Wal-Mart has confirmed with Blu-ray.com that beginning in June the world's largest retailer will only stock Blu-ray players and movies. Over the next few months, they will phase out all HD DVD products and reorganize their stores to focus on Blu-ray. This move comes days after similar statements of support for Blu-ray by Internet movie rental site Netflix and retailer Best Buy.
Gary Severson, senior vice president, Home Entertainment, Wal-Mart, U.S. commented, "We've listened to our customers, who are showing a clear preference toward Blu-ray products and movies with their purchases. With the customers best interest in all we do, we wanted to share our decision and timeline with them as soon as possible, knowing it will help simplify their purchase decision, increase selection, and increase adoption long term. We anticipate enhancing our selection with continued great values in hi-definition Blu-ray products, so our customers can further enhance their entertainment experience at home."
This is just the latest in a series of shifts towards either Blu-ray support or exclusivity since Warner Brothers announced in January that they would go Blu-ray exclusive in June.
Earlier today, sources reported that Toshiba would soon be announcing that they would drop support for HD DVD. No official statement has come from them, but without support from retailers, it will probably come sooner than later.
Yep my insider at walmart told me that they will be blu ray exclusively this summer! I did not want to announce here if i didnt have credit but he was confirmed by this news! FYE IS NEXT IN SPRING, my reliable source at FYE said.
Woohoo! It's definitely a deatch watch now for the other camp. BTW, the Hollywood Reporter have also reported that Toshiba is planning on pulling the plug. Read more:
Blockbuster, Best Buy, Netflix, and now Wal-Mart. On top of that, unnamed sources tell the Hollywood reporter that Toshiba is going to abandon the HD-DVD format, with an announcement expected soon.
That sound you're hearing is a death knell. Or maybe it's that Universal chorus urging Universal and Paramount to come home.
I think this is bigger than Best Buy's news. Wal-Mart hits a larger group of people. This combined with a Paramount switch over(hopefully soon) would officially do it.
Wow. Combined with Best Buy's announcement and the (supposedly) imminent announcement from
Toshiba that they're dropping HD DVD, Universal and Paramount can't be far behind.
Wow!!! This has got to be a huge blow to HD-DVD. The world's largest retailer will no longer sell their product! Other retailers should follow suit soon and Toshiba's white flag shall be waving. GO BLU!!!
It's not just one Large retailer. Anyhow it seems to me that no one is going to be selling Toshiba's product. They have no choice but to pull the plug between now and June.
No wonder we 've heard reports that Toshiba is working on their first two BD players to be released in July. WOW! Its amazing how one big studio (Warner) changed the outcome of the format war in a matter of weeks, now Hollywood reporter is saying Toshiba is dropping HDDVD in the coming weeks....Ouch for those RED fanboys!
Ok, so there are officially only 3 nails left to seal HDDVD's coffin for good: Toshiba, Paramount, Universal. This is definitely the biggest news yet, bigger than Best Buy or Netflix. DUDDERS always talk about "Wal-Mart is not included in Neilsens and they sell more HDDVD's there!" Hey guess what? That argument is gone. HDDVD is dead.
The format war is essentially over. But the faster it's *officially* over (Toshiba's pull-out), the faster we'll get Universal and Paramount movies. I'm just glad all the nay-sayers are finally silenced. No more "history repeats itself," "VHS beat BetaMax," "HD DVD is better because it's cheaper."
ITS DONE! yesssssssssssssssss! The HD war is over! Blu-ray is victories! PS3 will out do and out shine all other consoles in '08! WHAT A GREAT YEAR SO FAR!
I kept telling everyone the small retailers, then the big retailers would be dropping HD DVD. But the faithful kept believing HD DVD would stick around.
This is great. Some people were saying that whichever HD format was chosen by Wally World was the one that would win because of their huge customer base. Maybe as the article says this is the last nail in the coffin for Toshiba, hopefully they defect soon, cause they pretty much only have K-mart left supporting them.
I completely agree with Nati Man, this is much bigger than Best Buy, Wal Mart is such a huge brand, this is probably the biggest news since the Warner Bros. move to Blu...GO BIG BLU!!!
Keep in mind how huge this news is. All the fanboys associated Walmart with Toshiba's low price spin (remember the sub 100 players?). Many though Walmart would go with what was affordable but apparently Walmart could not ignore the fact that blu-rays sold better even at higher cost. Now every tom, dick and harry that go to Walmart will have Blu-ray staring them right in the face. Go Blu-ray!!!!!
I guess there is not need for Toshiba to announce that HD DVD is officially dead Walmart sells 40% of all DVDs sold in the US. this was the true deathblow. I guess the rumored official pull-out by Toshiba reported by Hollywood Reporter is true. jaja go blu!!!!
let see how longs it take Universal/Paramount to announce going blu. I give it a week.
I saw this post earlier this morning, then went over to the enemy's site (hddvd.com). It is so amazing the state of denial the HDDVD camp is in. That site is the Fox News of hi def. They spin everything to give those idiots who support them the sligtest shred of hope.
now lets see what hd dvd camp will say ofcourse we know they will say hd dud is still the best format for the consumer and other bulls**t lol they should just give up and move on with our lives
Universal and Paramount should start announcing Blu titles by March. In plenty of time for Cloverfield, There Will Be Blood and Sweeney Todd just to name a few!
The spin from HDDVD.com (responding to the HolloywoodReporter article):
***
As a whole, it’s really easy to come away from the article and believe that Toshiba is about to call it quits in a few days. But nobody at Toshiba or the HD DVD group actually said so in the article, this is really just talk from some industry sources. Since they don’t name the sources, it’s fair to guess that those sources are Blu-ray aligned people trying to create some bad publicity for HD DVD (although they did say one of them is “close” to the HD DVD camp). This wouldn’t be unheard of, since it’s been people from the Blu-ray camp who have leaked bits and pieces to news outlets in the past and been able to make sure that bad news was definitely getting well distributed.
***
I'm sure that the announcements from Netflix, BestBuy, Walmart, etc. are also just Blu-ray fanboy smoke-and-mirrors too.
I called this one a few days ago earlier in the week! Look at the "Spain's Tripictures Goes Blu-ray Exclusive" comments - bottom of the 1st page baby! For those who missed it "Retailers need to solely stock Blu going forward, and let the HDDVD stock rot. Let's get a retailer to Blu Exclusive this week!" *** I'm off to buy a lottery ticket now! :^) *** Sweet news indeed!
WOOOHOOOO!!!!!!
@ HD DVD fanboys, since you guys always claimed the Nielsons are looking good for Blu-ray because all HD DVD owner buy their HD DVDs from Walmart, what you gonna do now? it seems your argument on this one is............gone?
Wal-mart's the fork and HD-DVD is done folks! Everyone knows John Q. Public buys his movies at
Wally World and it just a matter of time before the prices drop and Blu will be poised to take out
SD DVDs
hahaha you HD DUD mother fuckersz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I would feel bad if WM had done this to Blu Ray, They wield a lot of power and can be pretty ruthless
with it. But ... I picked the right format so I'm happy to see retail take a stand to end the "war".
The studios wind up not being so significant if the stores decide the victor of the format war. This
week certainly was the Valentines Day crushing with Netflix, Best Buy, and Walmart choosing Blu Ray.
Looking into my crystal ball now...Next Target announces Exclusive Blu-Ray support, followed by a smattering of other retailers. Paramount announces the "switch" to Blu based on out clause. Bundled with this announcement comes the release dates of Blades of Glory, Transformers, etc. Universal announces daul support one week, only to then go Blu exclusive the following week.
Toshiba decides to offer manufacturing direct sales of its remaining players, since no retailers/distributers want them.
Did someone call my name? yep its TheEnd of HDDuD. How wil Toshiba Respond?
[FUD]We are very Sorry, that Wally World Has gone Blu, with HDDuD having %60 market share and, over a 2 movies per player attach rate, this makes no sense for them to go Blu, besides only your average Joe goes to Wally World and he cant even afford a DuD player so whats the chance of him getting a Blue-Ray(misspelled on purpose lol) player?[/FUD]
WOW! This war is ending very fast. Toshiba will come soon and then Blu-ray releases from Paramount and Universal. :-) I am just shocked and tickled pink. LOL
It has been a non-stop flurry of bad news for HD DVD since Warner's decision to go BD exclusive. Between studios and retail stores abandoning the format, it will be interesting to see if Toshiba bails before Paramount and Universal.
We will now see if the format war truly slowed the adoption of high-def media, or if the general public is just satisfied with plain old DVD. If Blu-ray fails to take market share away from DVD, it may never elevate itself beyond niche market status. 2008 is going to be a fascinating year.
I just shot a load all over my keyboard! SHOVE THAT UP YOUR ASS HD DVD! Time to do the honorable thing and give up. Actually, you should have done that before August. DIE DIE DIE!
I knew I worked there for a reason!!! Yay no more red in the stores!!! Now all we need is an
announcement from Amazon and Toshita and we can finally sit back, relax, and enjoy the movie!
alot of u americains say ur wal mart has not much hi def to start with
i donnu about states but my 3 local walmarts in quebec canada ( gatineau to be presice) have PLenty of blu-ray and hd-dvd disks
recently theve started putting the blu-rays up front of electronics section
i check out the price everytime i go just too see
i never see any1 else there but they must sell becuase sometimes shelves are almost empty and then there full
ive bought maybe 5-8 blu-rays at walmart a lil cheaper then i could get em off amazon
but they dont sell players
just ps3 and xbox addon when there in stock
I'm so happy for the blu-ray format. I hope it has a long and prosperous life before downloads take over. It sure will be the best consumer HD experience for a long time.
After WWII there were remote islands in the Pacific that Japanese troops where hiding out, they did not know the war was over. it seems that Toshiba, Paramount and Universal are keeping up the fine tradition of ignorance.
Yes like I predicted if Toshiba does not want to bow out they will be forced out by retailers. This is great news though I bet the HD-DUD fanboy tears are just flowing and I need to drink it. HD-DUD fanboys tears make me stronger.LMAO
What has it been...about 42 or so days since the Warner announcement? It's simply amazing how much Toshiba has been like a deer in headlights for the last month and can't seem to add 2+2=4. Everyone keeps screaming for them to move out of the way before they get squashed but they stand there like everythings just fine and even keep walking towards the headlights. Get a clue Toshiba.
Isn't ironic that Universal hasn't announced any new HD-DVD titles since American Gangster, and it cancelled two titles, Dazed & Confused and Land of the Dead. Both of these titles are telling of the state of HD DUD. We have Toshiba that is Dazed & Confused, and HD DUD in general is bound for the Land of the Dead. How's that for similes?!?!?
I always buy all my movies on blu-rays from Walmart every damn months... Wal-mart got the best price tag than any other stores i know... this is why i shop Wal-mart for some reason.. wal-mart cant keep up with all the blu ray movies cause they were selling hd-dvd right beside it and thats what make me mad and want to just buy movies on every released dates. Well my next blu will be Beyonce in a week after. Damn I feel so good that Walmart will spit HD-DVD out of this store!!!
HD-DVD camp has issued a response to Wal-Mart's move to support Blu-ray exclusively:
"We have long held the belief that HD DVD is the best format for consumers based on quality and value, and with more than 1 million HD DVD players on the market, it's unfortunate to see Wal-Mart make the decision to only stock Blu-ray titles going forward."
With Wal-Mart, Best-Buy, Netflix, comapnies from Europe, FYE and others, there is no hope for HD-DVD. Biggest nail to the coffin or already buried for HD-DVD. It's very sad day but it looks like HD-DVD supporters will get mad and bad language. Where I work, Sam's Club (part of Wal-Mart) are not getting any more HD-DVDs but we got the players. It doesn' t make any sense but no matter. It's all over and Paramount and Universal will be getting ready for Blu-ray really soon. Great and best news I heard since WB announcement. Go Blu Go!!!!!!
To every hd dvd supporter that was rude and condescending during the format scuffle I would like to take this auspicious opportunity to say; HA, I TOLD YOU SO.
does HD DVD have anything exclusive anymore besides para and uni? come on guys don't be the last to jump ship! wow walmart. that just means more j6p will relize the difference between hd and blu. nice!
Awesome.. I doubt that HD DUD will be around much longer.. They lost studio support, and now they are losing store support as well... The have no future, and I think that if Target and circuit City was to announce Blu only support as well, than Toshiba would fold their crappy format...
Im guessing that by this years end, (if not sooner, like around the end of summer) we will see the end of hd dud once and for all...
The HD DUD fanboys won't be able to SPIN this!!! Good Buy Toshiba and HD DUD and don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out. I'm so glad this stupied " War " is over.
today after work i went to wallyworld to buy some blu-rays only to see their rack empty !
turns out they have to keep them in the back because people were shoplifting them, so i had to tell em which movies i wanted and they went to the back room to retrieve them for me. in the end i bought CON AIR &THE ROCK for under 20 bucks each !! not bad for blu-ray i thought
Wal-Mart has confirmed with Blu-ray.com that beginning in June the world's largest retailer will only stock Blu-ray players and movies. Over the next few months, they will phase out all HD DVD products and reorganize their stores to focus on Blu-ray. This move comes days after similar statements of support for Blu-ray by Internet movie rental site Netflix and retailer Best Buy.
