Report: Paramount to back Blu-ray

Financial Times says movie studio has the option to switch camps in wake of Warner's decision; studio reiterates HD-DVD stand.

Things are heating up in the HD DVD versus Blu-ray format wars--and it's no longer looking like the stalemate that Sony CEO Howard Stringer declared two months ago.

At the end of last week, Warner Bros. announced that it had decided to back Blu-ray--and now there are rumours that because of this move, Paramount and possibly DreamWorks Animation won't be far behind.

Today's Financial Times reveals that according to its sources, Paramount is "poised to reveal" it will be abandoning the HD DVD format in order to go Blu-ray exclusive.

The article states, "Paramount, which is owned by Viacom, is understood to have a clause in its contract with the HD DVD camp that would allow it to switch sides in the event of Warner Bros. backing Blu-ray."

The newspaper believes that this would be the "death knell" for HD DVD and would see the format "likely to suffer the same fate as Sony's now obsolete Betamax video technology, which lost out to VHS in a similar format war in the 1980s."

Blu-ray is currently backed by 20th Century Fox, MGM, Walt Disney, and most recently Warner Bros.; if Paramount jumps ship, Universal will be left as the biggest HD DVD backer.

However, according to a later report from Bloomberg, Paramount has denied that it will be making the move. Brenda Ciccone told the financial Web site, "Paramount's current plan is to continue to support the HD DVD format." Toshiba spokesperson Keisuke Ohmori called the report "speculative," while Sony declined to comment.

The rumours had an immediate effect on the stock market--Toshiba's stock fell 0.1 percent to close at ¥782 ($7.17), though during the day the shares had dropped as much as a 1.3 percent, whereas Sony's rose 3.4 percent.

561 Comments

  • THE_WHITE_MAGE

    Posted Jan 23, 2008 12:46 pm PT

    No question about it, Sony will come out on top of this, unlike the Betamax fiasco. They have played their cards exactly right. This in turn will help the PS3 long-term. A part of me knows that as usual Sony is doing things behind the scenes though. This article makes it sound like they let slip the Paramount move, as per their no comment, and we all know Sony's history of altering Wikipedia entries, fake PSP sites, etc. Sony will win, but the real question is do they deserve to???

  • LostSoul1974

    Posted Jan 10, 2008 10:16 am PT

    @ IMDLEGEND: You made some good points on behalf of Sony, I believe.

    I'm a X360 owner & I bought an HD-DVD add-on knowing what could possibly happen (and what slowly, but surely seems to be happening) because I could get into the HD-DVD market for $180. I felt if Blu-Ray were to take over, then I would not have been out too much money & I'd still have something on which to play the movies I already own.

    Now, if Blu-Ray does completely take over, I will not be adverse to getting a Blu-Ray player (in fact I want one anyway, because some movies I want are in that format). I pretty much agree with most of you guys though.....whoever is going to win, go ahead & get it over with. and also, lower the d*man prices of the media!

  • mk_2

    Posted Jan 10, 2008 9:54 am PT

    There is a "Save HD-DVD!" petition @petitiononline.com
    People who prefer HD-DVD should sign their name on it (doubt it would change anything).

    But for people who prefer to have only one format, sign here "Let HD DVD Die" petition.
    http://www.petitiononline.com/HDVDeath/petition.html

    I don't think studios would care about online petition, but it is another place you could voice your opinion. Beside, some of comments there are funny.

  • IMDLEGEND

    Posted Jan 10, 2008 9:52 am PT

    Sony deserves credit for their strategies

    1. owning movie studios, therby guaranting major studio support of blu-ray.

    2. Getting Disney to go Blu-Ray exclusive, since many Disney movies are purchased and not rented. 3. Including Blu-Ray in every PS3, therby committing to a do-or-die strategy.

    When more and more people get HDTV's, and the price of the PS3 continues to decline, it will be seen as a great value having blu-ray built in. It definitely was a lot of risk on sony's side, but it is all paying off now. In my opinion, HD-DVD can only survive if they somehow woo an existing Blu-Ray backer over. This is not likely at this point though. It looks like they got Paramount just in time to stretch things out, but they really needed Warner to seal the deal. Kudos!

  • waniman

    Posted Jan 10, 2008 5:53 am PT

    i do hope the format wars ends real quick. it would be better for all of us to just have one format.

    for movies, theres nothing wrong if EVERYONE jumps on the BluRay bandwagon. that would benefit all of us.

    for games, 360 owners shouldn't be worried. i'm sure developers and publishers alike wouldn't abandon millions who bought the 360, surely they'd do something to tap that market.
    for ps3 owners, rejoice, enjoy the moment and look forward to a bright future.

    peaceout.

  • wars45

    Posted Jan 10, 2008 2:58 am PT

    yes br is ace .ps3isgod

  • sony_is_sony

    Posted Jan 10, 2008 12:21 am PT

    It seems like GAMEOVER for HD-DVD after all ... I heard rumors in gametrailers.com saying that Microsoft will switch to Blu-Ray but for movies not games of course. MS is under Sony's mercy now XD hehehehe.

  • theKSMM

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 10:15 pm PT

    Following on TAEnemy's comment:

    And if either one of these factions think that I'm gonna start paying an average of $25 to $30 for my movies, they're kidding themselves. I still maintain that the first team to produce movies at bargain bin prices (e.g. five to ten dollars) will win.

  • DarkStreetDev

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 9:55 pm PT

    Blu-ray please. My PS3 purchase has been a very smart choice. I suspect BR will win the format war quite soon. If not, HD DVD will die a slow death.

  • rbgixxer750

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 7:21 pm PT

    i guess those hd-dvd fanboys whose have been postings and putting down blu-ray must be kicking themshelves now. and i feel sorry, for those people who spent hella money on those hd-dvd players and movies. sony finally won a format. yup, can't wait for the blu-ray transfomer movie.

  • Valen_Ca

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 7:12 pm PT

    So.....this means that there is still a chance that Michael Bay will stick to his word and not touch Transformers 2 right?

  • dukerock12

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 6:48 pm PT

    this article was proven false like 2 days ago by paramount.

  • ss3zolo

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 6:24 pm PT

    Even if Paramount still sticks with HD-DVD, BLU-RAY WINS!!!

  • FireNForget

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 5:13 pm PT

    HD-DVD dies, Blu-ray discs drop in price, all will be good.

  • LiLEightball

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 4:49 pm PT

    LOL don't you love to hear good things about Bluray and Ps3 same time people always put down BD format and talk about HD so much. No matter who wins but Sony is for real this time (Paramount ) come to the light> BLU-Ray!!!!

  • canuck19

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 4:48 pm PT

    DMC2677 how do you download music off your ps3, can you tell me because i would really enjoy downloading music right through my ps3

  • XanderZane

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 4:13 pm PT

    MC13114N Buying a PS3 turned out to be a very, very smart choice.
    ********************************************************************
    I'm glad I got one so I can play some of the exclusive games. I could care less about Blu-Ray right now. When it's selling more copies of movies then DVD, let me know. In the mean time, my XBox 360 upscales DVD's to 1080p, so really no need for Blu-Ray movies at the moment. =====================================================
    cajunstrike One would hope lessons were learned to avoid future format wars.
    ******************************************************************
    Yes!! Don't dedicate yourself to either format until a clear winner has been made and the winning format is selling more copies then the current dominating format (DVD). You would think people would know this buy now.

  • Sammojo

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 4:13 pm PT

    Funny, I know someone who still blindly supports HD-DVD and they sell these things to people.

  • MC13114N

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 4:01 pm PT

    Buying a PS3 turned out to be a very, very smart choice.

  • taz9024

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 3:48 pm PT

    It may seem like HDDVD is done and Blu-Ray will dominate. I hope that they will at least bring down the price of a blu ray player.

  • Krammin

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 3:39 pm PT

    mmmm PS3 goodness

  • powerframe8

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 3:33 pm PT

    This really sucks for all the morons who thought "oh jeeze, nothing wrong with an HDDVD player dropping to 100 bucks so suddenly! Better go and buy it!" was a good deal. It was more like a phase out. Yall are gonna see alot of sales for HDDVD, probably for 50 bucks too. It wont be bad tho, it could still be used as a higher quality dvd player for all your dvds.

  • knicknut17

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 1:49 pm PT

    By the end of 2008 there will be PLENTY of Blu-Ray movies available to rent at Blockbuster or through Netflix. Again, I need the price of Blu-Ray movies to drop to $25 MAX before I start a Blu-Ray collection.

  • mo52

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 1:30 pm PT

    yessss i'm so glad i got a ps3

  • TAEnemy

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 12:53 pm PT

    Don't be so sure. CDs were supposed to be the same price as tapes when they were phased out. That didn't quite take place.

    If people are paying for it then why change? Movies will become a pain in the ass investment just like the $60 games we have to deal with now.

  • SpAnKaL42069

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 12:36 pm PT

    One thing nice about this is that over time (not right away) the price for a Blu-ray disc will go down to the level of current DVD software. YA!!!!

  • keyser27

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 12:33 pm PT

    @Dewman

    Universal. They are still HDDVD only, and supoosedly Paramount officially still is, though this will probably change really soon.

  • keyser27

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 12:32 pm PT

    Maybe MS will also make a Standalone CD drive. And a device that lets it go 3D. And a... oh sorry. I was thinking Sega with the Genesis. Oops. My mistake. They should keep coming out with peripherals. I'm sure it will be different than what happened to Sega. /sarcasm.

  • DEWMAN08

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 12:28 pm PT

    With Warner Bros. now Paramount, whose left not to support Blu-Ray only?

  • MrArmageddon54

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 11:21 am PT

    i got lucky i got a ps3 for xmas and we already had hd-dvd player so i got no worries lol

  • matrixman2k

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 11:12 am PT

    It can only be a good thing, as i ain't wasted any cash on either yet. I plan to get into it soon along with a nice HDTV... so i'm hoping the so-called battle would come to an end.

    For now the dvds fine.

  • cajunstrike

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 10:51 am PT

    One would hope lessons were learned to avoid future format wars.

  • bozco-mkd

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 10:39 am PT

    Blue ray is amazing but I just want cheaper blue ray films they are a bump in price!
    sorry had to say it.
    braaaaps!

  • CannibalFerox

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 10:00 am PT

    Who didn't see this coming? Microsoft was brilliant by making the Xbox 360 versatile enough to accept both formats. The HD-DVD add-on drive was a toe-in-the-water strategy that will ultimately pay off. It's now almost certain that the next Xbox console will have a Blu-ray drive. I do feel bad for all those who already purchased an HD-DVD player/add-on. I remember being burned in the Betamax/VHS format war - I had the Betamax. Also, I'm still slowly replacing my Laserdisc library with DVD. Slowly, because Blu-ray is clearly the next choice.

  • X-RS posted Jan 9, 2008 9:53 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    X-RS

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 9:53 am PT (hide)

    ill just rip dvds thank you.

  • DMC2677

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 9:11 am PT

    Oh and by the way...flame me if you want to (360 fans) but call me sensible but if I spend $400 or more on a system, I'm not gonna be paranoid about whether it works or not! I did the research and yes the 360 has games that are good and a few great ones but I like franchises that got me into last gen gaming as well as this one (MGS, God of War, DMC, Tekken, etc.) and I like what's coming (KZ2, Haze, LBP, etc...) without including multi-plat's of course.

  • mikewalsh69

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 9:08 am PT

    well sony will be really really really happy. they prob wont care about the money too much but people will forget about beta and stop thinking of sony as a maker of usless formats. and at least it happened early(ish) so millions wont have wasted well millions. congrats sony after 20 years you've done it

  • Timstuff

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 9:07 am PT

    It looks like Universal and Paramount are about to deal the killing blow to HD-DVD.

    http://www.digitalbits.com/#mytwocents

    I say, all for the better. I know that my brother who bought one of those $99 players this Christmas is gonna be PO'd that his player is about to become obsolete, but hey, he's got a real job, and $99 is not the end of the world. Let's just punch in the fatality code and be done with it!

  • DMC2677

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 9:05 am PT

    Does anyone else see the "PS2 Trojan Horse" strategy playing itself out again...? Remember when DVD players were out but no one really had one but most stores were playing DVDs on display in Ps2's and BAM!!!!!!! DVD's took off and sold the console at the same time. Come on...everything in one box, who wouldn't go for that?!?!? Games (PS1 2 and 3 if you have the 80 gig 60 gig or 20 gig, hi def movies and upscale your current DVD's, surf the net with an OS system, on-line gaming, WiFi, swappable HDD, use your own Bluetooth headset to chat, XMB coming soon (see 1up.com), download music, movies, pics, etc...and best of all, reliability!

  • mad_tyger

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 8:57 am PT

    Agermemnon: This is gaming news. PS3 games are made on Blu-Ray discs, this could effect what 360 games are made on too in the future.

  • Agermemnon posted Jan 9, 2008 8:55 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    Agermemnon

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 8:55 am PT (hide)

    Wow more non game news on GAMESPOT ????????????????

  • robx360

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 8:49 am PT

    I got a HD-DVD add on for my elite for christmas. First I think you can some up the war with the movie that comes packed in with it. King Kong sucked bad. I actually was in favor of HD-DVD. But with most film companies going to Blu-ray rather than HD-DVD. Looks I will be forced to follow. Doesn't bother me at all. First off I favor the 360 over the PS3 any day. That is my choice and I am not intending to start a war over the two systems. If microsoft makes a add on for blu ray thats great. Also I think that we are atleast 2 years away from blu ray or hd dvd becoming the #1 medium for the said media. Games are completely different than movies. There are no more sony systems in my house. Though I loved the PS1 and PS2. My point to this is I have plenty of DVD's made by sony. I want the format war to end just so I can play the movies in one player. I think blu ray will prevail. I just hope it's sooner or later.

  • Hvac0120

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 8:39 am PT

    Let the war be over and the high definition glory begin! Finally consumers will be able to be confident that their purchase is worth the price of admission. Too bad for all those people that purchased HD-DVD movies and players. I guess they can still enjoy what they already have.

  • Krazy-K

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 8:35 am PT

    I smell a switch coming! Watch, whether it will be sooner or later, Paramount will switch. I agree with DMC2677, Paramount is pulling the "trojan horse" strategy.

  • DMC2677

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 8:20 am PT

    Game...set....match! of course Paramount's saying they "currently" back HD-DVD! But honestly, the "trojan horse" strategy wins again...(see what PS2 did for DVD's)

  • mrkame16

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 8:03 am PT

    carljohnson3456 limited reading compression skills. Yuck_Too reading compression skills.....question i know what reading comprehension skills are, what are compression skills????

  • carljohnson3456

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 7:42 am PT

    "Yuck_Too LOL...the title of this article is funny...they already shot down the rumor and admit it in this same article. Of course GS knows 95% of their members have limited reading compression skills.

    Paramount has denied that it will be making the move. (second last paragraph)"

    I was thinking the exact same thing.

  • Phazevariance

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 7:12 am PT

    "In the end, one shall stand, and one shall fall."

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