Microsoft Again Kiboshes X360 Blu-ray Rumors
The rumors were initially sparked by reports from DigiTimes, which, citing industry sources, claimed that Lite-On was supplying Microsoft with Blu-ray drives for the Xbox 360. Microsoft quickly responded to the speculation, issuing a statement that denied the claims.
"Lite-On is not manufacturing Blu-ray drives for Xbox 360," a company spokesperson said. "As we have stated, games are what are driving consumers to purchase game consoles and we remain focused on providing the largest library of blockbuster game available.
"For our customers who want a premium movie experience we offer the largest library of on-demand HD content available and the ability to play back DVDs in high definition," the representative added.
The software giant has repeatedly dismissed rumors of Blu-ray functionality following the HD DVD format's defeat, with heavyweight HD DVD supporters pulling out and Microsoft itself axing the HD DVD player add-on for its Xbox 360.
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They probably decided it was better to make a deal with Netflix than to pay Sony royalties.
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I'd say it wasn't that a lot of people bought BR but that even fewer people bought HDDVD and, even more so, HDDVD looked doomed after two major studios pulled support of the format, switching to BR exclusivity.
I have a BR/HDDVD combo drive in my HTPC as well as a PS3 but I don't plan on buying any more than the handful of high-def titles that I have already as I do not think BR adds enough to most films to justify the 1.5x or more price increase over DVDs. For live action drama where it's all about the writing/acting/direction, upscaled DVD is perfectly good enough until the prices of films come down.
(The odd thing where the visuals are a really big deal, like Pixar films, I will get on BR, of course.)
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Blu-ray sales are beginning to effect DVD sales now though.
According to an analysis of Nielsen VideoScan First Alert numbers conducted by Home Media Magazine, Disney's Blu-ray chart-topper 'No Country for Old Men' drew 9.8 percent of its total unit sales from Blu-ray during its first five days in stores.
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Faring even better was Fox's 'Hitman,' which saw 12.6 percent of total customers taking home the Blu-ray version during its first five days.
http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Industry_Forecasts/Industry_Trends/Disc_Sales/Report:_Blu-ray_Disc_Sales_Impacting_DVD_/1602-
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12% is pretty good though, I'd have guessed alot less. Though, that's during the first five days the title was available, giving enthusiasts with blue-ray players a bit of an advantage. DVD-sales will probably pick up during time.
Anyway, it's still early - the HD-format war has just ended - and if PS3s and Blue-Ray players goes down in price, that market could quickly get a steady foothold. It doesn't need to outsell DVD at all for that - nothing probably will in a long while anyway.
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Yes apparently.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/business/news/e3if32b8f1fa30457d7f93590b04608f673
But if people are expecting DVD level sales overnight, you expect too much. -
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