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Another predictor says Blu-ray will be the victor
Philip Swann at TV Predictions has given us yet another prognostication for the upcoming year, that Blu-ray will be the winner in the next-gen format war that's been brewing -- for us, anyway -- for well over a year. He gives five reasons why the Blu-ray format will come out on top. I've given them a quick rundown as well as played Devil's Advocate for why each reason might not make any sense. Studio support Vast majority of studios support Blu-ray -- although not all are exclusive, and the title count still weighs pretty heavily in HD DVD's favor PS3 Almost surely what Sony is hoping will propel their division's sales of Blu-ray devices, since their own player has been delayed many many times, but will the purported 400,000 units to be available on launch day even make a difference? And what about the $199 Xbox 360 add-on and recently-announced 1080p support? Price Prices should come down drastically on the players as time passes, reducing the current 100% cost differential, but will it be enough if people are perfectly happy with HD DVD? Politics The studios will begin to feel pressure to pick one side and stick with it. Don't forget this could work just as easily against Blu-ray if sales don't catch up to expected levels for BR discs. Peace Treaty Supposedly Blu-ray will gain the momentum it needs to force Toshiba to the bargaining table, but we aren't totally sold on that one. There is a huge vested interest in keeping HD DVD alive by Microsoft, Toshiba, even some of the studios. While Swann still sees a compromise or merger of some sort in 2007, we can easily see a war of attrition continuing for many years. Of course, many of our readers have strong opinions on both sides of the aisle, so let's hear it:Is Swanni's reasoning sound, or is he just pulling this out of thin air to give us something to argue talk about on the podcast? Or do you just wish one format would pull out the unblockable juggle combo and get this over with so we can stop talking about it at all?
