The Blu-ray Disc Association has announced that its high
definition format is the first to sell more than one million discs, a milestone
it has achieved in less than a year. Blu-ray Disc sales also accounted for 70
percent of the high-definition movies sold during the first quarter of 2007,
according to sales figures published by Home Media Research.
Blu-ray Disc titles accounted for eight of the top ten
selling high definition titles in the first quarter of this year and since the
introduction of both high definition formats, seven of the top ten selling high
definition movies are on Blu-ray Disc.
“Sales of Blu-ray Disc titles have taken off since the first
of the year,” said Andy Parsons, Chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Association’s
U.S. Promotion Committee and Senior Vice President New Product Development at
Pioneer Electronics. “Blu-ray Discs have been outselling HD DVD by more than
two to one since the beginning of the year and the gap is steadily widening.
It’s exactly what we’ve said all along would happen - the strong support for
Blu-ray among movie studio and equipment manufacturers means that consumers
have more choices when it comes to players and titles. And they’re choosing
Blu-ray by an ever-increasing margin.”
This is the latest string of announcements in the ongoing
format war between Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD. Last week, the North American HD
DVD Promotional Group revealed at the format’s first birthday party that
more than 100,000
dedicated HD DVD players have sold in the U.S. in its first year since the
format’s introduction to the market.