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[Crayon Shinchan]

He is right $50million or 100million is more money than either company would bring in by supporting Blu Ray. You really can't blame Viacom for making the decision they did even if it sucks for the consumer.

If it was simply a matter of 18 months later they flip back with a whole accrued catalog of BDs ready to go, that would be ok IMO.

But this isn't all it means; people are now talking about Warner Brothers flipping as well... Disney and Fox have just reaffirmed their stance... if there's any money hats there, I'd imagine they'd have to be a bit larger than the 150 mio already paid out.

So where does that leave us? HD market in a precarious state where there's no obvious winner in sight. Universal going neutral seems like just a pipe-dream now, that they have a brother-in-arms.
If they do decide to go neutral independent of this decision though... that is, if BD buyers were still purchasing BDs at the same rate they have been all year, and the deal turns out to have affected little in terms of the sales, then yeah, BD confidence regained.

But it's a pretty long shot to say that sales and confidence won't be affected by this shit. Most likely it will, and if that happens, you can expect a long drawn out HD battle.

If there's a long drawn out HD battle for the next 12-36 months, HD may have missed its critical period; transitioning from hardcore to the casual crowd. If that happens; both formats are relegated to a niche of no-one gives a fuck.

Which would suck ass.

 

[Xater]

So some Paramount insider info from the AVS board:

Josh,

Thank you for your email. I will answer your questions as best I can.

1 - As far as we can tell here in marketing, this exclusive deal could last as long as 18 months. I spoke to my director earlier today and even she does not have all the details of this agreement. She did mention we have a lot of clauses which would allow us to release certain films on Blu-ray during this time period.

2 - I cannot comment on this question.

3 - Right now it looks like all announced Blu-ray titles will be or have been canceled. As I mentioned before you still may see some Blu-ray releases in the next 18 months though. I can not get in to the details of that possibility though.

4 - Actually we were as surprised as everyone else today when we found out about agreement with HD-DVD. We found out when we arrived to work today and there had been no rumors at all circulating. I think it surprised us all because we have been working on producing and marketing Blu-ray versions of films such Blades, Face/Off, Top Gun, etc. through the end of last week. I can tell you we have received many calls today from various talent and certain directors voicing their displeasure with this decision. We even had VP's of other studios calling in from what I hear. I have never seen this type of atmosphere in the office. In a way we were on damage control throughout the day. That is really all I can tell you for now.

Take care Josh!

XXXXXX XXXXXXX
Publicity & Marketing
Paramount Home Entertainment
310.xxx.xxxx direct
xxxxxx_xxxxxxx@paramount.com

------ Message
From: Joshua Noyes <contact@hidefpreview.com>
Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2007 21:40:49 -0700 (PDT)
To: <xxxxxx_xxxxxxx@paramount.com>
Subject: HD-DVD


XXXXXX,

I have a couple of questions regarding you guys going HD-DVD exclusive today. As you can imagine it was a big surprise to many of us.

1. Is this exclusivity indefinite or for a limited time frame?

2. The rumor circulating AVS is that Microsoft has contributed money to Paramount to go exclusive. Is this true?

3. Will certain announced movies still be released on Blu-ray? What about Transformers & Indiana Jones?

4. How long have you or your department known that this deal was being negotiated?

Thanks!

~Josh

Hi-Def Preview
www.hidefpreview.com

 

[dankir]

Guys Warner isnt going to go exclusive today, if they go exclusive today ill eat my hat.
I seriously doubt that there will be any megatons today.

Is it a fancy hat?

 

[djkimothy]

I wonder what Tom Arnold would say about this announcement.

Last week he wrote a Home Media Magazine titled "Is Microsoft Fueling the Format War?".

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom081907/index.php

page 2.

This latest event certainly supports his article and what many has said. Microsoft of pushing for a stalemate.

Spoiler

Oh noes. Home media magazine is under BDA monies! :lol

4 - Actually we were as surprised as everyone else today when we found out about agreement with HD-DVD. We found out when we arrived to work today and there had been no rumors at all circulating. I think it surprised us all because we have been working on producing and marketing Blu-ray versions of films such Blades, Face/Off, Top Gun, etc. through the end of last week. I can tell you we have received many calls today from various talent and certain directors voicing their displeasure with this decision. We even had VP's of other studios calling in from what I hear. I have never seen this type of atmosphere in the office. In a way we were on damage control throughout the day. That is really all I can tell you for now.

Wow. This may just blow up in their face.

 

[Oni Jazar]

It's amusing how even though they're exclusive there are still some titles that could be released on Blu-ray. I would have loved to see how that agreement came about.

 

[gkryhewy]

Guys Warner isnt going to go exclusive today, if they go exclusive today ill eat my hat.

Is it a feathered hat?

 

[captive]

It's amusing how even though they're exclusive there are still some titles that could be released on Blu-ray. I would have loved to see how that agreement came about.

Hopefully the jack ryan set comes out, thats all i really wanted from them, top gun would have been nice, i guess i wont delete off my DVR just yet.

 

[VanMardigan]

People keep mentioning that. Cheaper for whom? Consumers? Where? If HD DVD lowers its MSRP to $29.99 and catalog titles to $24.99, then I'd understand.

I'll say this, this war just became a clusterfuck and I have no intention of supporting both formats when there's a very good chance that the studios will just one day drop all this and go digital downloads or come up with a new format. I'll be buying my movies on selective basis from now on. No more blind buys etc... especially catalog titles I already have on DVD. I feel like I'm wasting my money on 2 dead formats.

lol @ your bitterness. You already own both formats young man, YOU ALREADY SUPPORT BOTH!!. And though you highly prefer Blu Ray, this announcement in reality means NOTHING to you. YOU ALREADY HAVE YOUR PARAMOUNT PLAYER!!. Some folks are just so idiotic, it's beyond comprehension. How the hell does this affect you??

I've been on the HD DVD side since March when I picked up the add-on for cheap, so that means my entire HD DVD ownership period has been under the Blu Ray 65/35 ratio. Through all this, I've seen TONS of HD movies, bought a dozen of them, and have been extremely happy about my purchase. It makes no sense for me to stress about the format war. If I was concerned at all about the outcome to the point where I wasn't going to buy any movies, I would never have bought in to either format.

Analysts have predicted a split outcome from the beginning, and yet they've STILL predicted that these formats would enjoy 5-10 years before a new format (possibly DD) takes over. All this whining about HD media dying because of this announcements is just a stupid way to feel bitter cause your BR team lost a big player. The situation is the same as it was when both launched last year.

You should've already braced for a dual format future when a compromise wasn't reached. If you were delusional enough to think we'd get one format because you thought the Ps3 would conquer all or because you thought MS/Toshiba/Universal would just lay down and die, you only have yourselves to blame for being ridiculously naive.

Get used to having two formats. You have three choices:

1. Keep your Blu Ray as your only format

2. Buy both formats

3. Go in a corner and cry because Blu Ray couldn't kill HD DVD.

And if you choose option 3, you can also whine about digital distribution as if your discs suddenly melted. Frickin pansies, fall apart at the first sign of bad news for your preferred format/console.

 

[captive]

lol @ your bitterness. You already own both formats young man, YOU ALREADY SUPPORT BOTH!!. And though you highly prefer Blu Ray, this announcement in reality means NOTHING to you. YOU ALREADY HAVE YOUR PARAMOUNT PLAYER!!. Some folks are just so idiotic, it's beyond comprehension. How the hell does this affect you??

I've been on the HD DVD side since March when I picked up the add-on for cheap, so that means my entire HD DVD ownership period has been under the Blu Ray 65/35 ratio. Through all this, I've seen TONS of HD movies, bought a dozen of them, and have been extremely happy about my purchase. It makes no sense for me to stress about the format war. If I was concerned at all about the outcome to the point where I wasn't going to buy any movies, I would never have bought in to either format.

Analysts have predicted a split outcome from the beginning, and yet they've STILL predicted that these formats would enjoy 5-10 years before a new format (possibly DD) takes over. All this whining about HD media dying because of this announcements is just a stupid way to feel bitter cause your BR team lost a big player. The situation is the same as it was when both launched last year.

You should've already braced for a dual format future when a compromise wasn't reached. If you were delusional enough to think we'd get one format because you thought the Ps3 would conquer all or because you thought MS/Toshiba/Universal would just lay down and die, you only have yourselves to blame for being ridiculously naive.

Get used to having two formats. You have three choices:

1. Keep your Blu Ray as your only format

2. Buy both formats

3. Go in a corner and cry because Blu Ray couldn't kill HD DVD.

And if you choose option 3, you can also whine about digital distribution as if your discs suddenly melted. Frickin pansies, fall apart at the first sign of bad news for your preferred format/console.

(neutral) VanMardigan
Winning the hearts and
minds one insult
laden rant at a time.
(Today, 09:37 AM)
Reply | Quote

I say make it happen.

 

[kaching]

Then you're going to see real gridlock, and marginalization of HD media in general. DVDA vs SACD all over again.

Eh, I know that people are impatient for an end to this format war, but this is overreaction. BD or HDDVD already command more shelf space at retail than I ever saw DVDA/SACD get, combined. These next couple of years are still the infancy of the HD formats. Catalog sizes won't capture the majority of the market's interest until the library can be measured in the thousands, not hundreds, and pricing for players is almost universally below $200. You guys really should catch up on your history of how long the successful formats like VHS and DVD took to gain majority acceptance in the marketplace.

 

[Crayon Shinchan]

lol @ your bitterness. You already own both formats young man, YOU ALREADY SUPPORT BOTH!!. And though you highly prefer Blu Ray, this announcement in reality means NOTHING to you. YOU ALREADY HAVE YOUR PARAMOUNT PLAYER!!. Some folks are just so idiotic, it's beyond comprehension. How the hell does this affect you??

I've been on the HD DVD side since March when I picked up the add-on for cheap, so that means my entire HD DVD ownership period has been under the Blu Ray 65/35 ratio. Through all this, I've seen TONS of HD movies, bought a dozen of them, and have been extremely happy about my purchase. It makes no sense for me to stress about the format war. If I was concerned at all about the outcome to the point where I wasn't going to buy any movies, I would never have bought in to either format.

Analysts have predicted a split outcome from the beginning, and yet they've STILL predicted that these formats would enjoy 5-10 years before a new format (possibly DD) takes over. All this whining about HD media dying because of this announcements is just a stupid way to feel bitter cause your BR team lost a big player. The situation is the same as it was when both launched last year.

You should've already braced for a dual format future when a compromise wasn't reached. If you were delusional enough to think we'd get one format because you thought the Ps3 would conquer all or because you thought MS/Toshiba/Universal would just lay down and die, you only have yourselves to blame for being ridiculously naive.

You are annoyingly delusional today. This isn't a deal anyone expected. Fuck, only the higher ups in paramount knew about this shit going down. Not their PR dept, their big time directors, or shit knew about what was going down.

Without the 150 million dollar money hat (no doubt conjured by MS for the sole reason of disrupting HD format adoption), how the hell was HD-DVD in any sort of decent position?

Don't speak about the behaviours of the past with the benefit of hind-sight. It'll only cause myopia in your foresight.

 

[StoOgE]

So. As far as a unified format goes, you think this was good news for it?

If WB flips to exclusive tomorrow, it would be a massive blow to BD and HD in general.

Then you're going to see real gridlock, and marginalization of HD media in general. DVDA vs SACD all over again.

Crayon, stop lying to yourself. Your just mad that BRD took a hit.

 

[Xater]

LOL this Paramount deal just got more absurd. More goodness from AVS and the same Paramount source:

After further conversation with her a few minutes ago, it involves more then Spielberg movies. It involves many movies which hit certain financial levels over the past decade.

~Josh

 

[Laurent]

Yes that's assuming the worst for the deal makers. The best scenario for them is that HD DVD wins and they already have time & resources spent on the winning format.

It's a win/win scenairo for Paramount/Dreamworks... at the cost of a lengthy format war which may hurt the industry as a whole.

But I still don't get why it's expensive to promote their movies on new formats. When they promote the movie on DVD, they simply mentionned that it's also available on HD-DVD and Blu-ray, as they did with 300?

All the computer graphic design can be done at once, the covers and dimensions are similar for both formats!

 

[Oni Jazar]

Fair enough Van. You win this round!

Honestly the gnashing of teeth is irritating but what can you do. I don't want a format war. The public does not have enough interest in the HD market to think about a format war. The retailers & CE companies (sans Toshiba) do-not-want a format war. But it looks like that's what we've got for another year at least.

I told my girlfriend about the Paramount exclusivity deal and she berated me for being an early adopter. Guess I deserved it. :lol

But I still don't get why it's expensive to promote their movies on new formats. When they promote the movie on DVD, they simply mentionned that it's also available on HD-DVD and Blu-ray, as they did with 300?

All the computer graphic design can be done at once, the covers and dimensions are similar for both formats!

I can't imagine it would be that exensive for a studio to promote their HD title, however the deal accounts for more then just promotion.

 

[Crayon Shinchan]

Eh, I know that people are impatient for an end to this format war, but this is overreaction. BD or HDDVD already command more shelf space at retail than I ever saw DVDA/SACD get, combined. These next couple of years are still the infancy of the HD formats. Catalog sizes won't capture the majority of the market's interest until the library can be measured in the thousands, not hundreds, and pricing is almost universally below $200. You guys really should catch up on your history of how long the successful formats like VHS and DVD took to gain majority acceptance in the marketplace.

Ok, maybe not DVDA/SACD in direct numbers... but the media battleground is littered with the corpses of many formats; Laserdisc, UMD, DVDA/SACD, VCD, etc.

If the format war drags on for 2-3 years, you'll more than likely not see these 2 formats join those ranks. I mean... outside of HD-DVD fans blinded by myopia, thinking 2 formats is an acceptable solution to people outside of a select group of video enthusiasts, does anyone really think 2 incomplete formats is good for the HD market?

Crayon, stop lying to yourself. Your just mad that BRD took a hit.

You're damn straight I'm pissed at this situation. I have a humble wish. To not have to buy multiple players to enjoy HD media. This deal tanked that humble wish for the forseeable future. Regardless, I've provided reasoning; what have you provided? One shitty ad-hominen after another?

 

[djkimothy]

LOL this Paramount deal just got more absurd. More goodness from AVS and the same Paramount source:

Can you link me to that thread. AVS is a wasteland after that megaton.

 

[captive]

I told my girlfriend about the Paramount exclusivity deal and she berated me for being an early adopter. Guess I deserved it. :lol

Im not looking forward to telling my dad about it when i go home today, oddly enough to set up his brand new home theater built around the PS3 for blu-ray playback.

 

[Xater]

Can you link me to that thread. AVS is a wasteland after that megaton.

No problem:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=894040

 

[ManaByte]

This isn't the same AVS source who said LOTR EE was BRD and LOTR Theatrical was HD-DVD as revenge for Matrix, is it? Usually their Blu-Ray sources are nothing more than fanboys trying to sound official.

 

[Laurent]

Isn't Paramount like the smallest studios of the "Big 6"? Viacom is big, but Paramount... maybe I am not seeing the whole picture. How would you rank Hollywood studios?

1. Universal
2. Sony / Columbia
3. Disney / Buena Vista Social Club
4. Time Warner Bros AOL
5. 20th Century FOX
6. Paramount

I can't imagine it would be that exensive for a studio to promote their HD title, however the deal accounts for more then just promotion.

On production cost, that I get...

 

[captive]

This isn't the same AVS source who said LOTR EE was BRD and LOTR Theatrical was HD-DVD as revenge for Matrix, is it? Usually their Blu-Ray sources are nothing more than fanboys trying to sound official.

Do they selectively quote articles like some "neutral" people we know around here?

 

[Xater]

This isn't the same AVS source who said LOTR EE was BRD and LOTR Theatrical was HD-DVD as revenge for Matrix, is it? Usually their Blu-Ray sources are nothing more than fanboys trying to sound official.

Read the damn thing. This is not somebody on the forum but a contact of this forum member.

 

[kaching]

This isn't a deal anyone expected.

Specifically this deal? No, obviously not expected. But in a format war where both sides clearly have no intention of backing down anytime soon, can you really be surprised that such a turn of events might occur?

does anyone really think 2 incomplete formats is good for the HD market?

They'll be one complete format on cheap dual-format players in a couple of years, which would be right around the time the majority of the market starts to really take an interest.

 

[ManaByte]

Do they selectively quote articles like some "neutral" people we know around here?

No, they just make shit up out of their ass.

 

[justjohn]

No problem:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=894040

holy crap swanlee is trolling over there as well :lol

 

[Xater]

Isn't Paramount like the smallest studios of the "Big 6"? Viacom is big, but Paramount... maybe I am not seeing the whole picture. How would you rank Hollywood studios?

1. Universal
2. Sony / Columbia
3. Disney / Buena Vista Social Club
4. Time Warner Bros AOL
5. 20th Century FOX
6. Paramount

Universal such a big gun? I only own 8 movies or so from them on DVD. I would put Warner higher on that list but I don't really know that stuff. It's more a feeling from my buying habbits.

 

[ManaByte]

Universal such a big gun? I only own 8 movies or so from them on DVD. I would put Warner higher on that list but I don't really know that stuff. It's more a feeling from my buying habbits.

Universal's catalog is huge.

 

[djkimothy]

No problem:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=894040

Thanks. Man, i really can't get used to their new interface...

 

[captive]

No, they just make shit up out of their ass.

oh so its kind of like when you selectively quote stuff and then ignore the 10 or so people that called you out on it?

 

[Crayon Shinchan]

Specifically this deal? No, obviously not expected. But in a format war where both sides clearly have no intention of backing down anytime soon, can you really be surprised that such a turn of events might occur?

Again, like Van, I think you're really speaking with the benefit of hindsight. If you'd gone about suggesting this even the day before, how many people do you think would've scoffed at your comment?

It is unexpected and it is a megaton, and we have every right to be pissed the hell off and even alarmist in the day or two after its announcement.

The only thing that would make a difference now is seeing what the numbers for next weeks sales ratio is going to look like.

 

[yacobod]

Im not looking forward to telling my dad about it when i go home today, oddly enough to set up his brand new home theater built around the PS3 for blu-ray playback.

i'm sure your dad can buy you an hd-dvd player too :lol

 

[VanMardigan]

Buena Vista Social Club? WTF?

 

[Laurent]

Universal such a big gun? I only own 8 movies or so from them on DVD. I would put Warner higher on that list but I don't really know that stuff. It's more a feeling from my buying habbits.

I don't know, most of the movies I ever watch, I think the majority of them where released by Universal. Maybe I've watched Back to the Future too much, I might be counting it wrong... I wanna see what you guys think, I don't pretend to be right in any way!

Paramount though his a bunch of old titles to me, they were really big in the 80's, but now, I don't know...

 

[Xater]

Universal's catalog is huge.

That's true but can't think of a lot of Blockbuster from Universal in the past lets say past 10 years. But as already said it is more personal taste here. Most of my stuff is I guess 20th Century Fox and Warner.

 

[Laurent]

Buena Vista Social Club? WTF?

I never make-up shit... ;oP

 

[DarkJediKnight]

lol @ your bitterness. You already own both formats young man, YOU ALREADY SUPPORT BOTH!!. And though you highly prefer Blu Ray, this announcement in reality means NOTHING to you. YOU ALREADY HAVE YOUR PARAMOUNT PLAYER!!. Some folks are just so idiotic, it's beyond comprehension. How the hell does this affect you??

Did you even read my post? I've said it pretty clearly that I'm not confident about either formats right now. What this move does in this juncture of the format war is simply prolongs the damn thing. I'd much rather have Disney, Sony and Fox jump aboard and declare HD DVD exclusivity and END THIS FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!

Thus, I'm not going to be buying HD movies so easily when they can easily drop another megaton saying: "We believe neither format is advancing in sales, and so we've created a unified format for 2009 with 200gb of space." Honestly, would you be surprised anymore? Yes, my movies will still work, but I'll be damned if I have 3 hardware units for watching HD movies for years to come. That's retarded! When this format over is over, I'm going to sell or toss the other player out of my rig like I did with VHS. Like I said, I'm going to be very selective now. Heroes, Transformers and Spiderman trilogy are all I'm buying this year from the looks of things. Yes I'm a Blu-ray supporter out of logic (more support, and winning), but I'm a movie fan first and I wanted 1 format from the begining. You can go read all my back posts and you can see how often I've said that it doesn't matter to me which format wins as long as it's quick and decisive. Blu-ray was going to mop the floor with HD DVD this winter and we probably would've been on the verge of 1 format. But no!

Paramount thinks we're so stupid and guillable. Did I mention my XA2 is awesome at upconverting? I'll stick with that mainly until late 2008 when we get some idea as to what's going on.

Bottomline, I don't believe the market can sustain both formats. People will not buy them in droves because of fear. Thus, movie prices will remain ridculously high because studios still have to make money.

 

[djkimothy]

oh so its kind of like when you selectively quote stuff and then ignore the 10 or so people that called you out on it?

 

[Chemo]

oh so its kind of like when you selectively quote stuff and then ignore the 10 or so people that called you out on it?

Yeah, still waiting to hear back on you about the selective omission of that Spielberg-loves-Blu-ray comment, ManaByte.

 

[DarkJediKnight]

No, they just make shit up out of their ass.

Dude, shut up, seriously. After the stunt you pulled, you've got some nerve.

 

[captive]

i'm sure your dad can buy you an hd-dvd player too :lol

Yea so what? My dad could afford to buy an hd dvd and blu-ray player for every tv in his house if he wants to, but he wont. He likes electronics but he doesnt want two players, he wants one player.

 

[VanMardigan]

oh so its kind of like when you selectively quote stuff and then ignore the 10 or so people that called you out on it?

Now you (and the rest of the bitter BR entourage apparently) are just dragging it out in another one of your hypocritical moves. Nothing in what was originally posted by Mana contradicts the overall fact that even though Bill Hunt, petrarca, etc. were all crowing about Spielberg support exclusively for Blu Ray, it is now obvious that his movies will be multi-format. Whether he has a Blu Ray preference or not (and NOTHING of the sort has come from his mouth), it doesn't matter if HD DVD owners still get to buy his movies.

Argue that fact if you REALLY feel like discussing Speilberg and HD discs.

 

[Laurent]

Here's and article that I've found out, posted in 2003. At that time, MGM was a loner...

Below are players by rank year 2003 (January through July), as reported by industry watcher Box Office Mojo. In the first seven months of 2003, total US box office has amounted to $5.4 billion in sales, a somewhat ahead of last year.

1. Disney (Buena Vista, Miramax, Dimension, Touchstone, Hollywood Pictures) 25% 23 titles
2. AOL-Time-Warner (Warner Brothers, New Line) 19% 17 titles
3. Sony (Sony, Columbia, Screen Gems) 13% 11 titles
4. Vivendi (Universal, Focus) 13% 13 titles
5. News Corp. (20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight) 12% 16 titles
6. Viacom (Paramount) 8% 6 titles
7. DreamWorks (DreamWorks) 5% 4 titles
8. MGM/UA (MGM, United Artists, Orion Pictures) 4% 8 titles

 

[VanMardigan]

Yea so what? My dad could afford to buy an hd dvd and blu-ray player for every tv in his house if he wants to, but he wont. He likes electronics but he doesnt want two players, he wants one player.

Then tell your rich dad to buy a damn Samsung combo player and be done with it.

 

[Chemo]

Blu-ray was going to mop the floor with HD DVD this winter and we probably would've been on the verge of 1 format. But no!

Well, to be honest, it still will. This is a big deal for the HD DVD camp, and it sucks for Blu-ray, but it's not going to magically make the PlayStation 3 disappear. Blu-ray will still SERIOUSLY outperform HD DVD... it just sucks for Blu-ray supporters because they'll have less studios to pick from. Oh well, I guess they'll just have to buy the shit out of Batman Begins and the like when they finally drop.

 

[kaching]

Again, like Van, I think you're really speaking with the benefit of hindsight. If you'd gone about suggesting this even the day before, how many people do you think would've scoffed at your comment?

I said this *specific* deal was unexpected, but if you had asked me yesterday if I expected major deals in the future favorable to one format or the other, I certainly would have said yes. Wouldn't you? That's not a matter of hindsight, that's just a matter of paying attention to how this format war has transpired thus far. It's not going to be over until the market literally decides for them and since the majority of the market isn't even involved yet, we've got a long way to go.

It is unexpected and it is a megaton, and we have every right to be pissed the hell off and even alarmist in the day or two after its announcement.

Yes, you have every right to overreact as you wish. That doesn't change the fact that you look like a ninny for doing it. In this regard, hindsight *will* be instrumental shortly, to you.

The only thing that would make a difference now is seeing what the numbers for next weeks sales ratio is going to look like.

Why? Apparently in the face of this particular announcement, all of other weeks of BD sales dominance are mooted by you, why would next week matter?

 

[Crayon Shinchan]

Now you (and the rest of the bitter BR entourage apparently) are just dragging it out in another one of your hypocritical moves. Nothing in what was originally posted by Mana contradicts the overall fact that even though Bill Hunt, petrarca, etc. were all crowing about Spielberg support exclusively for Blu Ray, it is now obvious that his movies will be multi-format. Whether he has a Blu Ray preference or not (and NOTHING of the sort has come from his mouth), it doesn't matter if HD DVD owners still get to buy his movies.

Argue that fact if you REALLY feel like discussing Speilberg and HD discs.

You know this how? At this point, neither Manabyte nor Amirm are any sort of reliable sources of information. Heavily spun and edited to suit their own agendas.

 

[Laurent]

There you go, 2007 Market Share and Box Office Results. Of course, this doesn't count DVD sales...

Rank	Distributor		Share	Total Gross	Movies	2007 Movies

1	Paramount		18.1%	$1,189.5	15	11
2	Warner Bros.		14.8%	$974.8		23	13
3	Buena Vista		14.1%	$930.6		16	8
4	Sony / Columbia		14.0%	$924.6		19	16
5	Universal		11.3%	$745.0		13	11
6	20th Century Fox	10.9%	$719.9		17	9
7	New Line		4.5%	$296.7		11	7
8	MGM/UA			2.9%	$193.6		19	9
9	Lionsgate		2.0%	$132.5		11	11
10	Fox Searchlight		1.3%	$88.6		12	7
11	Picturehouse		0.9%	$56.4		7	6
12	Miramax			0.8%	$53.6		7	5

So I was wrong, Paramount is bigger than I thought...

 

[DarkJediKnight]

Well, to be honest, it still will. This is a big deal for the HD DVD camp, and it sucks for Blu-ray, but it's not going to magically make the PlayStation 3 disappear. Blu-ray will still SERIOUSLY outperform HD DVD... it just sucks for Blu-ray supporters because they'll have less studios to pick from. Oh well, I guess they'll just have to buy the shit out of Batman Begins and the like when they finally drop.

That is not the point. Blu-ray movies will outsell HD DVD movies this Q4, I'm sure. But that means jack! Shrek3 and Transformers will nulify the sales of Pirates and Spiderman. Instead of maybe a 3:1+ ratio it might still be 2:1 or less. Which ultimately means a stalemate and this damn war continues.

 

[Crayon Shinchan]

I said this *specific* deal was unexpected, but if you had asked me yesterday if I expected major deals in the future favorable to one format or the other, I certainly would have said yes. Wouldn't you? That's not a matter of hindsight, that's just a matter of paying attention to how this format war has transpired thus far. It's not going to be over until the market literally decides for them and since the majority of the market isn't even involved yet, we've got a long way to go.

I meant suggesting that there was going to be a megaton like this (not this deal specifically) of any sort. But you're an asshole you know that? It's not like you had said anything along these lines previous to this point... but now after the fact, it's all suddenly; oh it's not surprising at all. Clearly you're not observant if you didn't expect this.

What. A. Load. of. Shit.

Most HD-DVD fans here clearly weren't hoping for anything like this, much less expecting it; at best most of them were saying; those low cost prices will drive up HD-DVD adoption, you'll see!