This is Part II in the spotanime.com multi-part series, “HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray: Consumers In The Crossfire,” dealing with studio support and what it all means to consumers.

The high definition wars are in full swing, and gamers and videophiles alike are caught in the crossfire. CES has come and gone, and the consensus is Blu-Ray winning the battle in the still-undecided war. With all the talk about studio neutrality, “will studio [X] support format [Y]“, and whatnot, it would be a good exercise to find out exactly how the format war got to this point, try to figure out why certain studios side with one format over another, and the future of high definition media.

Author’s Note: Well, I was going to write a segment about which studios support what formats, and what kind of effect and influence those would have on consumer sentiment, but in my procrastination I found a much better written article by Bill Hunt on The Digital Bits which sums up the entire format ware with a pinch of common sense. Let me sum up a few choice paragraphs:

Let’s look at these simple facts: Of the 12 major and mini-major Hollywood studios (Fox, Disney, MGM, Sony, Lionsgate, Paramount, New Line, HBO, Warner Bros, Universal, DreamWorks and The Weinstein Company) 9 support Blu-ray, 5 of them exclusively. Only 6 support HD-DVD, just 2 of them exclusively (one studio, DreamWorks, remains uncommitted). Not counting computer hardware or budget brands, Blu-ray Disc has 9 major set-top hardware manufacturers behind it (Sony, Pioneer, Samsung, Philips, Panasonic, LG, Mitsubishi, Thomson, Sharp), while HD-DVD boasts just two (Toshiba and now LG). HD-DVD is an add-on to Microsoft’s Xbox 360, while Blu-ray is built into EVERY Sony PlayStation 3. Nielsen VideoScan is reporting that in software sales, Blu-ray has virtually erased the sales lead enjoyed by HD-DVD since the formats were launched, and is now outselling HD-DVD by a 2 to 1 (and growing) margin.

The cheap players thing is worth addressing here. The reality is, price sensitivity isn’t an issue in the first year or so of any new format. It’s mostly just the early adopters who are interested at that point anyway. By the time a wider consumer base is starting to get interested, 2nd and 3rd generation players have entered the market and they’re inevitably cheaper. What surprised me most at CES is just how aggressively the HD-DVD camp seems to be trying to drive their format’s hardware prices as low as possible by bringing off-brand Asian manufactures into their fold. The arrival of ultra-cheap $100 and $50 players in the DVD industry is what spelled the end of DVD hardware profitability for the major CE manufacturers. So why INVITE this situation before your format is even a year old? It makes no business sense that I can see, unless it’s a desperation play – a last ditch effort not to lose.

Meanwhile, Newsweek magazine has posted an interesting story recently that has relevance to the HD format war. The piece indicates that the adult film industry is in the middle of its worst software sales slump in years, in part impacted by the sheer volume of free adult content available online. That would stand in sharp contrast to the notion that the adult industry is powerful enough to influence the HD-DVD/Blu-ray format war. In fact, despite the free content that’s already online, industry analysts see the most profitable part of the porn market moving from DVD directly to the Internet… bypassing HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc entirely. Several adult producers have told us here at The Bits that the ultimate goal is to deliver high-definition adult content directly to computers and DVRs via broadband, without any physical media involved.

And the most brutaly honest statement one could make about the format war:

I think Stephen Colbert said it best when predicting the future of the HD format war: “The winner will be the one you DON’T buy.”

True, true. I think I’m going to buy myself a Blu-ray player now and stop tormenting myself that my other favorite movies aren’t on HD-DVD. In the meantime, I encourage everyone to skip over to The Digital Bits and read Bill’s article in full.

Well played, Sony…well played.