Target reportedly doubles Blu-ray shelf space

Minneapolis (MN) - Target has doubled the amount of space reserved for display Blu-ray movies, further edging HD DVD out of the picture, according to a recent article in Video Business.

Andy Parsons, chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Association, was quoted as saying that when consumers see more space devoted to Blu-ray than HD DVD, "The message to the consumer is that one of these is dominating. You’ll go with the masses and pick titles from the one that is likely to win."

Earlier this year, Target and Sony announced that the retailer would sell Blu-ray hardware exclusively and would pass on stocking HD DVD players. However, from the beginning of the high-def format war, Target has sold both Blu-ray and HD DVD movies with equal shelf space.

Target has been facing increased competition from Wal-Mart for years, and even more so with a push from Wal-Mart to sport a higher-class look. Sort of mirroring the stores’ competition will be the HD war during the holiday season. Wal-Mart will reportedly begin selling HD DVD players later this year, at a sub-$200 price. Blu-ray hardware has always been the more expensive of the two. There have been no reports that Wal-Mart will be stocking standalone Blu-ray players nationwide for the holiday season.