By Lee Pfeiffer
Video Business reports that studios are cutting the prices on Blu-ray DVD releases but retailers are complaining that the prices are still far too high to attract many consumers beyond the die-hard movie fans. With Wal Mart shoving an increasing number of major films of recent vintage into $5 bargain bins, the average consumer simply doesn't see the value of paying up to five times that amount to own the same movie in Blu-ray format -especially when they have to buy a new player as well. Even with recent price decreases, the average Blu-ray release of a new film is $23. Catalog (or vintage) titles average $17 per unit. In challenging economic times like these, studios seem out of touch with consumer needs. Until the recession kicked in, America had the worst personal savings rate in the world: an average of 0% (that's not a joke- Americans spent literally every penny of income they earned). Now, with hard times present, there has been an abrupt turn-around and America's personal savings rate has soared to 7%. While this new emphasis on personal responsibility is encouraging, it means consumers are allocating far fewer dollars for unnecessary expenditures. With jobs hanging by a thread, health care costs soaring and unemployment extensions running out, it doesn't seem like many people just absolutely
have to have the latest Eddie Murphy bomb in Blu-ray. For more
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