300 Blu-ray outsells HD DVD counterpart two-to-one

Burbank (CA) - Despite a vast marketing campaign from the HD DVD camp for the multi-format release of 300, the Blu-ray version has dominated sales of the Warner Bros title.

According to digital entertainment tracker Home Media Magazine, the Blu-ray version of 300 outsold the HD DVD version of the same movie by a ratio of "nearly 2 to 1."

Warner said the film was the fastest-selling high definition disc, selling 250,000 copies in one week across both formats. Home Media reports that number was around 165,000 for Blu-ray and 85,000 for HD DVD.

The HD DVD edition of the movie was highly pushed from format backers for its inclusion of special exclusive features, including picture-in-picture video commentary.

However, the lower sales for HD DVD may be more of a comment on the entire format and not just a single title. Even at such an inferior sales count compared to Blu-ray, 300 was the top selling HD DVD movie for the first week in August.

300 also currently stands as the most requested DVD rental from Netflix.

The HD format war is really a contest of hardware numbers at this point, and the Playstation 3, which has a built-in BD player, gives Blu-ray a big boost. Blockbuster and Target have also both announced exclusive Blu-ray plans in retail outlets, causing an even bigger struggle for HD DVD.