What I find amusing is, ok, Bluray fanatics can harp on about Pirates selling better than the Matrix, but the truth is even the Pirates figures are utterly depressing when you consider what high profile catalogue titles they are for the format, riding off the theatrical release of the latest film. Hunt calls Knowles out on all of AICN's incorrect assumptions about one forum over the other, but he's also a poor journalist in his own right fo constantly ignoring the finer points of what's happening with the formats.

There is one aspect of the formats few journalists seem capable of realising and that`s that Bluray without question is getting better sales for new releases. We`ve seen it with Superman Returns, MI:3, The Departed…etc, and even this week Letters from Iwo Jima and Flags of Our Fathers did better on Bluray (though lets put this into perspective here and realise that Iwo Jima on BD sold what is estimated to be under 6500 copies to put it in the top 5, which is abysmal). Now on the other hand, HD DVD generally seems to be getting better sales for catalogue titles, which in turn might well be boosting the format`s attach rate over its competitor. So what happens? The result is both formats continue to cancel each other out for different reasons, keeping either from making significant progress. It`s all such a bloody shambles.

The whole Matrix vs Pirates thing was such an anticlimax and all most can do is tout the figures bound to one over the other, with few standing back and admitting that the sales of both are utterly disappointing. Now we`re really not going to see things kick off again until the autumn/winter with those big franchises out of the way. If one format fails to make significant long term gains over its rival after Christmas then I think they will be well and truly doomed to go down with DVD-A and SACD.


It makes me so angry at times I genuinely can`t contemplate ever humouring either the HD DVD or Bluray group with my money.