Target stores to sell only Blu-ray Players for holiday season
By Danny Mendez
While the retail giant will continue to sell discs of both formats, Target stores will promote and sell only Blu-ray players during the critical ‘07 holiday season.
Target stores will promote the $499 Sony BDP-S300 Blu-ray player along with several Blu-ray discs at “end caps” across the nation, according to Associated Press.
This important step for Blu-ray comes after Blockbuster decided to sell/rent Blu-Ray movies instead of HD DVDs in all its brick and mortar stores. Most studios sell content exclusively in Blu-ray with some choosing to release films in both formats. Universal is currently the only studio to back HD DVD exclusively.
Excluding the HD DVD add-on for the Xbox 360, Target stores don’t sell HD DVD players. The company declined to comment on why its selling only Blu-ray players. Sony is paying to have its format promoted at aisle ends, but the deal was not initiated by Sony. Target contacted Sony first about the decision. Target is refusing to proclaim one format over the other, with a spokeswoman saying:
“We are not proclaiming one format vs. the other as the preferred consumer technology, and software will continue to be available to our guests in both the Blu-ray and HD DVD format. Target will track customer feedback and adjust offerings as necessary”
Although it may appear so, Target is not officially jumping on Sony’s back. However, with more and more companies backing Sony’s Blu-ray, the scales appear to tilt in favor for the media giant’s format, but HD DVD refuses to go down fighting.
“HD DVD players are the most affordable,” says Ken Graffeo, co-president of the North American HD DVD Promotional Group. “It’s one thing to have a player featured, but it’s another if it doesn’t sell.”
The HD DVD promotional group likes to point out that their players currently outsell Blu-ray players, but Sony likes to note that those statistics don’t include Playstation 3 sales which significantly changes the numbers.
Related:
Entry was posted
on Thursday, July 26th, 2007 at 12:32 am
under
Read more entries by Danny Mendez.
Stumble It!
