"Time Warner-owned Warner Bros., the largest distributor of DVDs, said DVD sales dived about 4% this year and it appears that especially weak October sales take the blame for the decline. The studio said that Blu-ray sales will miss this year's target by at least 25%. The independent tracking service Nielsen VideoScan estimated a 9% drop in Q3 DVD sales and a 22% decline in new titles' sales. Nielsen VideoScan's results do not include DVD sales at Wal-Mart. 2007 DVD sales dropped by 3.2% from the 2006 level.

Blu-ray’s disappointing performance should not be too surprising given that player prices have just begun recently to drop and Blu-ray movie prices are typically 25 – 50% above those of DVDs. One research suggests that consumers will not embrace the format until there is no doubt that the technology is here to stay. Blu-ray players are still expensive, but have shown significant price drops recently, with some players selling for less than $200. Wal-Mart is believed to be offering a $128 player on Black Friday.

According to Pricegrabber.com, the Blu-ray player with the lowest average U.S. retail price is currently the Memorex MVBD2510, which goes for $176. Sharp’s BD-HP21U is selling for an average for $191, Philips BDP7200 for $221 and Samsung’s BD-P1500 for $226, the price comparison service states. There are some exclusive-brand offerings below $200, such as Best Buy’s Insignia NS-BRDVD player, which is currently offered for $170.

Hollywood studios believe that Studios are determined that sub-$200 Blu-ray players combined with more Blu-ray exposure in retail stores will help the format finally  take off this holiday season: Over $25 million will be spent to push DVD and Blu-ray holiday releases, like "Wall-E," "Hancock," and "The Dark Knight." The latter is well on its way to become the most pirated movie of 2008. Even studio execs see this holiday season as Blu-ray's last chance. "We think this is a do-or-die time for Blu-ray," Warner Home Video president Ron Sanders told the New York Times."