Three Major Players Side With Blu-ray

Electronic Arts, Vivendi Universal Games, and Sun Microsystems join the Blu-ray association as contributing members

As the DVD format wars continue to unravel, the current theme seems to be telling us that the gaming and computing industries will continue to support the Blu-ray storage format while Hollywood pushes ahead with support for HD DVD on the home video side.

“Blu-ray Disc offers a compelling, interactive entertainment and gaming platform that leaps substantially past current DVD standards,” said Eric Chu, director, consumer and mobile systems group of Sun Microsystems. “We look forward to playing a key role in supporting Blu-ray Disc’s inclusion of the Java platform to provide a unique set of interactive capabilities that will create new revenue opportunities for content vendors who use Blu-ray Disc for their movies, games or other products.”

“Sun’s addition to the Blu-ray Disc Association is another example of the tremendous, widespread support for Blu-ray Disc,” said Maureen Weber, General Manager, Optical Storage Solutions Business, Hewlett Packard. “Sun’s participation will be instrumental in the development of the many interactive features that set Blu-ray apart as a truly revolutionary step in home entertainment.”

“The technical requirements for game development today demands more advanced optical-disc technologies,” said Michael Heilemann, Chief Technology Officer, VU Games. “Blu-ray Disc offers the capacity, performance and high-speed Internet connectivity to take us into the future of gaming.”

“VU Games’ decision to join the Blu-ray Disc Association is another example of the widespread support for Blu-ray Disc by content developers and owners who recognize it’s the only optical-disc format that provides the capacity and functionality they need to meet the future needs of their businesses,” said Maureen Weber, chief BDA spokesperson and general manager of HP’s Optical Storage Solutions Business. “We’ve gotten a lot of support from companies like Vivendi who require the superior capacity and interactivity that Blu-ray Disc delivers.”