Blue Ray Association: High Prices Set in Stone

Mark Talmadge · 09-18-2008, 12:17 AM

According to an article over at Gozmodo, the Blu Ray Association is now saying that prices will be staying where they are until more consumers start buying their product. Apparently, there isn't enough to demand for their product to justify dropping the prices on their hardware and software.

Blu-ray Association: Wallet-Slaying Prices Here to Stay Because You're Not Buying Enough Blu-ray

After I read the article I found it kind of humorous. That's like saying "buy our product for 1200% markup. When we sell enough, then we'll drop our prices."

The same thing was said about the CD format when it was released and the same crap was said about the DVD format. Consumers have a long memory and their not fooled. Sure, the format is selling but not by enough consumers and it's because of the price range that is stuck to the hardware and the software for the format.

Sure, I've been tempted to buy into the format but it's the cost of the blu ray players and the software (i.e., movies) that has kept me away from the format. I keep remembering that old saying, "fool me once, shame on you. fool me twice, shame on me." It looks like consumers have a long memory and they're not fooled.

Bob_L · 09-18-2008, 01:24 AM

Recognizing that several companies are involved in BD, I still think this is a welcome to the Sony mindset. They're notorious for maintaining premium prices (often on shoddy hardware, like the entire Sony home audio line) and stubbornly sticking with it.

I have no problem with them doing that because with BD (and the PS3, too) I think they are providing a quality product. But if this thinking limits acceptance and hamstrings the success of BD, I'm not so happy.

RickER · 09-18-2008, 01:34 AM

Funny, i just got The Omega Man today on Blu-ray. It cost me $13 and some change. While i agree FOX could give me a break on prices, deals can be had. I think they just dont want Blu-ray to have the same devalued, super market checkout, impulse buy, that DVD has, and is now stuck with.

Not that i have a problem buying $4 DVDs either.

Ronald Epstein · 09-18-2008, 04:08 AM

I don't understand the mentality.

People aren't buying hardware and software because of the
exorbitant pricing set in an economy that continues to sour
by the day.

At least other manufacturers (particularly display) are racing
to offer hardware at consumer-friendly pricing. I have seen this
first hand from our visit to Cedia.

Robert Crawford · 09-18-2008, 07:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein

I don't understand the mentality.

People aren't buying hardware and software because of the
exorbitant pricing set in an economy that continues to sour
by the day.

At least other manufacturers (particularly display) are racing
to offer hardware at consumer-friendly pricing. I have seen this
first hand from our visit to Cedia.

Unlike Warner, some studios refuse to take short-term losses by reducing MSRP on catalog titles in order to grow the business by attacting new consumers to the blu-ray format with lower software costs. If certain studios want to know why deeper market penetration hasn't taken place then the only thing they need to do is to look at the retail prices being offered at BB, CC and Wal-mart. Case in point, I would like to own the original "The Omen" on Blu-ray, but I'm not going to pay $27.99 for it. I have over 300 BRD in my library, but when a consumer such as myself boycotts a title like "The Omen" due to its high price then somebody at certain studios needs to pay better attention as to why their product isn't moving like they hoped for.

**HTF Ads**

Scott-S · 09-18-2008, 09:40 AM

That article is a joke. It is hard to actually take any stock in that piece as it was simply a bad attempt to be funny. It also sound as though it was written by a HD-DVD supporter. The bit about "we told you so" gives that away.

As far as price is concerned, I am perfectly ok with Blu-ray movies costing $5 more than DVD. It makes sense that I would have to pay more for better quality. That shouldn't really comes as a shock.

Fillets cost more than hamburger.

TravisR · 09-18-2008, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott-S

As far as price is concerned, I am perfectly ok with Blu-ray movies costing $5 more than DVD. It makes sense that I would have to pay more for better quality. That shouldn't really comes as a shock.

Exactly.

This article is written by and for people who are scared of Blu-ray (they seem to think that their DVDs will automatically erase if other people buy Blu-ray so they keep going on and on about how Blu-ray is going to fail in a vain attempt to convince others) or people who are still mad about HD DVD's loss.

Man-Fai Wong · 09-18-2008, 02:58 PM

Hmmm... As far as I can tell, the BDA didn't actually say they need to sell more *before* they cut prices, but rather, they need to develop the market more so that there would be more *real* potential customers for the product before cutting prices to meet those customers' demand. IOW, if you cut prices before people are even aware they'd really want the product, then you're taking a premature hit on your bottomline.

You can't blame them for wanting to maximize the $$$-making potential in each move they make in the business plan. It's a fine line to walk the supply-and-demand curve, no?

As for the rest, that just sounds like some folks putting a negative spin on what was actually said (for whatever reasons/agenda). Certainly, I didn't see the BDA say anything remotely like the high prices being "set in stone".

_Man_

Bob_L · 09-18-2008, 04:59 PM

It's common practice in consumer electronics to "soak" the early adopters. Those of us who fall into that group are well aware of this and, though we find it annoying, we go ahead and play the game as a cost of being part of that group.

However, the HD disc is really the entertainment industry's path to the future. With the SD DVD market flattening out, they need to come up with the next contrivance that will let them resell all their titles again. HD disc is that contrivance. So far, it hasn't been a compelling selling proposition to the mass market partly because most customers don't seem to understand the benefits of HD and/or they don't see the additional interactive elements (enhanced special features) as a significant benefit over SD DVD. And --failing to understand/appreciate those advantages -- they have no intention of paying more for something that, to them, just ain't better.

So, someone has to bend here. The industry has to get the software/hardware into a more affordable range to start growing the market among those who aren't early adopters but, given the right price, might jump fully to HD (they probably own an HDTV). Presumably, this group will naturally grow when all-digital broadcasting begins next year.

Or, the industry has to make that costs/benefits argument in a much more convincing way to get customers to adopt the new technology and pay the higher prices. That's going to mean increased marketing.

Either way, the ball is in the entertainment industry's court and its going to cost them money to return the serve and win the match. But creating a new market for a new product is ALWAYS a costly proposition.

Jason Seaver · 09-18-2008, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott-S

As far as price is concerned, I am perfectly ok with Blu-ray movies costing $5 more than DVD. It makes sense that I would have to pay more for better quality. That shouldn't really comes as a shock.

I don't mind that. It's the $35 SRP on Dodgeball compared to $15 for the DVD with little sign that BD prices are going to slide downwards after the title has been out for a while that feels unreasonable.