via Next Generation


The share gain was driven by optimism over future sales of Blu-ray players and Sony’s PlayStation 3, which sports an in-built Blu-ray drive, after Toshiba confirmed mounting speculation by announcing it was pulling the plug on its rival HD-DVD business.

William Blair analyst Ralph Shackart told Reuters that Blu-ray’s victory would lead to greater PS3 adoption, likely at the expense of Microsoft’s Xbox 360, which allows users to watch movies in high definition via an HD-DVD drive accessory.

"We believe Blu-ray's victory could drive market share gains for the PS3, as we believe consumers will now be more willing to pay up (versus 360) for the standard Blu-ray player," he said.

Microsoft has said that the death of the HD-DVD movie format won’t hamper an Xbox 360 strategy that's focused on games.

Earlier on Tuesday Sony shares in Tokyo closed up 2.2 percent.