As of this afternoon, the Blu-ray version of Casino Royale ranked #9 on Amazon's sales chart, while the pan&scan DVD version ranked #10. As far as I know, this represents some significant firsts for either of the HD disc formats -

- first time a HD disc title has cracked the top 10
- first time a HD disc title has outsold a DVD version of the same release

http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers...868458-8730468

This might be the sign that HD has come of age, and a sign that Blu-ray at least will survive for the foreseeable future. I'd been reading a lot of chatter on other sites that Casino Royale would be the big breakthrough title for Blu-ray and HD disc viewing in general. While Amazon does not represent the entire market, a top 10 ranking for a HD title certainly supports that view.

Seems that with the Blu-ray version (for now at least) outselling the pan&scan DVD version on Amazon, you got two markets going in opposite directions. It took a while, but it looks like the days are finally numbered for the butchered P&S/"Full Screen" DVDs. It wasn't all that long ago that major outlets like Wal-Mart and Blockbuster flat out would not carry widescreen titles if a P&S version was also available, and it took a letter writing campaign to finally convince Blockbuster to start supporting widescreen.

At this juncture, considering that the Blu-ray format has only been around for less than a year, it's quite a milestone for a concurrent Blu-ray release to break into the top 10 overall, and rank ahead of a P&S DVD version.

In the coming weeks, Blu-ray will also have concurrent releases for The Pursuit of Happyness and Night at the Museum, which could create similar sales momentum for the format.