Blu-ray players reaches 2.7 million

[PaulGo]

Milestone reached over Black Friday shopping weekend
By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 12/3/2007

DEC. 3 | The Blu-ray Disc Assn. is touting a new milestone passed over the Black Friday shopping period, noting that player sales since launch reached 2.7 million units through Nov. 24.

Like the HD DVD camp’s recent claims, the figure encompasses both Blu-ray-capable gaming devices and Blu-ray set-top players.

Through October, there had been 2 million units sold of the Blu-ray-enhanced PlayStation 3. That arguably gives Blu-ray set-tops a 700,000 piece of overall format unit sales. But the picture is muddied somewhat by the likely gangbuster PlayStation 3 sales in November due to the introduction of the relatively cheap $399 PlayStation 3. November console sales will not be available from the NPD Group until mid-December.

It’s tough to calculate specific gains for Blu-ray set-tops, as many of the manufacturers have not released sales information on their players to this point.

Still, the 2.7 million sold is a clear achievement over the HD DVD side, which pushed its installment base to 750,000 units following widespread holiday retail sales, notably including $99-priced players at Wal-Mart and Best Buy. Although not as steeply priced-slashed as rival HD DVD, many Blu-ray players also were sale-priced at retail. Several chains were offering Samsung and Sony Blu-ray players at $399, $100 below their $499 list prices.

The BDA last week also trumpeted its continuing lead in Blu-ray software sales, which in the weeks leading up to Black Friday had been outpacing HD DVD titles by a two-to-one ratio. During the Black Friday period, BD titles made up 72.6% of all high-def purchases, with HD DVD totaling 27.4%, according to Nielsen/VideoScan figures cited by BDA.

The fact that BD software remains the sales leader in an environment of heavy HD DVD player discounting is especially heartening to the BDA.

A statement from the group noted, “Despite the $99 HD DVD fire sale, Blu-ray movies were flying off the shelves in this crucial holiday shopping period.”

According to the BD camp, total BD disc sales in the U.S. since launch topped 4 million units in November, about the same time HD DVD software sales passed just 2.5 million units.

To date in the U.S., 18 of the Top 20 high-def releases are Blu-ray, according to the BD camp.

According to Media Control Gfk International figures cited by BDA, BD movies control 73% of the European market, outselling HD DVD by a three-to-one margin, and BD holds a 95% share of the high-def recorder market in Japan.

http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6509196.html

[GregBlu5]

Glad to see someone in the print media giving Blu the accolades it deserves.

The $399.99 price has now become the standard for the S300 on the Sony Style Web site, not just the price at outlets like Target and Best Buy. They aren't exactly giving them away, but with free disks and other incentives elsewhere, the price has become far more competative, yet you still feel you're getting something of value rather than something that's been gathering dust in warehouses for approximately a year because it wasn't selling.

-Greg

[quexos]

That is great news although it's not "new". I mean We all know this already but I like to hear it again, hehe.

For info: 2.7 million Blurayplayers is a US only figure.
Worldwide it is something around 7 million Blu-ray players.

Ok so we know that HD Discs are around 65% for Bluray in the US
and 73% for Bluray in Europe
What about Japan ? I mean the figure is about Bluray recorders with an amazing 95% market share (sweet)
But what exactly is the Bluray DISCS share in Japan ?

[eat_me_cool]

Originally Posted by quexos

That is great news although it's not "new". I mean We all know this already but I like to hear it again, hehe.

For info: 2.7 million Blurayplayers is a US only figure.
Worldwide it is something around 7 million Blu-ray players.

Ok so we know that HD Discs are around 65% for Bluray in the US
and 73% for Bluray in Europe
What about Japan ? I mean the figure is about Bluray recorders with an amazing 95% market share (sweet)
But what exactly is the Bluray DISCS share in Japan ?

From memory 9:1 same as the players and increasing rapidly. Its not even worth discussing, game over in Japan. In Europe HD-DVD is doing terrible as well. If they have only sold 270k discs, it means (with their wonderful attach rate ) they may have only sold 50k players. The UK alone has 1.7million PS3's. PS3 is out selling the x360 2:1 at present (although total installed is 50% of the x360)

[w_tanoto]

I actually start to prefer if BDA states BD standalone player instead of PS3 included (although I understand that most people, including myself, using PS3 as BD player). Their number started to catch up with HD DVD players, and maybe once BD standalone surpassed HD DVD player, they can drop PS3 from the figure

[Porfie]

I agree great to see the facts about how good blu-ray is selling!

[Blu Titan]

Great News! That number will reach 3 million by the end of the year

[Swede]

Why would the BDA drop the PS3 from its sales figures, when it's one of the best Blu-ray players currently on the market, and one that MANY people use as a standalone blu-ray player, that makes no sense at all.

The HD DVD camp recently so proudly announced they had sold 750k players including xbox360 addons etc, compared to 2.7M players that doesn't sound very impressive anymore, does it?

It also nicely mentions the huge blu-ray lead in Europe & Japan, as well as disc sales

[darinp2]

Originally Posted by w_tanoto

Their number started to catch up with HD DVD players, and maybe once BD standalone surpassed HD DVD player, they can drop PS3 from the figure

I don't see them surpassing HD DVD standalone sales unless something big happens (like Warner and New Line going to Blu-ray exclusively). One reason is that Toshiba pretty much has to have low standalone prices or the war would be over, while Sony and the others are trying to balance reasonable prices for those to get something in return, with also trying to win the war. But the BDA doesn't have to match them on players that don't count the PS3, because of the PS3. As Penton-Man has said, the BDA takes a measured approach. Using paid-geek's terminology, the BDA doesn't have to take a "scorched-earth" approach.

While the ratios for what they call standalone players (not counting the XBOX360 add-on or the PS3) was about 53:44:3, those 90k HD DVD players should have improved that for Toshiba. My personally feeling is that unless something big happens with the XBOX360 add-on to shoot the sales through the roof, if the BDA can keep Toshiba from ending the year with less than 60% of that standalone market, then Blu-ray will be looking good (although Warner could always just take a big payoff and not consider who is winning). I think that if the current ratio was favorable enough to Toshiba they would be telling us what it is. But with the 90k even announcing that they had 60% right now wouldn't make them look all that great. I also suspect that Toshiba is ahead for that ratio, because the BDA would be pointing out if they weren't. Looks like they are kind of in a no-man's-land where neither side has enough bragging rights there. In the last couple of weeks I think the Blu-ray side has done well with deals that are good enough on non-PS3 players, while also not killing their future potential. The status quo should be on Blu-ray's side IMO, with the HD DVD camp really needing to improve their position in Q4, not just stay the same ratio behind. We'll see over the next 3 weeks or so how many things the HD DVD side is willing to do to try to improve their position this year.

Another thing to consider is that even if the BDA stopped including any PS3s, then Toshiba would just count all their standalones and all the XBOX360 add-ons to go against Blu-ray standalones, as seems to be the current stance.

--Darin

[lch]

so bd player (inc ps3) take 1 month to sell 700k and hd-dvd (inc xbox addon, pc drive) take 1+ yrs to sell 750k ?

[marzetta7]

Kiiiiiiiiiick asssssssssssssss.



-Cartman

[blu2]

(Editing this post based on checking NPD Data)

Sony had about 2 Million PS3s sold in North America at the end of October (see numbers here: http://forum.pcvsconsole.com/viewthread.php?tid=11067)

If they had a good November, you'd have expected them to sell 250K-300K PS3s by Nov 24th.

Which means about 400K-450K Standalones sold to date.

This is pretty good, or if high, they're doing quite good on the PS3 side.

[edgebsl]

I thought SAs were already up to 400,000?

Is there any data on SAs?

[edgebsl]

I believe this is where that 2.2 number floating around comes from.

"according to recent estimates (released prior to Black Friday, so not including Black Friday sales) there are reportedly some 300,000 stand-alone Blu-ray players in North America, plus another 1.9 million PlayStation 3s, for a total of approximately 2.2 "

They had only sold 1.9 mil ps3s prior to BF.

I'd say somewhere between 350,000 and 450,000 would be more realistic for SA.

Anyway you slice it, as long as you count all sa's and gaming drives as TS did. Blu Ray players in about a month's time almost the same number of hd dvd players in existence.

[kowhite]

Originally Posted by BlueNeon

Great News! That number will reach 3 million by the end of the year

Even more.

They will probably reach at least 3.3 million by the end of the year, probably closer to 3.5 million if not more. Historical trends show December being THE strongest month for video game hardware sales, often times exhibiting sales of 2:1 compared to November. Add in the last week of November sales, up to 800k PS3s left is hardly out of the question.

[xwingsct]

And don't forget that HD-DVD got a head start in the market.
They should have sold more units right?

[mystiksuicide]

I wonder how this will be perceived and spun by the duder's

[Lambchop]

Wow! That is good news It looks like 2008 will be an aweseome year for BD! I suppose that if HD DVD Promo Group had been wise enough to leave the xbox add-on out of the equation & not released their sales no's as a success, the BDA might've waited until after the holidays before rubbing BD's clear lead in their faces. Some promo group..

[shockin330i]

:woot:

[cleric]

Originally Posted by mystiksuicide

I wonder how this will be perceived and spun by the duder's

They will say that hd dvd still has twice as many standalones without the hd dvd addon.

Though in all seriousness both sides have small numbers.