to my sig -- time to change it. It looks like the BDA doesnt seem to have balls after all.

/Yawn. Maybe I should just go to sleep and hope Im just having a bad dream.

EricJ · 11-09-2007, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DealsR4theDevil

That isnt very reassuring Blu-ray talk.

Well, it's corporations--
They don't know what the customers know, and only know what they read in the magazines...

(And the magazines only know what they see on CNN.)

miokti · 11-09-2007, 08:26 AM

good, someone added the thread... i couldn't coz i am new... anyways... shouldn't we be keeping the pressure on? what's this talk about stalemate when the closest DUD to blu is 2:1?

the good news is, Sony has been nice this whole time, going by merits instead of other tactics like giving away $150 for exclusivity. sony was going by merits "for a while", does that mean no more mr. nice guy now?

DealsR4theDevil · 11-09-2007, 08:26 AM

I posted this in another thread but it seems to "fit in" here better.

Man, Blu-ray has dominated in every country except for the U.S., they can tout their sales here (even though Blu's are still higher), but in 90% Of the world they are virtually non existant. This should mean that HD DVD has lost, so why doesnt it? Why can a format that is only viable in one country stay alive?

Zyclone · 11-09-2007, 08:31 AM

because the US is one big country

BluStar88 · 11-09-2007, 08:31 AM

I think he is just trying to temper expectations. If you look at his comments after the initial launch of the PS3 and performance wasn't great he had similar coments about how tough the battle was.

I think his comment on unification was more interesting than anything else and may have been a subtle olive branch to toshiba to find middle ground somewhere.. maybe bring them into the fold.

I dont' think he said anything that discouraging.. we get some much good news around here we can't start saying the sky is falling everytime something doesn't go perfect.

Grisle · 11-09-2007, 08:48 AM

Sony pictures just accepted $250 million to go HD-DVD exclusive...j/k.

lch · 11-09-2007, 08:51 AM

this is just to dampen the market a little bit so as not to raise too high expectation when the financial statement for the last quater is announce, else it will cause company stock to fall sharply.

NutsAboutPS3 · 11-09-2007, 08:53 AM

I can't remember were I saw it, but a slide from some industry event predicted a long term 50:50 market share between BD and HD DVD. It sounds like the Sony CEO sees that as the outcome from what he said.

Ascended_Saiyan · 11-09-2007, 08:56 AM

Exactly, Blustar88! The HD DVD side has only had probably 6 or 7 pieces of good news since this format war started. How is it they seem to keep going week after week and some of us can't? We get good news almost ALL the time. The CEO of Sony makes a neutral statement and some people are ready to fall apart. That's just wierd.

Grisle · 11-09-2007, 09:04 AM

No one found my joke funny? Man that sucks.

Zazou · 11-09-2007, 09:17 AM

I posted the following on the Engadget article reporting the same story in response to a user who suggested that this was Sony admitting defeat.

"Remember, software sales are what will win this war, and one side has managed to sell more software week on week, month on month. Based on the upcoming releases, that margin is only going to increase in the next couple of weeks/months. Regardless of what anyone thinks about Sony, there are many other massive CE companies involved so it's my opinion that we will either have two formats around for a long time yet, or the bluer of the two will take the crown."

Clearly, I'm hoping the latter of my predictions prevails, and sooner rather than later.

Lee

Need0fMany · 11-09-2007, 10:39 AM

I've posted a few times stating my expectations that it would be a very long war and for Blu-ray supporters need to be patient and keep buying BDs without hesitation.

The truth is that money is power and Microsoft has a lot of money thus a lot of power. Even if the rest of the world turns Blu, Microsoft can keep paying studios to support HD-DVD exclusively in the US for years and years to come... or at least until their digital distribution strategy is firmly in place. At which point Microsoft will drop their partners like they did with "PlaysForSure" when they decided to make their own Zune. Movie studios should pay attention to precedents like that before taking short term payoffs.

Anyway, even if Microsoft is able to maintain a stalemate in the US, I'm not worried because the PS3 -- one of the best Blu-ray player -- will be around for years to come and so will Blu-ray games and movies.

I used to worry some about HD-DVD, now I just ignore it and its exclusive studios. There is more than enough content on Blu-ray to keep me entertained and busy.

Papi4baby · 11-09-2007, 11:00 AM

Your tittle is misleading Zotar, your quote said is in a stalemate, your tittle sees a stalemate trying to imply for a long time or coming up.
While i think that no Blu ray company head honcho should be saying anything like that, it is somewhat the truth, im sure he might hear some *****ing about that coment but nothing serious. Since it really is not that big of a deal. They have the cheap players, we have the best content, and right now j6p looks at cheap players more than what movies will be in what format, most likely they dont even know yet about another medium for HD movies. Hopefully with all the publicity Blu is been getting lately we will have a more informed consumer and the BDA will get it together and cut prices to just sink HDDVD all the way down to Davy Jones locker for good.

Go Blu · 11-09-2007, 11:08 AM

Another thing to remember is that on a retail level they do NOT want a stalemate either.

As you have seen at Best Buy for instance. HD is now taking up two aisles. That's valuable shelf space that could be moving 10x the amount of the same DVD titles.

Blu-ray movies are still moving faster than DUD and as the number increases so does our shelf space; DUD will have a much harder time justifying the real estate they are taking up.

Iron Man · 11-09-2007, 11:09 AM

"the Blu-ray disc format the company has developed as the successor to the DVD is in a "stalemate" with the competing HD DVD format"

I think he is absolutely right, Blu-ray has lost the momentum it got in Q1+Q2 2007. The PS3 turned things around for Blu-ray and gave a 2:1 advantage in disc sales. Sadly the ratio hasn't changed since, it's still around 2:1.

Grubert · 11-09-2007, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Papi4baby

Your tittle is misleading Zotar, your quote said is in a stalemate, your tittle sees a stalemate trying to imply for a long time or coming up.

Don't blame Zotar. Blame Associated Press. That's the title they chose for the article.

11-09-2007, 08:31 AM	#9
BluStar88 Active Member Top contributor Member since:Oct 2007 Location:中国-上海 4K collection:193 Blu-ray collection:3630 iTunes collection:594	Corporate olive branch? I think he is just trying to temper expectations. If you look at his comments after the initial launch of the PS3 and performance wasn't great he had similar coments about how tough the battle was. I think his comment on unification was more interesting than anything else and may have been a subtle olive branch to toshiba to find middle ground somewhere.. maybe bring them into the fold. I dont' think he said anything that discouraging.. we get some much good news around here we can't start saying the sky is falling everytime something doesn't go perfect.

11-09-2007, 10:39 AM	#16
Need0fMany Active Member Member since:Jan 2007	Be patient, don't panic, stay Blu I've posted a few times stating my expectations that it would be a very long war and for Blu-ray supporters need to be patient and keep buying BDs without hesitation. The truth is that money is power and Microsoft has a lot of money thus a lot of power. Even if the rest of the world turns Blu, Microsoft can keep paying studios to support HD-DVD exclusively in the US for years and years to come... or at least until their digital distribution strategy is firmly in place. At which point Microsoft will drop their partners like they did with "PlaysForSure" when they decided to make their own Zune. Movie studios should pay attention to precedents like that before taking short term payoffs. Anyway, even if Microsoft is able to maintain a stalemate in the US, I'm not worried because the PS3 -- one of the best Blu-ray player -- will be around for years to come and so will Blu-ray games and movies. I used to worry some about HD-DVD, now I just ignore it and its exclusive studios. There is more than enough content on Blu-ray to keep me entertained and busy.

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11-09-2007, 08:20 AM	#2
DealsR4theDevil Power Member Member since:Sep 2007 Trading Score:76	That isnt very reassuring Blu-ray talk.

11-09-2007, 08:22 AM	#3
WarCraft Active Member Member since:Oct 2007	Ugh -- does that mean we are in for a long fight? I dont want two formats. There can only be one! (/slashes head of HD DUD) Highlander

11-09-2007, 08:26 AM	#6
miokti Expert Member Member since:Nov 2007 Location:San Diego, CA	good, someone added the thread... i couldn't coz i am new... anyways... shouldn't we be keeping the pressure on? what's this talk about stalemate when the closest DUD to blu is 2:1? the good news is, Sony has been nice this whole time, going by merits instead of other tactics like giving away $150 for exclusivity. sony was going by merits "for a while", does that mean no more mr. nice guy now?

11-09-2007, 08:31 AM	#8
Zyclone Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Jun 2007 Location:Somewhere over the rainbow Home Theater Gallery:3 Blu-ray collection:304	because the US is one big country

11-09-2007, 08:48 AM	#10
Grisle Power Member Member since:Sep 2007 Location:Northern California 4K collection:18 Blu-ray collection:18 Trading Score:12	Sony pictures just accepted $250 million to go HD-DVD exclusive...j/k.

11-09-2007, 08:51 AM	#11
lch Senior Member Member since:Aug 2007 4K collection:103 Blu-ray collection:813 Blu-ray reviews:1	this is just to dampen the market a little bit so as not to raise too high expectation when the financial statement for the last quater is announce, else it will cause company stock to fall sharply.

11-09-2007, 08:53 AM	#12
NutsAboutPS3 Expert Member Member since:Apr 2007 Location:UK Blu-ray reviews:1	I can't remember were I saw it, but a slide from some industry event predicted a long term 50:50 market share between BD and HD DVD. It sounds like the Sony CEO sees that as the outcome from what he said.

11-09-2007, 08:56 AM	#13
Ascended_Saiyan Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Sep 2006 Location:Atlanta, Georgia Blu-ray collection:608 Trading Score:1	Exactly, Blustar88! The HD DVD side has only had probably 6 or 7 pieces of good news since this format war started. How is it they seem to keep going week after week and some of us can't? We get good news almost ALL the time. The CEO of Sony makes a neutral statement and some people are ready to fall apart. That's just wierd.

11-09-2007, 09:04 AM	#14
Grisle Power Member Member since:Sep 2007 Location:Northern California 4K collection:18 Blu-ray collection:18 Trading Score:12	No one found my joke funny? Man that sucks.

11-09-2007, 09:17 AM	#15
Zazou Active Member Member since:Sep 2007 Location:United Kingdom	I posted the following on the Engadget article reporting the same story in response to a user who suggested that this was Sony admitting defeat. "Remember, software sales are what will win this war, and one side has managed to sell more software week on week, month on month. Based on the upcoming releases, that margin is only going to increase in the next couple of weeks/months. Regardless of what anyone thinks about Sony, there are many other massive CE companies involved so it's my opinion that we will either have two formats around for a long time yet, or the bluer of the two will take the crown." Clearly, I'm hoping the latter of my predictions prevails, and sooner rather than later. Lee

11-09-2007, 11:00 AM	#17
Papi4baby Special Member Member since:Aug 2007 Location:That man from Nantucket Blu-ray collection:32	Your tittle is misleading Zotar, your quote said is in a stalemate, your tittle sees a stalemate trying to imply for a long time or coming up. While i think that no Blu ray company head honcho should be saying anything like that, it is somewhat the truth, im sure he might hear some *****ing about that coment but nothing serious. Since it really is not that big of a deal. They have the cheap players, we have the best content, and right now j6p looks at cheap players more than what movies will be in what format, most likely they dont even know yet about another medium for HD movies. Hopefully with all the publicity Blu is been getting lately we will have a more informed consumer and the BDA will get it together and cut prices to just sink HDDVD all the way down to Davy Jones locker for good.

11-09-2007, 11:08 AM	#18
Go Blu Special Member Member since:Feb 2007	Another thing to remember is that on a retail level they do NOT want a stalemate either. As you have seen at Best Buy for instance. HD is now taking up two aisles. That's valuable shelf space that could be moving 10x the amount of the same DVD titles. Blu-ray movies are still moving faster than DUD and as the number increases so does our shelf space; DUD will have a much harder time justifying the real estate they are taking up.

11-09-2007, 11:09 AM	#19
Iron Man Active Member Member since:Aug 2007	"the Blu-ray disc format the company has developed as the successor to the DVD is in a "stalemate" with the competing HD DVD format" I think he is absolutely right, Blu-ray has lost the momentum it got in Q1+Q2 2007. The PS3 turned things around for Blu-ray and gave a 2:1 advantage in disc sales. Sadly the ratio hasn't changed since, it's still around 2:1.

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