TechSpot - PC Technology News and Analysis

While still dwarfed by DVD sales, the Blu-ray format is definitely starting to pick up some slack. According recent figures, sales of Blu-ray media have nearly doubled in just a few months, rising to roughly 9 million discs sold in the previous quarter. That's a steep increase from the last quarter of 2008, when the Blu-ray format managed to move about 4.8 million units. Those discs are all estimated to have landed themselves somewhere in the homes of 10.5 million Blu-ray player owners. Given the sales figures of the PS3 in the U.S., that would seem to indicate the console makes up the bulk of Blu-ray capable devices currently.

Blu-ray's stumbling blocks aside, the format does not appear to be failing. DVD adoption was slow as well. The initial high cost of Blu-ray players didn't help any. It was last year that the prices really began to come down, so it would make sense that this year will be the first in which respectable sales figures are seen. To really reach critical mass, however, you'll still need a player that is in the same price bracket as a standalone DVD player.