Toshiba To Produce Blu-ray Player By Year’s End

It looks like Blu-ray sales are just too big to ignore.

We reported a few weeks ago on the statement by Toshiba President Atsutoshi Nishida that his company was finally considering a jump into Blu-ray production. It seems Mr. Nishida had an ace or two up his sleeve. According to the Daily Yomiuri, a prominent Japanese newspaper, Toshiba will be entering the Blu-ray market before the year is over.

According to their source, Toshiba was reticent to join the Blu-ray team after the failure of HD-DVD, and was in fact working on a new format to try and overtake Blu-ray, but with the market as big as it is, Blu-ray became impossible to ignore.

Expect to see Toshiba Blu-ray players by this holiday season. Recorders on the other hand, will not be part of the new strategy, as Toshiba feels that the demand for Blu-ray recorders is unlikely to increase.