Blu-ray DVD Debuts with Little Fanfare (News)

GamePro staff, GamePro

20/06/2006 18:06:11

This week will mark the American debut of the next-generation DVD format: Sony's Blu-ray. But the response has already been an expected ho-hum.

On June 20, Sony/MGM Home Entertainment will release the first wave of Blu-ray DVDs in the United States. However, two of the three players capable of reading the new formatted DVDs have been delayed. Sony's player has been pushed to August, with Pioneer's being bumped to September. Samsung's DVD player will be the only player available on the market on June 25.

Analysts talking to Billboard/Reuters say consumers, however, aren't paying much attention to this. "It's too confusing at this point, but HD DVD is doing well with early adopters," says Laura Behrens, an analyst at Gartner Research.

Rival HD DVD was recently launched with little excitement, too. But for Xbox 360 owners, it's the first taste of what a next-generation DVD format can deliver. And with the advent of Blu-ray, especially when the much anticipated PlayStation 3 will exclusively support it, the DVD war will certainly heat up.