Being a proud owner of both BD and HD DVD, i would like to point out a few things
a. This is not yet a full scale war where both formats are competing on equal terrain viz. pricing and performance. It will take a long time for pricing and performance levels for each to come to the same level for the average Joe consumer to actually decide. Case in point : When an average person goes into a shop to buy something, they consider both the costs upfront and the ongoing costs. Here in australia, HD DVD does not have a strong footing because of BD's strong marketing campaign. Strategy that could be used by BD right now would be to lower the price of the discs compared to HD DVD and show that Total Cost over time would be lower for BD and that would really appeal to the customers.
b. It is not really a war because like it or not, HD is still not mainstream yet(people will debate over this but not everyone has the equipment to reap the full benefits of HD) It is still a niche market, probably could be considered to be an enthusiasts market ( Note am talking worldwide, not just the US. I am aware that HD penetration is the US is relatively higher than the rest of the world) Until the accompanying equipment ownership comes to a certain standard, these sales figures would have no effect because it would only reflect the buying patterns of a small minority ( note: am talking worldwide)
VHS and BetaMax had a different kind of war because right from day one itself there were not that many variables involved except for pricing and support. Hence it was more clear cut and short lived. But in this case, there are just too many factors involved to declare a clear winner and it is too early because of the sheer number of variables ( industry support, availability, pricing, co-requisites etc)
So lets wait it out because this will take a long time and there will be clear signs as to who will come out on top -- the video rental stores. As soon as the big video rental stores start stocking obscene amounts of one format, it will be a sign that the format war is on its way to be resolved.
Let the hive mind of Engadget get that for you.
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