Sony Plans Int'l Blu-Ray Launch for Oct

Sony plans to begin rolling out Blu-ray discs this Fall internationally to coincide with the launch of hardware in those regions, the company said Thursday. Sony says that pricing of discs would be similar to those of standard DVD discs in their respective territories at launch.

Among the countries that Sony plans to launch BD in include Australia, Japan, Korea, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Holland, the Nordic countries, Spain and the United Kingdom. Rollouts of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment titles would begin in October of this year.

Movies to be released at that time Hitch, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, RV, The Fifth Element, Hostel, A Knight's Tale, S.W.A.T., Tears of the Sun, Underworld Evolution and Ultraviolet among others, the company said.

"We stand behind the superiority of Blu-ray as the preeminent high-definition optical disc format and are committed to delivering a strong slate of Blu-ray titles to entertainment enthusiasts worldwide," SPHE President David Bishop said.

Sony's Blu-ray is involved in a fierce battle with Toshiba's HD DVD. Both formats have already launched in the United States, and are now planning international deployments. Intital sales numbers are not available, although polls indicate that a large number of home entertainment enthusiasts are sitting it out until a clear winner is crowned.