Blu-ray camp claims 70% market share in movie sales

Hollywood (CA) - Last week, we learned that more than 100,000 CE HD DVD players have been sold within the first twelve months of the technology’s launch. The Blu-ray Disc Association follows up this week by claiming that it is outselling HD DVD by a factor of "nearly" 3:1.

Comparing the numbers provided by each group remains speculation, as both continue to highlight certain successes and not their general market position. At least, we now know that HD DVD is beating Blu-ray in CE player sales, while Blu-ray claims to have achieved a dominance in HD movie sales. According to the Blu-ray Disc Association and Home Media Research, Blu-ray Disc sales accounted for a good 70% of the high-definition movies sold during the first quarter of 2007.

"Blu-ray disc titles accounted for eight of the top ten selling high definition titles in the first quarter of this year and since the introduction of both high definition formats, seven of the top ten selling high definition movies are on Blu-ray Disc," the group wrote in a press release.

Overall, more than 1 million Blu-ray discs have been shipped so far - a number that has been boosted by free giveaways such as Talladega Nights and Casino Royale, which have been included with certain PS3 shipments. Casino Royale alone has been shipped more than 100,000 times.