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Originally Posted by DVD Polizei
I have to agree with GizmoDVD. Price is going to be a major factor if Criterion wants to sell Blu-ray titles outside of their fan club.
As far as perception, I know dozens of people who collect movies and who I consider typical movie collectors--not really dedicated but have a humble collection--and yet have never heard of them. Blu-ray won't add to any perception because Blu-ray owners to begin with weren't holding out for Criterion--they were holding out for the larger studios like WB and Universal. It's great Criterion is offering Blu, but let's switch this around a little.
If Critierion announced they were going Blu before Warner Brothers announced their Blu announcement back in January, how many of us would have said, "Holy shit! Criterion is going Blu! Well, that's it. Game over man. I'm going Blu."
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While Criterion prices on DVD can be considered nuts ($40 for a title very few have ever heard of while Step Up 2 is $15), in Blu-ray land, if they do price their Blu-rays at their typical DVD rate, they would be (sadly) on the same level as Fox. Those already use to Criterion prices won't bat an eye at spending the same amount for the Blu-ray if they do in fact have the player.
But there are a few factors here. To those that actually collect Criterion's (and there are, they buy every release), will they suddenly stop DVD and buy Blu-ray? Or buy both DVD and Blu-ray copies? Even if they buy a Blu-ray player, will they buy the other studio films?
I'm in the camp of Criterion won't make a lick of difference. A smaller studio like Weinstein or Anchor Bay has a better shot of selling more discs then Criterion ever will on Blu considering their catalog appeals more to the current Blu-ray demographic. Now, that may change in the coming months/years, but right now, The Mist or Evil Dead II has a much better chance of selling more titles then even one of the most requested to-do Criterion's in the past ten years, Bottle Rocket. But that's just one mans opinion.
As for Criterion going Blu before Warner...I don't see why they would have picked either side. I can't imagine they would care about online functions or gimmicky games and whatnot. They simply want to give film buffs the chance to own a unique movie. You can argue for both formats though...Blu had a 50GB disc (more space = more extras on the same disc), HD DVD had combo (a way to still collect DVDs but get an HD DVD version as well).