Those wondering about the outcome of the high-def format war between Sony’s Blu-Ray Disc format and Toshiba/Microsoft’s HD-DVD format need look no further than the news coming out of the Consumer Electronics Show. With Holiday 2007 now history, the votes that matter most have been cast: consumer spending dollars.
In that battle, it is Sony’s Blu-Ray Disc format that is emerging as the winner. For the 2007 holiday season, Blu-Ray Disc outsold HD-DVD by a two-to-one margin. At the CES, Sony’s reps and movie studio partners were saying that the war is pretty much over; it’s just a matter of time now.
By contrast, the Toshiba reps were saying, “It’s too early to cast HD-DVD aside.”
Considering the sales figures, however, and the fact that a Blu-Ray Disc holds 20 GB more information than the largest-capacity HD-DVD, whose reps sound more desperate? Hands down, Blu-Ray Disc is going to be the high-def format winner, thanks in large part to PlayStation 3 sales.
These aren’t your grandparents’ air purifiers wars, kids! This is for keeps!