The average price of Samsung’s BP-P1400 has risen from $319 to £339 since the beginning of the year. Sony’s BDP S-300 is up from $307 to $404. The Sharp BD-H20U is up from $386 to $400. Panasonic’s DMP-BDM30K is up from $401 to $536.
Prices for Blu-ray players had been dropping through the latter half of 2007, as the battle with HD-DVD raged. Now though, increased consumer demand has put an end to price-cutting. In contrast, HD-DVD players are now selling for little more than $100.
The report comes from TG Daily, which included a warning, suggesting that prices would come down again, “Again, although Blu-ray has been declared the winner, it is right now about the worst time to invest in a standalone Blu-ray player.”
All this is great news for PS3, showing not only consumer demand for Blu-ray, but also highlighting that the games console option is good value in comparison to standalone players.