Despite the gloomiest of financial forecasts, sales of Blu-ray disc movies are defying the odds and bucking the credit crunch - with record figures reported in the run up to Christmas.
London, UK (PRWEB) December 21, 2008 -- Despite the gloomiest of financial forecasts, sales of Blu-ray disc movies are defying the odds and bucking the credit crunch - with record figures reported in the run up to Christmas. And it's not just films flying off the shelves, Blu-ray disc players are also following suit, with a strong upsurge in European sales that is expected to continue into the New Year. In fact, overall sales are predicted to more than triple in 2009, reaching 2.5million units Europe wide* (and that figure does not even include the millions of Playstation 3 consoles, with their in-built Blu-ray players, that will be sold over the next few months).
The high definition format, which offers up to six times better picture quality than current standard definition, as well as a superb surround sound experience with its 7.1 channels, is establishing itself in Europe at a rapid rate - far faster than DVD did more than a decade ago. In its first three years, Blu-ray (including PS3 sales) has outsold DVD by about five times over the equivalent period*.
British consumers bought 462,500 Blu-ray discs in November, an increase of 165 per cent from October**, Figures released in December from the British Video Association (BVA), show that block-buster Hollywood titles such The Dark Knight sold a staggering 513,000 units in one day with Blu-ray disc representing 21 per cent of all discs sold. In France, Blu-ray's share of the optical disc market is expected to double next year to 6 per cent*. Across Europe as a whole, over 6.5 million units of software have been sold to date, with year on year growth up 320 per cent**.
2008 has been a breakthrough year for Blu-ray, with the format gaining support from the entire Consumer Electronics industry and all Hollywood Movie Studios. Features such as BD-Live mean exciting interactive content is now available on the latest titles, while more and more classic films are being released each week as Blu-ray's back catalogue continues to grow. New advanced BD players by all major manufacturers represent even greater value for money, while the format itself has still not reached its full potential.
"The Blu-ray disc format offers an unparalleled home entertainment experience, something all those involved with this technology have always known," says Jim Bottoms, Managing Director, Corporate Development, at Futuresource. "Once people see the benefits of Blu-ray for themselves, they soon realise the difference it can make. Seeing is believing after all! We fully expect Blu-ray to keep on bucking the current economic trend and continue its rapid growth over the next few months and beyond, stimulated by falling prices and even more bundling deals with large screen TVs."
For more information on Blu-ray disc and sales across Europe, please contact Natasha Ighodaro on 0845 408 2031.
**Source: GFK
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