Target Will Only Stock Blu-Ray Players?

The nation's second largest retailer delivered yet another jab to the HD-DVD camp by announcing it will exclusively stock stand-alone Blu-Ray players.

In addition to Blockbuster placing its substantial weight behind Blu-Ray in the ongoing high-def format wars, the nation’s second-largest retailer will now assume the same position. Target announced on Thursday that its stores will only stock Blu-Ray players in the future, preferring not to pick up any stand-alone HD-DVD players.

Target would not cite the reason for its shift in policy, but its shelves are already devoid of HD-DVD players, meaning there won’t be any drastic product-pulling or fire sales. Company representatives deny that Target is taking a stance one way or the other on high-def content and trying to predict a winner. "We are not proclaiming one format vs. the other as the preferred consumer technology, and software will continue to be available to our guests in both the Blu-ray and HD-DVD format," Target spokeswoman Brie Heath told the Associated Press.

For the HD-DVD companies, led by Toshiba, having the largest rental chain decline to carry their movies and a major retailer decline to carry their players may seem like a signficant blow, but representatives maintain that cheaper HD-DVD players still sell better. In addition, the nation’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart, is still slated to debut a sub-$200 HD-DVD player for Christmas, which could shake things up even further.

[Update 28-Jul-2007: Reports are now circulating (from Xbox team member Larry Hryb and others) that Sony's deal with Target involves only promotional placement on end-caps in Target stores, and that Target will continue to stock HD DVD products like the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player for the foreseeable future. Aren't retail rumors fun? -Geoff Duncan]