If I was Walmart right now, I would put my weight behind the PS3 and Blu-ray.

[Firestreak]

http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/to...rrelevant.aspx

Microsoft has completely shifted focus, as we can see, away from HD DVD and towards the concept that physical media is toast.

If I was a retailer, this might be making me nervous right about now. I'd drop HD DVD and fast, to end the confusion and back one form of physical media immediately. No physical media and they can't sell anything.

This brings me to my main point. The PS3 and the 360. Right now the PS3 is the best selling blu-ray player. The more gamers that buy it, the more support it gets from game developers. The more support, the more people buy it. If I'm Walmart, I want more PS3s in the wild, because it increase Blu-ray penetration, which protects physical media. 360, the PS3's more direct competitor, is focused on digital downloads. The more 360s Walmart sells, the more we tilt towards the download future.

I don't know about you, but I think Walmart and Best Buy must be considering this line of thought. I would drop HD DVD immediately, give a decent shelf space to Blu-ray, and have a Blu-ray playing on every TV on display. I'd give PS3 emphasis on my gaming section and make sure to have a PS3 with the Ratchet and Clank demo on at all times.

We know already the retailers are pressuring Paramount and Universal to switch sides, they don't want physical media to die. But as the people with the most to lose, they need to step up to the plate and push Blu-ray until Joe 6-pack wants a player before he's even got an HDTV.