SEPT. 24, 2008 • HD-DVD may be gone, yet Blu-ray hasn’t seen the market share growth Sony expected. Sony President Ryoji Chubachi estimated last April that Blu-ray would attain 50% of DVD market share by the end of 2008. According to Nielsen VideoScan, Blu-ray’s share grew from six percent in April to eight percent now. Economic conditions, plus hardware and software pricing seen as too high by consumers are the suspected cause of the slower-than-expected growth.

Impact: DFC has always argued that the projections for high-definition movies have been too bullish, and this was before the economy nose-dived.  The problem is that Blu-ray is not necessarily the revolutionary upgrade that has consumers rushing to upgrade their equipment.  When that DVD player breaks down, the next purchase is likely to be Blu-ray, but expecting consumers to throw their perfectly healthy DVD system in the trash is a little much. That being said, the PlayStation 3 now seems to be living up to its mission as a key driver of Blu-ray adoption.  With gaming and online capabilities, the PS3 provides the most bang for the buck among consumers considering Blu-ray options.