A couple of months ago, we reported Blu-ray had won the format battle for HD players. However, if you were expecting a rise in sales of Blu-ray players, this next bit of news may come as a surprise to you–the overall sales of Blu-ray players is down.
Research by the NPD Group indicates that sales of players has fallen 40 percent from February to March.  The sales tracked excluded Blu-ray players sold as part of Sony’s PlayStation 3 console.
“When we surveyed consumers late last year, an overwhelming number of them said they weren’t investing in a new next-generation player because their old DVD player worked well and next-generation players were too expensive,” said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis at NPD. “It’s clear from retail sales that those consumer sentiments are still holding true.”
There are several factors that could be contributing to the lack of growth in sales. One is the price-tag. While most DVD players are now less than a hundred dollars, the entry level for a Blu-ray player is north of $400.
Another factor that may be holding back sales of Blu-ray players is that anticipated models with Internet connectivity haven’t hit the market yet. Current models can’t be upgraded.
According to the Associated Press, , ABI Research, estimates that PS3s will account for more than 85 percent of Blu-ray players in use this year and that the number of stand-alone players and Blu-ray equipped PCs won’t surpass them until 2013.
Hopefully that larger community will see that this is just an attempt by the media industry to rip the off again. With internet delivery not far away from becoming mainstream why would anyone want an old fashioned stand alone box?