Woolworths Drops HD-DVD, Praises PS3

Woolworths may be dead in the states, but the retail establishment lives on across the pond, though without the famous soda fountains, crappy American discount items, and - come March - without HD-DVD. The High Street retailer has announced that come March they will no longer be stocking HD-DVD titles at their retail locations, selling off their remaining stock and any new titles that might pop up via their website. They cite the large number of Brits now Blu-ray ready as the reasoning behind the move, and it's largely due to Sony's latest console.

"The main reason is the success of Sony's PlayStation 3 machine. Because it plays Blu-ray discs, there are over three quarters of a million homes in the UK that can view the new high definition format."

Woolworths backs Blu-Ray format over HD DVD [RetailBulletin via GamesIndustry]

HD DVD Beating Out Blu-Ray

The HD video format war is heating up once again, as Toshiba reports that HD DVD player sales have pulled ahead of Blu-ray as of mid-September. Granted Toshiba themselves make HD DVD players, with a $299 model due out this month, but the numbers they cite come from NPD group unit sales figures, which tend to be more accurate than most company lines. With big releases like Heroes season 1 and Transformers exclusive to the format, I fully expect the trend to continue. Year to date figures show HD DVD sales comprising 53% of sales, with Blu-ray trailing at 44%. Note the figures don't take into consideration PS3 sales, though the release did state that Toshiba's expected sales of over 5 million HD DVD PC and notebook drives in fiscal 2008 would make them competitive with the PlayStation 3.