In what has been a slightly misconstrued announcement by a large proportion of the media, US store chain Target has apparently chosen its side in the Blu-ray and HD DVD wars. Initial reports suggested that the deal meant that Target would be stocking only Blu-ray, but the actual deal, as reported by Forbes, isn’t quite so clear-cut. What Target has actually stated is that it will be stocking no stand-alone HD DVD players, so the Xbox 360 HD DVD player stays and HD DVDs are still available. Further to that it will still be possible to buy a Toshiba player online.
Still, even this is a pretty huge move, especially in addition to Blockbuster picking Blu-ray and that format’s alleged dominance over HD DVD in disc sales. Of course, as the HD DVD Promotional Group says, there’s a difference between stocking players and selling them, and HD DVD does claim to have the edge on that front. While this news won’t directly affect the UK immediately, it does draw us ever slightly closer to finally seeing one format or the other come out on top – well, maybe.
story: Hugo Jobling
