PS3 Effect May Be Boosting Blu-ray Movie Sales

Beginning with its first issue in February, Home Video Magazine has been presenting "scale-tipping" graphs depicting the current status of the battle between HD DVD and Blu-ray movie sales worldwide, based on data provided by Nielsen VideoScan.

With only the second installment, readers have noticed a striking trend that bodes well for Blu-ray: In one week's time, the number of Blu-ray movies sold for every 100 HD DVD movies sold since data was first tracked, increased from 85.05 in the first week of January to 92.4 in the second.

Since HD DVD discs have been available for a longer period of time, the prospect of Blu-ray catching up to HD DVD in discs sold appears imminent. And with sales figures for high-def disc players (excluding game consoles) just about dead even for both formats between April and December 2006, with HD DVD holding a very slight lead, according to NPD figures released last week, the sharp rise in Blu-ray movie demand may be attributable to Sony's PlayStation 3.

A Nielsen VideoScan spokesperson confirmed to BetaNews this afternoon that her firm tracks point-of-sale data where the customer makes the exclusive decision to purchase discs. So the firm's data excludes bundle deals, such as copies of the Wil Farrell comedy Talladega Nights bundled with PS3s.

However, it might include separate purchases of Blu-ray movies made using $15 coupons redeemable toward the purchase of one Blu-ray movie.

Nielsen VideoScan's data may be affirmed today by the latest sales ranking data from Amazon, which show the steady rise in Blu-ray movie relative sales rankings taking a sharp incline after Christmas, when PS3s were unwrapped and first plugged in. The Amazon data shows sales rankings for Blu-ray movies eclipsing those of HD DVDs for the first time at about January 21, and pulling away since that time.

Media relations representatives for Blu-ray supporting studios, including 20th Century-Fox, were quick to declare the format war already over, touting their own sales data showing Blu-ray discs starting to surpass HD DVD sales, again after Christmas.

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