Following up on the story of Wal-mart and Best Buy teaming up with Toshiba to offer a $99 HD-DVD player for sale in an effort to strike a blow in the format war, reports are coming in that 90,000 units went out the door.
Videobusiness: HD DVD set-top player $99 sales moves units
Videobusiness: HD DVD set-top player $99 sales moves units
The HD DVD format significantly pumped its installed base over the weekend, as dueling store clearances sold an estimated 90,000 Toshiba players, according to sources close to retailers.
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That tally covers Friday to Sunday sales of Toshiba’s second-generation HD-A2 model, which Wal-Mart and Best Buy sold for about $99 on Nov. 2. That’s $200 less than Toshiba’s $299 list price and $100 off widespread retail pricing of $199.
The $99 players made up most of the 90,000 units sold, a source said.
Within three days, Toshiba corralled nearly as many sales as the best-selling stand-alone Blu-ray Disc player has sold since its launch. Sony’s dominant Blu-ray set-top, the $499 BDP-S300, has shipped about 100,000 since it bowed this summer.
It was a dirty Hail Mary ploy that reeked of desperation, but it appears to have been a winner.
Will this tip the format war's teeter-totter in HD-DVD's favor for good? Maybe.
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2 comments:
I believe one of the main driving factors in the massive price drop was to get rid of old inventory so that the newest-generation players would be stocked on shelves in time for the holiday season. But I could be wrong!
You are absolutely right Christine, and I said as much myself too.
It looks like it did a great job of both cleaning up stale inventory and increasing HD-DVD's installed base. On the other hand, selling on price vs. value is a slippery slope. HD-DVD now needs those same bargain hunters who would pay $99 when they wouldn't pay $199-299 to now shell out $25 for a disc instead of $10. Will the installed base follow through?
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