It’s become perfectly clear how Blu-ray will squash HD DVD and win the ‘war.’ They’re going to be giving away five free movies as a promotion in Q3 when you purchase a Blu-ray player or PS3. I don’t think HD DVD can afford to let this one slide (though they ran a similar promotion a while back). They’ve got 60-90 days to turn things around or they’ll be closing up shop. Toshiba may have an entry-level player for $299, but the five free movies bundled into the promotion discounts any Blu-ray player $100-$150. That’s pretty sneaky, Sony. But during a war I suppose you do whatever it takes.
UPDATE:Hit the jump for a list of movies
The five movies will come from a list of 21 titles, including choices like Pearl Harbor, Black Rain, Underworld, and Transporter 2. The complete list has not been officially announced, but according to marketing materials seen by Ars Technica, other movies included in the promotion are:
* The Guardian
* Babel
* Invincible
* Chicken Little
* Corpse Bride
* Blazing Saddles
* Kiss of the Dragon
* The Phantom of the Opera
* The Devil’s Rejects
* The Italian Job
* The Last Waltz
* The Omen (2006)
* Stealth
* Invincible
* Resident Evil: Apocalypse
* Species
* Hart’s War
* Stir of Echoes
* Underworld: Evolution
BD Association to offer five free BD movies with sales of BD players or PS3 [Digi Times]