Blu-ray DVDs struggling despite support

WASHINGTON, May 24 (UPI) -- Blu-ray DVDs and DVD players are struggling to sell across the United States despite being tabbed as the replacement for average DVDs, analysts say.

Analysts said while Blu-ray was dubbed as the heir apparent in the high-definition DVD war with the HD DVD format, Blu-ray sales in 2008 have actually declined at some points, The Washington Post reported Saturday.

U.S. sales of Blu-ray player dropped 40 percent from January to February before rebounding slightly in March with a 2 percent increase, the research firm NPD Group said.

Yet Blu-ray Disc Association spokesman Andy Parsons has maintained that such drops in Blu-ray sales were simply due to a lack of available players.

"There was a sudden increase in demand when there was a sudden decrease in supply," he told the Post.

Analysts have blamed Blu-ray's apparent struggles on a lack of marketing by retailers and on consumers' reluctance to spend money on a product that may soon be a loser in the high definition war.