AfterDawn: News

HD DVD player sales top 100,000 in U.S.

The HD DVD Promotional Group has announced that HD DVD is the first format to sell 100,000 stand-alone players in the United States, adding that recent price drops led to boosts in sales. However, the sales of Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on drives or PC drives are not part of the overall figure, which would be significantly higher if even the Xbox 360 drive was included. It is also the first time sales numbers on either format hardware has ever been released.

Toshiba recently dropped the price of its entry-level player to $399 after Sony announced it would ship a $599 Blu-ray player in the summer. The Xbox 360 HD DVD drive is currently the cheapest option if you own an Xbox 360 console, selling for a much lower $199 (can also be used with Windows Operating system).



"Retailers are showing a significant increase in sales volume this month so far," Toshiba's marketing chief Jodi Sally said. "On Amazon.com, our HD DVD players continue to rank among the top ten best sellers of all DVD players, which says a lot about how consumers relate to price."

Source:
Betanews

Written by: James Delahunty @ 17 Apr 2007 18:41

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• 16 comments

• tabletpc

  the HD DVD add-on can also be used in mac os x as well so for mac users it is a good drive to purchase as well

  17.4.2007 21:13 #1

• azndrake

  100,000 vs 3,000,000 ps3s ouch....

  17.4.2007 21:59 #2

• hughjars

  As Blu-ray movie disc sales show those 3 million PS3s simply aren't generating the BD movie sales.
  
  The "ouch" is really on BD cos they are not getting the expected returns from that game console which (surprise surprise) is mainly being used as a game console.
  
  The Toshiba HD A2 is now down to $300 on Amazon USA, $250 is plausible by summer (it was $349 before the recent official $100 price-drop) and maybe discounted down to $200 by X-mas.
  
  Then the 3 Chinese brands arrive at the end of the year......@ $125 - 150?
  
  Bye-bye BD having any chance in the mainstream mass-market & hello yet another Sony proprietary product (just like UMD is to PSP).
  
  If they're really lucky and can get the 100gb & 200gb media and hardware sorted at a price the professional bulk data storage people will be interested in they might see a little joy there too.
  Might.
  
  Good riddance too considering the DRM they have shoved into it, the strangle hold it would have given Sony over video & the fact that at heart BD is not a purpose designed video media and to cap it all that it isn't even a fixed specification.....
  
  .....what sort of insanity is it that expects people to shell out on hardware that may well be left completely high and dry by future revisons to spec, huh?
  
  Check this out for why that matters (and remember this is a case happening now, not some theoretical possibility) -
  
  http://sonystrikesagain.wordpress.com/2007/03/19/hello-world/

  18.4.2007 03:20 #3

• ZippyDSM

  hughjars
  the way the game is played one side lowers theres then other side lowers their this happens until one gives up,I don't think the war is over.
  
  altho I am somewhat surprised that players will be under 250 this year so prehaps the end will come in 08 ....mmmmmm

  18.4.2007 05:16 #4

• borhan9

  I still would wait and watch this space cause we still dont know which one will take mahoraty of the market.

  18.4.2007 22:26 #5

• plutonash

  Excellent post Hughjar HD DVD will be hitting tghe 199 magic point before Christmas then its gamr over.

  19.4.2007 10:44 #6

• ZippyDSM

  Originally posted by plutonash:Excellent post Hughjar HD DVD will be hitting tghe 199 magic point before Christmas then its gamr over.not really BR will counter either in the same month or the following next 4 months I don't think cheap non duals players will finish of the war I think cheap dual players will! LOL

  19.4.2007 12:56 #7

• voyager

  Well! i will consider to buy the XB360 add-ON HD-DVD player.

  19.4.2007 14:14 #8

• DDR4life

  @azndrake
  The article is about stand-alone players. Last time I checked, ps3 was a game system w/built-in bd not a stand-alone bd player.

  19.4.2007 18:51 #9

• NexGen76

  Quote:@azndrake
  The article is about stand-alone players. Last time I checked, ps3 was a game system w/built-in bd not a stand-alone bd player.You still got to take in to count the PS3 is a media center so i would count it as a player but 100,000 compare to the massive Blu-ray units out there is still small.
  
  Quote:As Blu-ray movie disc sales show those 3 million PS3s simply aren't generating the BD movie sales.Sony Report Reveals First Look at Absolute Blu-ray and HD DVD Disc Sales Figures
  Mon Apr 09, 2007 at 01:54 AM ET
  Tags: Disc Sales, Sony (all tags)
  
  Thanks to a new research report from Sony, industry watchers are getting their best look yet at hard high-def disc sales numbers from Nielsen VideoScan, including per-title sales figures for high-def discs released on both next-gen formats.
  
  Focusing on sales data for the week ending March 18 (the same week that Sony's 'Casino Royale' smashed high-def records by shipping 100,000 units to retail), it should come as no surprise that the VideoScan numbers released by Sony are favorable to the studio, with five of its releases ranking among the top-selling next-gen discs that week.
  
  The numbers that week were equally as impressive for Blu-ray, which outsold HD DVD by a ratio of 9:2, and dominated the list of top-selling next-gen discs -- the HD DVD edition of 'The Departed' was the only HD DVD disc to appear among the top ten best selling high-def discs.
  
  But while abstract ratios and percentages like these have been bandied about for several months now, the Sony report goes one step further, providing the first public release of hard sales figures for HD DVD and Blu-ray discs from Nielsen VideoScan, the home entertainment industry's leading source for competitive sales data.
  
  Among the numbers revealed: as of March 18, VideoScan put the cumulative number of Blu-ray titles sold since the format's inception at 844,000 units, versus HD DVD at 708,600.
  
  But perhaps most interesting are the per-title sales numbers for the top ten selling discs across both formats, which are provided both in the form of a weekly tally (again for the week ending March 18), and as year-to-date totals.
  
  While these charts confirm the previously reported strong showings for such A-list titles as 'The Departed' 'Batman Begins' and 'Superman Returns' (with each clocking per-format sales totals since-inception of at least 28,000 units sold), they also demonstrate a very steep drop-off for titles outside of that top rung, with even discs among the top-ten best sellers that week moving fewer than 1000 units apiece:
  
  
  While we should note that the VideoScan numbers are not all-inclusive (for example, they don't include discs sold at Wal-Mart or some online merchants), the lower sales numbers at the bottom end of weekly list and on display elsewhere in the report (where some titles are listed as selling fewer than 200 units since inception) are certainly still a sobering reminder that both formats still have a long way to go in their shared quest to supplant standard-def DVD.
  
  See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
  
  Related links:
  Sony Next Generation Disc Tracking Report (zipped PDF download) [The Digital Bits]
  
  Discs mentioned in this article: (Click for specs and reviews)
  Casino Royale (Blu-ray)
  The Departed (HD DVD)
  The Departed (Blu-ray)
  Batman Begins (HD DVD)
  Superman Returns (Blu-ray)
  Superman Returns (HD DVD)
  
  Earlier on High-Def Digest:
  'Casino Royale' Blu-ray Breaks 100,000 Unit Milestone
  
  
  
  
  I'm sorry but i don't know how you figure that because Blu-ray movie sells has more than double HD-DVD since Jan 07 this year.

  20.4.2007 03:43 #10

• hughjars

  Those peek week Casino Roayale numbers are a lie.
  
  According to Neilson HD-DVD was outselling BR in Oct, Nov, Dec and Jan with BR only outselling HD-DVD in Feb by 51.5% to 48.5%
  
  AxelMusic continue to show a HD-DVD lead -
  BLU-RAY...... ...HD-DVD
  Weekly 36.2%... .63.8%
  Monthly 35.0%... 65.0%
  Yearly 32.7%.....67.3%
  
  Releases 301..... 256
  http://www.axelmusic.com/index_fab.php?fid=39&cid=&pid=fmt
  
  From the executive summary of next generation disc
  Warner:
  HD DVD : Total = 334,291; Average 5,480 per title
  Blu-ray : 159,012; Average 4,185 per title
  
  Paramount also has higher sales on HD DVD than Blu-ray.
  
  The underlying truth of this so-called 'war' is that there are supposed to be approx 3 million PS3s (and a handful of BD stand-alones) out there compared to 100,000 HD-DVD stand-alones (and maybe a further100,000 XBox 360 HD-DVD add-on and PC drives).
  
  BD retail movie disc sales are rather pathetic considering that. The gap between the 2 fluctuates and will narrow as HD-DVD prices continue to fall throughout the year.

  20.4.2007 05:35 #11

• ZippyDSM

  hughjars
  its still a numbers racket no matter whos numbers it is,the consumer will buy what they like and neither BR or HDVD is really liked much.

  20.4.2007 05:45 #12

• Orbstah

  What a lot of drivel this topic is,
  
  Sales of the discs are so irelevant this early in any formats life.
  Companies have spend millions developing these formats and will support them for ages yet.
  
  The simple matter is both formats will be with us for a least 4 years regardless even betamax lasted 5 years before it was destroyed by the totally inferior vhs format.
  Look at how many people go on about how betamax was great quality, its a shame it died, but they used to go out and buy vhs before it died.
  I think we have the same here, the first run of HD-DVD players were all 1080i, xbox 360 struggles to find tv's that accept 1080p through component,dvi/vga, but people still bought them because they were cheaper than Blu-ray players, and dont give me the not many people have 1080p tv's it just aint the case no more, with more people looking for 1080p when they decide on a tv, for BR/HD-DVD,PS3,360 support.
  By giving us a blu ray player with ps3 that supports 1080p easily, we have a very cheap solution to all our needs, all in one box. when we need it. And a very good player at that.
  
  I think the guy who said there was 100,000 HD-DVD add ons sold for 360 is kidding himself on, Microsoft leaking pics of a new 360 with HDMI socket included has more or less killed this add on.
  
  And spare athought for everyone who bought a stand alone HD-DVD drive only to find out its only 1080i and will never see there pictures as there meant to be untill they spend another 300-400 quid.
  
  PS. LOng Live 360,PS3,Wii I love you all, can someone do me a mod to get them all into one box for me as i running out of room :)
  
  Time for me to go, i await the flames, thanks, abuse you know how its is fly boys :)

  21.4.2007 05:19 #13

• ZippyDSM

  Orbstah
  Meh I was think more like 50K for the MS add ons in any case the numbers are rigged once you cull them for hype and remove 30% the numbers show that neither side has enough numbers to win much less stay on top long.

  21.4.2007 05:59 #14

• DDR4life

  @Orbstah
  
  Read the article again. This is about stand-alone HD DVD players.
  
  "...sales of Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on drives or PC drives are not part of the overall figure,

  21.4.2007 22:20 #15

• voyager

  Originally posted by DDR4life:@Orbstah
  
  Read the article again. This is about stand-alone HD DVD players.
  
  "...sales of Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on drives or PC drives are not part of the overall figure,
  Yes and that means that there are more user base of HD-DVD.

  22.4.2007 04:53 #16