Although the price of standalone Blu-ray players have dropped enough to interest casual consumers, the slumping economy has limited how much extra money is being spent on entertainment.
Despite Amazon Video on Demand and similar streaming services coming bundled with Blu-ray players, retailers are nervous that more consumers are willing to hold back on purchasing electronics.
Adams Media Research believes Blu-ray player sales this year will double when compared to 2008's total sales -- around 2.7 million -- and believe it will be near 5 million sold, which is 5 to 10 percent lower than what other analyst groups believed.
"Consumer electronics are nice t have, but they aren't something that people need to have," according to David Workman, Pro Group executive director. "These are discretionary purchases. Blu-ray is a great forward technology. But if consumers can delay making a purchase, they are going to. My expectations for Blu-ray are that the business will increase year over year, but I don't know if it will meet everyone's projections for it."
Blu-ray manufacturers have strived to try and create lower-cost players, but right as it looked like consumers were finally hopping on the Blu-ray bandwagon, the economy began to soften. To combat the economy, Sony, Samsung and Panasonic are releasing cheaper Blu-ray players with additional features that wouldn't have been available last summer.
However, as more people begin to switch over from analog to new flat-screen TVs, it's possible Blu-ray player sales will be able to increase in the coming months. The cost of Blu-ray movies -- which were priced significantly over regular DVDs -- have finally dropped enough to attract new consumers.
