Until they hit 99 bucks for stand alone players not many people are going too jump into this new format war...they will be quite happy buyin 25 dollar players for their dvd collections...

They are already selling for sub 300 dollars at Best Buy...

too late to the market.

With the loss of HD-DVD as an effective counter-balance, prices are bound to be stuck north of $200 or even $250 for sometime. The price target for next Christmas will be $200 or $229 maybe.

Critical prices ranges will be sub $99 and that is a ways off. I think that HD-DVD has already proved that. The problem now for Sony is that they don't want to cannabilize their PS3 sales. If players get too cheap, folks that bought PS3's will buy players which are stand-alone if the gaming function isn't too important to them. Sony is still in a real pickle here in some ways. They stole from Peter to pay Paul. With the release of Profile 1.1, most Blu-Ray players do what 95% of owners expect them to do...play movies and the odd special feature.

I really look for MS and Ninty to lower their prices roughly 2 weeks before the release of MGS4 significantly and again right before Christmas '08. Further, MS may also begin selling Blu-Ray drive support by making an update to VISTA. It has always been my opinion that MS wants to win the console and digital distribution war more than anything. They've never cared about the medium in earnest.

Additionally, I also believe they will drop the HD-DVD drive soon!!! Look for a fire-sale. They want digital downloading as the only mechanism of the future. Eerily enough, they are well-positioned for it and have deep enough pockets to make it happen.

In other not well publicized news, Apple, Cisco and NetFlix among others are talking of $150 and cheaper seamless streaming boxes for movies. I suspect they could be sold even cheaper as a loss adoption mechanism since most of the hardware is already ready to go.

Today, Blu-Ray has a day in the sun. But there are clouds on the horizon for the future and it is not a clear view of whats ahead. These are interesting times indeed. Interesting times indeed. :-)

if HD DVD failed.

this isn't a console war, where competition breeds creativity.

now, all those manufacuters that were making HD DVD players, will move to making Blu Ray players.

with all these different Blu Ray players on the market, they will then begin to compete with *PRICE. lowering them to remain competitive.

this Funai company is opening the floodgates for sub $200 Blu Ray players by years end.

we already saw BD players get slashed from $1000, to $700, to $400, and now to $300, in the past *TWELVE months. just wait and see what happens by years end.

HD DVD's demise didn't signal the end of competition, but the beginning of competition between Blu Ray player manufacturers, leading to very cheap Blu Ray players in the future (and if Sony wants to remain competitive, a $300 Playstation 3 by years end).