"Both formats will be seeking to secure consumer buy-in to their proposition during the critical holiday season but with so much at stake on both sides we think it is highly unlikely that one format will emerge as the ‘winner," said Richard Cooper, Screen Digest Video Analyst.
"We believe that eventually most will decide to offer their titles on both HD DVD and BD in order to maximise their returns," he adds.
Screen Digest states that Blu-ray backers such as Sony, Fox and Disney would miss out on around $175 million in consumer spending in 2008. Considering that Blu-ray format sales are currently doing better than its rival’s, it’s easy to predict that the losses on the HD DVD-only camp will be much greater.
Also, one has to wonder if Paramount and DreamWorks aren’t having second thoughts about the HD DVD exclusive deal they concluded back in August. Both studios are most likely to continue for some time, but nobody should be amazed if they decided to change their policy one year from now.