Audio Video News

In a story line that's becoming all too familiar for HD DVD supporters, news circulated on the web late last week showing that the Blu-ray release of the first two Pirates of the Caribbean movies are handily outselling the HD DVD box set releases of The Matrix by better than three to one. Home Media Magazine was the source of these estimates, pegging the combined sales for the Pirates flicks at over 47,000 total units with the sales of the two Matrix trilogy sets at just under 14,000 total units.

The spin is already coming in from both sides, with Blu-ray supporters declaring this another major victory and a clear sign of consumer preference for Blu-ray, while HD DVD's supporters point to the gross sales dollars being much closer since the Matrix box sets cost so much more than the individually available Pirates BDs.

I don't think there's any question that the Matrix' sales are being hurt by having the movies only available as a bundle with all three movies, rather than giving consumers the choice of opting out on the increasingly poor sequels to the first Matrix. And of course, while the Matrix trilogy is a big franchise and Toshiba has ramped up its PR campaign with big promotions and discounts, the Pirates BDs sailed onto Blu-ray just a few days in front of the third intallment in that series hitting theaters, and the massive media campaign that goes along with it.

Nevertheless, however you stack up the whys and wherefores, individual consumers, by a ratio of better than three to one, are purchasing the Pirates movies on BD instead of the Matrix sets and that can't be good news for the HD DVD camp.