Cartoonish Behavior

By Fred Manteghian • Posted: Aug 9, 2007

Some of my friends, otherwise upbeat and keen journalists to the man, have started passing around the Prozac. No, it's not some general malaise, but the news we hear on the sidelines about the disparity between Blu-ray and HD DVD sales. I can't get into specifics, so let's talk hypothetically.

So – hypothetically – let's say a certain movie came out in both formats but sold much better in the blue case than in the red one. Does this say a lot about the relative strengths of the formats and their market penetration – or, as I believe, does it say more about the movie itself. After all, 300 (oops!) was immensely successful with the pimple-popping crowd. Yes the same people who play lots of video games and own the #1 most popular video game console that also doubles as a high definition optical disc player have shown a much greater interest in a sword and sandals tale than, well, everyone else.

Or seen the other way, is it too far a stretch to figure out that people who like movies like 300 would have a proclivity to sit around on the off night and whack aliens or Nazis or, better yet, Nazi aliens? Considering the cartoonish content of 300, I shouldn't be shocked if it turns out it sells better on Blu-ray than HD DVD. In fact, I should expect it to.

So cheer up depressed pathetic HD DVD-owning journalists who go running to your Mommy's every time the Blu-ray Group kicks your ever lovin' ass on a title you wouldn't watch twice even if they paid you. Hold your heads up high and say, "Hey, when the Ingmar Bergman commemorative edition high definition box set comes out, we'll see who's zoomin' whom!"

Comments

Submitted by Bruce on August 9, 2007 - 8:41am.

Let me ask you this. When DVD was out for as long as BD/HD have been out which of the Ingmar Bergman collection would have sold better in DVD or VHS? What does that say about the survival or certain HD discs? I haven't decided which one I like better. I lean towards Blu because of storage and I think what it lacks compared to HD it can fix later.

Submitted by Steve on August 9, 2007 - 2:41pm.

There you have it, ladies and gentlemen: a small-minded view of a demographic chock full of insulting color commentary! Why exactly would you expect the blue version to sell more? Because Blu-ray owners are all 18-year-old jackoffs? Shows how little you know of the topic. Blu-ray and HD DVD standalone player sales are practically even, and have been all year. Mar ch and Apr il both had NPD claiming the sales were even at 52/48, and Toshiba is boasting a 55/45 lead now. That means 150k HD DVD players and 120k Blu-ray players. So how do you expect the Blu version to sell more? Because you look down on everyone not as old and learned as you? Your attitude is juvenile. More than half of HD DVD's players are Xbox 360 add-on units. MSFT claims up to 200k of those sold. On the other side, surveys have about 20%-22% of PS3 owners watching Blu-rays. That's around 400k. So Blu-ray sold more copies of 300 that Toshiba sold players. And somehow HD DVD shouldn't have to worry? The gamer demographis median age is

Submitted by Steve on August 9, 2007 - 2:42pm.

Amazing how I can have more facts in one comment than you can fit into one whole article.

Submitted by Bruce on August 9, 2007 - 2:59pm.

Wow, Steve is passionate about something that doesn't matter. He gets so mad so easily. Must of been hugged too much or not enough as a child. First of all, Blu and HD suck compared to Holographic and second, Holographic really has no point of being made. None of them are a big enough leap to the next level. You fight this pointless battle Steve. I will have my Hangar18 with 2 Terabytes of storage and download movies. You dig through your collection of plastic discs. I will play mine from a push of a button, and someday on my cell phone a carputer also. Movies anywhere and anytime with no plastic discs to carry and worry about.

Submitted by Fred on August 9, 2007 - 3:53pm.

Wow, Steve, Wow! First of all let me say, I really dig that you're so passionate about this whole issue. Sometimes I get the feeling I'm talking to a painting, so before I get around to your points, let me thank you for being so alive! But first of all, the reason I expected 300 to do better on Blu-ray than HD DVD has nothing to do with clairvoyance, prejudice or ignorance on my part (though I've plead guilty to all three counts in the past). I said what I said because an industry source who had the real figures told a friend and it got to me, albeit with the understanding that I wouldn't give out the hard numbers. But that was lifetime ago in Internet terms ? i.e., yesterday. Today, you can read about it here at www.highdefdigest.com ? and the breakdown is 65% Blu-ray, 35% HD DVD. So Steve, before you judge me too harshly, go back and read what I wrote like it's a Budweiser commercial, you know, tougue-in-cheek. My ride is a Toshiba XA2, and there's a PS3 in my fut

Submitted by David Vaughn on August 9, 2007 - 5:27pm.

Fred, I got it...tongue firmly inserted in your cheek the whole way through. Great writing!

Submitted by shane on August 10, 2007 - 12:49am.

And, in point of fact Steve, it took you two comments.

Submitted by Shane on August 10, 2007 - 12:53am.

And who cares about Ingmar Bergman- the Big Lebowski and Smokey and the Bandit are out on HD DVD. If Hooper comes out on HD DVD Blu-ray is finished for good.

Submitted by Fred on August 10, 2007 - 5:09am.

The Dude abides, Shane, the Dude abides.

Submitted by Steve on August 31, 2007 - 9:53am.

It didn't take me two posts because the second didn't contain any facts, but thanks for playing, Shane. Fred, you're still inferring that Blu-ray supporters are "pimple-popping crowd." The clients of my firm would have to disagree, they're the CEO types. And you still fail to realize that more than half the HD DVD crowd is also the young, male gamer type. You know, the type who play Gears of War and Halo. The reason 300 sold more on Blu-ray than on HD DVD is not because of the content but because the install base of Blu-ray is larger. Every title except for Planet Earth has sold more on Blu-ray than on HD DVD, so to say it's the movie's fault is ridiculous. So films like Babel, Black Snake Moan, Blood Diamond, Bullitt, The Departed, Dog Day Afternoon, Happy Feet, Syriana, and World Trade Center are all films for the "pimple popping crowd?"