Variety: HD War Will End Next Year

[Blu Titan]

They do not explicity say who they believe will be the winner, but read between the lines

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...goryid=20&cs=1

[GregBlu5]

I think the "between the lines" is the reference to that one studio switching sides.

We all know that any current Blu-exclusive studio going neutral is not going to happen. And we also know that there's only one studio that could very easily move from neutral to Blu exclusive (Warner).

As I said in another post, this would be all that the retailers need to stop carrying HD: to end the confusion, end the need to explain the difference between the competing formats, end the requirement to carry both formats on their shelves, and have a ready made excuse to eliminate HD in their stores: "Only two studios support HD. We have decided to quit carrying that format."

-Greg

[SpaceDog]

and Sony's PlayStation 3 will hit back against the successful Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox 360

This would lend to the Blu decision

[ironrefault]

I think that's an unspoken aspect: the PS3's growth. If blu-ray is a "PS3" platform, imagine when PS3 sales explode this spring.

[dialog_gvf]

"It would only take one major player to shift allegiances to push the tipping point one way or another," said analyst Richard Cooper.

So, that is non-commital, but:

Sony's Blu-ray has enjoyed a good year, boosted by sales of the PlayStation 3 hardware and software. With both sides engaged in price-cutting of their hardware delivery systems, 2008 will see the battle shift to the content arena.

"Hardware prices have been coming down all year," Cooper said. "It is now about what content is available, which will make the roles of the studios more important."

Other predictions in the report include a bounceback for the PlayStation 3 against Microsoft's X-Box 360 and Nintendo Wii consoles, thanks to Sony's pipeline of exclusive content and a launch of multimedia services in 2008.

If price isn't going to be a force driving HD DVD adoption, since Blu-ray pricing will be close enough, then any studio shifting allegiance to HD DVD is going to be giving up the benefits of both the near price equity for standalones and the rise in PS/3's fortunes.

One of things Microsoft has (deliberately) failed to do is cross promote the download service with the disc sales. Sony won't fail to exploit it.

Gary