One of the things the HD DVD camp has touted in the past is that standalone HD DVD players were outselling standalone BD players, due mostly to the lower price of the HD DVD players. (Standalone as opposed to the PS3 (BD) and XBox 360 add-on (HD DVD).) Well, even that advantage seems to be evaporating, as Video Business is reporting that Blu-ray players have been outselling HD DVD players recently at some retailers.
At Ultimate Electronics and Abt Electronics, Toshiba’s second-generation players are still the best-selling individual models, but collectively, Blu-ray players have been outselling HD DVD Toshiba models in recent weeks.
It seems that sales of the newer BD players is even exceeding available supply, with some retailers experiencing shortages of Sony’s and Panasonic’s later units. Overall, Blu-ray is closing the sales gap with HD DVD in players, despite HD DVD’s price advantage. And Sony is widely expected to slash MSRP from $499 to $299 for the holiday season as part of an aggressive BD sales push. There has also been a lot of speculation on further price cuts on the PS3 from the current $499 price point, especially following the recent Xbox 360 price reductions.
This holiday season is going to be an all-out slug fest between the two formats, as it is widely expected to decide the future of HD DVD. HD DVD needs to gain market share and turn back the increasing gains BD has been making, just to stay in the game. While the BD camp will be looking to stamp out HD DVD once and for all by further increasing their market share over HD DVD. It should be good times for BD owners, as a lot of blockbusters and classic films are slated to hit BD as part of the push. Not so much for HD DVD. What a shame. 
Spotted via Blu-ray.com.
