Universal HD DVD exclusivity contract has expired, sits non-renewed

More news from the format war today, and it isn't good for the red camp. Daily Variety has confirmed that Universal's agreement to stick with HD DVD has ended and has not been renewed. Additionally, Paramount has an escape clause in its contract that can be exercised following Warner's departure from the (now dwindling) HD DVD ranks. The article highlights various ongoing commitments both companies have to the format, but we've heard these kind of promises before from studios. It's feeling like a party where everyone leaves at once; nobody wants to be the first out the door, but everyone's looking in that direction.

[Thanks, Mike M!]

[Kyle Smith @ Jan 10th 2008 12:45PM]

Just let someone win so I can buy one already :)

[James Cameron @ Jan 10th 2008 1:10PM]

It's over. The FAT lady have spoken.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=dBNoHbigw5E&feature=related

[Kyle Smith @ Jan 10th 2008 1:12PM]

omg hahahhahhaaahha

[Temple @ Jan 10th 2008 1:13PM]

Its all but done. You can be 95% confident Blu-ray will be the only format for HD media. At this point there is very little Toshiba can do. Paramount/Universal seem likely to switch, both the Financial Times & Variety are incredibly reliable sources. Especially Variety in the entertainment industry, if they 'confirmed' Universal isn't renewing & Paramount is going to use the escape-clause as the article says, those are the final two nails in the HD-DVD coffin.

[Ryan Trevisol @ Jan 10th 2008 1:41PM]

I need toshiba to relent before I start thinking about buying a Blu-Ray player.

Please, Toshiba, give it up. Stick to making flash memory! Focus on that, so you can bring us cheap SSD hotness!

[KC @ Jan 10th 2008 2:33PM]

Remember back when the format war started, and everyone said that it was porn, and not any studio that was going to decide the winning format?

I guess HD-DVD owners can continue to watch their HD porn. That's what HD-DVD is for, right?

[Matt @ Jan 10th 2008 2:43PM]

Yes, and I remember thinking they were idiots because the it is a completely different landscape with the internet now. Seriously, does anyone buy porn on physical media anymore?

[ark_v2 @ Jan 10th 2008 3:57PM]

Seriously, does anyone buy porn anymore?

[ark_v2 @ Jan 10th 2008 3:58PM]

Seriously, does anyone buy porn anymore?

[Arthur Nonamiss @ Jan 10th 2008 5:28PM]

Wait... you can BUY it?

[Sam Winter @ Jan 11th 2008 4:28AM]

Porn = Piratebay.org

[Flashpoint @ Jan 10th 2008 12:45PM]

Thus ends the format wars... We have a Winner. BLU RAY !!!!!.


BTW - anyone who sincerely felt HDDVD was going to beat BluRay should consider taking economics courses in college.

[Superdynamite @ Jan 10th 2008 12:49PM]

@ Flashpoint

LOL. Where were you 3 weeks ago when all us Blu-Ray proponents were battling the crazy HD-DVD Propoganda?

You're a Tuesday morning Quarterback!

:)

[Darrol @ Jan 10th 2008 1:00PM]

Sony should be the ones that take the economic courses. They have blown so much money getting supporters for Blu-Ray and by taking a loss on the PS3. So much that it is costing them in other divisions like Gaming. Think about it, 3.9 million systems sold in the U.S. with the price being a few hundred under what it cost to build the system. Then they are throwing up to half a billion dollars to get 1 company to switch to the blue side.

The companies that switch fail to see that they would probably get more sales with a product that costs less than one that is more expensive to produce and has a player that costs 3x the lowest HD-DVD player at the low side.

[Bender Bending Rodriguez @ Jan 10th 2008 1:08PM]

@ Darrol,

The reason Sony did that was to get PS3 in the hand of consumers who were not going to choose a format. It was important to put a Blu-ray drive in each PS3 even if it meant delaying the release and lowing money on each device. A gaming platform has a much smaller lifespan than the next optical disc standard will have. Sony is will many billions more off the licensing of Blu-ray than it would have on the profit of a few million gaming consoles. Long term economics says it was the right move.

[Taylor @ Jan 10th 2008 1:20PM]

@ Darrol

Name one gaming system that as not sold below cost when it was initially released...

[Rob @ Jan 10th 2008 1:21PM]

Hey, having an HD player included in the console got me hooked on Blu-Ray. I never owned a console prior to the PS3. I got a few PS3 games, but more PS2 because I'm not much of a gamer. However, the PS3 is more than a gaming console. Everyone who owns one, or read about it, knows the many things it can do, among being an HD player and gaming console as well. Now I own over 40 Blu-Ray titles, and if the PS3 came without an HD player, I probably would've stayed out of format war completely. Why? Because I still don't own an HD-TV yet. Yes, very silly. But, considering that Blu-Ray discs are actually cheaper than DVD, why not just get them on HD then. Once I get my HD-TV I'd have plenty of movies to enjoy.

[Rob @ Jan 10th 2008 1:22PM]

Hey, having an HD player included in the console got me hooked on Blu-Ray. I never owned a console prior to the PS3. I got a few PS3 games, but more PS2 because I'm not much of a gamer. However, the PS3 is more than a gaming console. Everyone who owns one, or read about it, knows the many things it can do, among being an HD player and gaming console as well. Now I own over 40 Blu-Ray titles, and if the PS3 came without an HD player, I probably would've stayed out of format war completely. Why? Because I still don't own an HD-TV yet. Yes, very silly. But, considering that Blu-Ray discs are actually cheaper than DVD, why not just get them on HD then. Once I get my HD-TV I'd have plenty of movies to enjoy.

[Darrol @ Jan 10th 2008 1:30PM]

Okay, I know most systems sell under what they cost to make but Sony set it lower by at least a few hundred dollars. Even if they get the cost of the system to where they are making a profit, chances are they will not be able to recoup. Throw in the amount of money they spend to get companies on their side because they took losing to VHS hard and you have a large sum of money that will keep adding up as long as they take a loss on the system. While they can make it up through Blu-ray, they might not be able to. Especially when they are going to be suffering in other areas because of Blu-ray.

[jaceh @ Jan 10th 2008 2:08PM]

@ taylor

Nintendo Wii

Don't say its not the same because it isn't a "real" gaming system. I could smell that response and its BS. I would have paid double for my Wii simply because I prefer it to anything else I've ever played.

Your point is good though, money is not made on most consoles until its replacement is nearly to market! But then, as is seen in the PS2, the money POURS in.

[kuromiko @ Jan 10th 2008 2:57PM]

@Darrol: Sony predicts they will turn profit starting later this year. If not (I don't think they will), they'll be in the green come '09. Sony has a big piggy bank. All of their other sectors are booming. What you fail to realize is, PlayStation family of products is simultaneously the most expensive and most profitable products they sell. You're criticizing them offering you hardware for much lower than it cost them? Its a very small investment compared to what it will get them down the road.

Their losses to VHS were made up for 10 years ago already, by the way. This war isn't a re-enactment of VHS vs Beta. Sony has a much larger hand in this industry than it had back then, so it was quite easy to see the outcome of this format war by the time both sides had players on the market.

[ZeroCorpse @ Jan 10th 2008 2:22PM]

The point here is that Sony basically sacrificed the PlayStation name to get Blu-Ray out there. PS3 defenders can say what they want, but sales of the console, and more importantly, the game software, are low. The holiday season saw Wii and XBox 360 fly off the shelves, while Best Buys everywhere still have huge PS3 pyramids on the sales floor, barely touched.

Take away backwards compatibility like they did, and it becomes clear the real purpose of the PS3 was as a cheap Blu-Ray player that plays a few games, too. Microsoft was smart to not tie their game console to a particular HD format. They can make a Blu-Ray add-on if they so choose (and have said they aren't averse to such a move) but the GAMES don't suffer because of it either way.

The PlayStation name is almost trashed right now. Sony willingly threw their gaming division down a deep pit in order to promote their video distribution format. It's no secret that the PS3 game selection is weak, and that game designers are frequently quoted as saying the PS3 is a bitch to design games for.

I may get one as a cheap Blu-Ray player and media toy, but I have no doubts that I'll be playing my other consoles a lot more when it comes to gaming. Sony screwed their own games division on purpose. We'll see how that pans out for the PS4, but I think they've pretty much lost at least 1/3 of their former PlayStation user base. Possibly more.

Sony has always been more concerned about getting their formats into people's hands than the actual support for the products they make. ATRAC, UMD. . . You know the story. So they win this one, great. But the cost, in my opinion, was the PlayStation as a viable choice for the gamer.

[ShadowGod @ Jan 10th 2008 2:37PM]

All you Blu fanboys have issues. You seem to have taken this "format war" personally. Did HD-DVD kill your puppy or something?

[Matt @ Jan 10th 2008 2:43PM]

"Name one gaming system that as not sold below cost when it was initially released..."

Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo Wii... should I name off all the portables as well?

[kuromiko @ Jan 10th 2008 3:01PM]

@ZeroCorpse:

PlayStation is dead now like Blu-Ray was dead a year ago.

[SimbaDogg @ Jan 10th 2008 3:07PM]

@ Superdynamite
It's monday morning quarterback, as in...the day after sunday

[Taylor @ Jan 10th 2008 3:47PM]

@Flashpoint

Oh man... the NEO GEO days. I love that console. As cool as it was, it was way ahead of it's time and NEVER received any kind of mainstream success. Did it even have 1% of the market? It's also a little different case, as it seems many do not understand here that companies that create gaming consoles to not make money from the console sales, they make money from selling licenses to companies who create games to play on their console. This is the reason they are sold so cheap, so that they have wide spread use and can sell licenses for more money.

I think NEO GEO's parent company (who was it?) created all of their own content and stuff. I never saw any 3rd party accessories, etc. Again, this is because it never had any success and no one want to make anything for it, it was a waste of time... but man, that was such a cool console. I played on the arcade tons and I would rent the system for parties and stuff. I was truly addicted, but could never afford to buy it myself. Maybe I should look on ebay... hmmm....

[MasterCKO @ Jan 10th 2008 7:13PM]

@Flashpoint: Your comment is exactly right.

@Darrol: Bender and kuromiko already explained why your prediction of Sony in the negatives forever is probably wrong, so I won't go into that. Also, think of this other part of the equation. Most CE companies want to sell a product that they don't have to subsidize in order to meet the market's price. Ever wonder why Toshiba was the only company creating standalone HD DVD players? Because the other CE's on their side couldn't afford to take the financial hit to match the prices that Tosh was setting the market at, I would wager (combo drives being so expensive is for the same reason). So look at this situation from the standpoint of the media companies, then. Which side do you think has the best potential growth for you? Hmm, probably the one that has significantly more companies making players for the format. Also, lest you forget this point: the one that sells more media.

@ZeroCorpse: Your assertion that the PlayStation brand is somehow dead is pretty laughable. Even tho it probably won't be leader anytime soon, what with the Wii's crazy explosion, if you really think (given the indicators all over the place) that the PS3 won't become a very financially viable system for Sony with pretty long legs (like its predecessor), you should probably look into those econ courses that Flashpoint mentioned.

Actually, now that I think about it, I bet that an econ class that dealt specifically with these format wars would be really interesting. I might look into it a couple years down the road when there probably is one.

[MasterCKO @ Jan 10th 2008 7:17PM]

@Flashpoint: Your comment is exactly right.

@Darrol: Bender and kuromiko already explained why your prediction of Sony in the negatives forever is probably wrong, so I won't go into that. Also, think of this other part of the equation. Most CE companies want to sell a product that they don't have to subsidize in order to meet the market's price. Ever wonder why Toshiba was the only company creating standalone HD DVD players? Because the other CE's on their side couldn't afford to take the financial hit to match the prices that Tosh was setting the market at, I would wager (combo drives being so expensive is for the same reason). So look at this situation from the standpoint of the media companies, then. Which side do you think has the best potential growth for you? Hmm, probably the one that has significantly more companies making players for the format. Also, lest you forget this point: the one that sells more media.

@ZeroCorpse: Your assertion that the PlayStation brand is somehow dead is pretty laughable. Even tho it probably won't be leader anytime soon, what with the Wii's crazy explosion, if you really think (given the indicators all over the place) that the PS3 won't become a very financially viable system for Sony with pretty long legs (like its predecessor), you should probably look into those econ courses that Flashpoint mentioned.

Actually, now that I think about it, I bet that an econ class that dealt specifically with these format wars would be really interesting. I might look into it a couple years down the road when there probably is one.

[Eric @ Jan 10th 2008 12:46PM]

As someone who owns an Xbox 360 and has kind of leaned towards HD DVD I'd just like to say to the HD DVD group: just die already. Please.

[rv @ Jan 10th 2008 2:31PM]

You don't need to tell them, its already happening

[maveric101 @ Jan 14th 2008 10:42PM]

same as eric. i just want someone to win.

now don't bash me for making a possibly stupid comment, but if everyone switched to blu-ray, is it possible that the larger heap of companies could bring prices down further by working together?

[Callemin @ Jan 10th 2008 12:46PM]

Go Blu ray!! Love it, when I go to a store here in belgium there are many Blu-ray players for sale. But just one or to HD-DVD players.

[Vanillacide @ Jan 10th 2008 3:23PM]

Isn't that because they are staying on the shelves, and not flying off them?

Google will throw up many articles that show dedicated HD-DVD players outsell dedicated BluRay players by 3:1 in Europe (and globally), however, you'll also see that BluRay discs outsell HD-DVD discs in Europe by 3:1.

This is the power of the third-placed console deciding the HD optical disc format war, against the sales of "home-theater enthusiasts". It's the PS3 wot done it!

Now we can look forward to Region Encoding, the only managed copy being the ability to rip PSP version, and other DRM and anti-consumer manoeuvres. Well, at least PS3 owners will be happy.

[Jake E. @ Jan 10th 2008 1:33PM]

Isn't that a bad thing?...

[eleazar123 @ Jan 10th 2008 3:51PM]

Are you guys really that ignorant? He meant many brands of blu-ray players, and only one or two brands/options of HD-DVD players. Blu-Ray is obviously preferred there because they carry more types of blu-ray players. He didn't mean STOCK of the players. geesh.

[Mickey Mouse @ Jan 10th 2008 12:46PM]

they got owned

[Brodie @ Jan 10th 2008 12:46PM]

Let's say Universal and Paramount switch over to the Blu side, whose left on HD-DVD?

[Homer J @ Jan 10th 2008 1:10PM]

http://www.macrumors.com/2008/01/04/hd-dvd-vs-blu-ray-battle-over-warner-switches-to-blu-ray/

[NuttyBars @ Jan 10th 2008 12:46PM]

I, for one, say farewell to our HD DVD peons.

[hhaller @ Jan 10th 2008 12:46PM]

I believe WB let their contract with Blu Ray expire as well (back in October)...look what happened there.
You can never tell what's going on behind the scenes.

[Danny @ Jan 10th 2008 1:02PM]

Actually I believe Warner, Paramount, Dreamworks and Universal were all on the fence. Each side decided to choose a side while Warner remained on the fence. They made their decision based on sales and potential earnings.

[ShadowGod @ Jan 10th 2008 2:38PM]

"Sales and potential earnings" Haha. They made their decision because Sony wrote the biggest check, obviously.

[MasterCKO @ Jan 10th 2008 6:43PM]

@ShadowGod:

You see, BD outsold HD DVD in terms of media sold (which the media company WB probably cares about) throughout all of 2007. All over the world. That, my friend, is a fact. Now, Warner could have based their decision on that "established by many independent sources" fact, or your "found on the internet" rumor of a payoff. I can't tell you what you should or shouldn't believe, but I think that you might be better served basing your opinions on established facts.

[Darius S @ Jan 10th 2008 12:50PM]

Beavis:hehe hehe butthead hd dvd is dead heheheheh

Butthead: Uhhhhh what? shutup buttmunch

Beavis: heheeheh heheheehehehehe blu ray! blu ray!!! hehehehe

Butthead: Come to butthead, blu ray.

[Superdynamite @ Jan 10th 2008 12:51PM]

Who will be the last one left holding the dead cat?

Will Paramount be forever known as "The Last to Switch" or will it be Universal?

Who ever it is, they will be in the history books as "Biggest idiot"!

LOL

[Jamesology @ Jan 10th 2008 12:52PM]

I just feel bad for the ppl who bought the HD DVD add-on for the 360 if the format dies that fast. I went Blu b/c it was part of my PS3 not b/c I favour it. When my buddy was over with his HD DVD add-on for 360 and watch movies I did not notice any difference. If PS3 didn't have it in the system already, I'm pretty sure I would of gone HD DVD, but good things I didn't now I guess.

[Carbonize @ Jan 10th 2008 12:53PM]

Why? Have a donkey fetish do you?

[epsilon343 @ Jan 10th 2008 12:55PM]

Not a fan of Sony, but at least there's a single format now. Now hopefully MS will pump out a Blu-Ray add-on as fast as possible.

[JeffnLA @ Jan 10th 2008 12:57PM]

I have both systems (360 & PS3) and players. I hate Sony with a passion, but it’s over. I can’t wait to hear everyone bitch when hd movies are$ 40-50 because they let an arragont (Sony) media company be the primary controller of a format.

It’s like all the people that voted for Bush in the last election (suckers)!