Another propaganda salvo has been fired in the high-definition disc format war: citing sales figures from marketing research firm GfK Group, the European HD DVD Promotional Group is claiming that standalone HD DVD players are outselling Blu-ray players in France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom by a ratio of three to one. The group claims a 74 percent market share amongst standalone players in those counries, although the figured do not include sales of Blu-ray drives included in Sony’s PlayStation 3 video game console.
GfK has not made the results of the research, which was commissioned by the trade group, available to the public. And the European HD DVD Promotional Group has declined to offer sales figures for HD DVD players sold in Europe.
The claim comes after Toshiba cut prices on on its HD-E1 HD DVD player to €399 (almost $550 USD); however, in the United States, Toshiba has offered the same unit for $299, leading to speculation the company is selling the systems at a loss in order to gain market share.
So far, the “format war” for dominance of the high-definition video arena has largely been a battle of statistics, claims, and counter claims: so far neither Blu-ray nor HD DVD can claim enough market adoption to claim a lead, let alone victory. However, that will likely change once prices for high-definition players break into the mass-market realm, generally believed to be around $200 US or lower.
