Blu-ray Winning Europe 4-to-1

[navychop]

Blu-ray Disc Association Sony has announced that sales of Blu-ray titles in Europe are exceeding sales of HD DVD titles by up to a factor of 4-to-1. This decisive lead has forced studios such as Universum Film (Germany) and Studio Canal (France) to plan Blu-ray releases for this important Q4. Additionally, sales of standalone players has nearly caught up with HD DVD, reflecting a similar trend in the US where sales of Blu-ray players has surpassed that of HD DVD players.

From here.

 

[CochiseGuy]

Blu-ray Disc Association Sony has announced that sales of Blu-ray titles in Europe are exceeding sales of HD DVD titles by up to a factor of 4-to-1. This decisive lead has forced studios such as Universum Film (Germany) and Studio Canal (France) to plan Blu-ray releases for this important Q4. Additionally, sales of standalone players has nearly caught up with HD DVD, reflecting a similar trend in the US where sales of Blu-ray players has surpassed that of HD DVD players.

From Blu-ray.com - Blu-ray Winning Europe 4-to-1

This one slipped past me. Naturally curious as to what methods the BDA was using to document this claim I ventured over to Propagandanista Central, aka Blu-ray.com. Turns out this time it's Blu-ray.com themselves spewing FUD. What a shocker!

Blu-ray.com lists as their source for the "news" article a PDF file Blu-ray Disc News 27-06-2007.

The only news concerning disc sales in Europe is this little item:

At the same time the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) has announced that Blu-ray Disc movie sales across European territories are continuing to move ahead of HD DVD. For example, in the UK market figures show BD to be outselling HD DVD by a margin of 4 to 1.

The fine writers at Blu-ray.com may be surprised to learn that a few more countries comprise Europe than just the United Kingdom. If you want to start a good fight, ask an Irishman or Frenchman if his country is a part of the U.K.

And as to the "sales of standalone players has nearly caught up with HD DVD" claim? The BDA News Release only states:

“According to market analyst, GfK, the gap between Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD players is closing despite the earlier
introduction of the HD DVD format,” commented Frank Simonis, Chairman, Blu-ray Disc Association European Promotions Committee.

"Sales of standalone players has nearly caught up" seems a little overly enthusiastic re-phrasing of "The gap is closing" , but, maybe that's just me.