Blu-ray format still the loser this holiday because of economy

The Blu-ray is now the uncontested winner of the much-played out format war for home entertainment against HD-DVD. So why are executives still worrying about its fate this holidays? Because the economy is down, that’s why. Read up on more at the full article.

The Blu-ray is now the uncontested winner of the much-played out format war for home entertainment against HD-DVD. So why are executives still worrying about its fate this holidays?

Because the economy is down, that’s why. And when consumers don’t have cash to spend, no matter how great the format is, it just won’t sell if their priority is to “put food on your family”, as Bush would put it.

Lori MacPherson, Disney‘s General Manager for home entertainment, expounds:

The economy is the biggest challenge, because there are just so many pieces to the Blu-ray puzzle that consumers face. You need the high-definition television set, you need the player, you need the cables, you need the software…

Yes, it sure takes a lot of prerequisites before you can fully enjoy the benefits of owning a Blu-ray player, and this is precisely what’s driving away the consumers from picking them up. If there’s any consolation, though, it’s looking like stores are seriously considering lowering the price points for the gadget to make it more accessible to buyers.

But the Blu-ray players and its many accompaniments are not the only things to worry about. Of course, for you to really enjoy it, you must have the discs. And the discs, unfortunately, are pricey themselves as well.

To this, Sony VP business development Rich Marty says, “We’re constantly looking at (disc) pricing). What it amounts to is that we’ll wait until after the fourth quarter and see how it goes.”

• Come on, come all – HDTVs and PS3 value bundles at Wal-Mart
• Blu-ray Disc Ripper v1.4: can now copy BD-live content

Via Reuters