Paramount today quietly informed the world what we all knew was coming soon anyway: Paramount will once again start supporting Blu-ray Disc, abandoning its short-lived HD-DVD exclusivity.
In a statement to the Hollywood Reporter, Paramount said: “We are pleased that the industry is moving to a single high-definition format, as we believe it is in the best interest of the consumer. As we look to (begin) releasing our titles on Blu-ray, we will monitor consumer adoption and determine our release plans accordingly.”
Paramount made the quite vocal change last fall from supporting both Blu-ray and HD-DVD to supporting the HD-DVD format exclusively. Among the most staunch critics of the move was director Michael Bay, the same man responsible for Transformers, one of Paramount’s biggest hits of 2007.
In the light of Toshiba announcing earlier this week that it would cease manufacturing HD-DVD players, Paramount’s announcement was largely expected. It just came a bit earlier and quieter than expected.