With a week to go before its dual-format high-def release, pre-orders for 'Planet Earth: The Complete BBC Series' have broken new ground on Amazon's top sellers list. Meanwhile, recent Amazon rankings appear to indicate a turnaround in HD DVD sales.
'Planet Earth' has been Amazon's most ordered high-def release on both formats for a while now, but this past weekend saw it hit new heights on Amazon's overall list of top selling DVDs, with the HD DVD edition topping out at #4, while the Blu-ray edition hit a high of #17 in the same timeframe.
The unusually strong Amazon sales for 'Planet Earth' exceed even the famously high levels set by the 'Casino Royale' Blu-ray, which ultimately hit a high of #7 on the Amazon chart shortly after its release last month.
But while it should be emphasized that the Amazon chart represents Amazon sales only and isn't necessarily indicative of the market as a whole, these strong numbers for 'Planet Earth' (and for the HD DVD edition in particular) are noteworthy none the less.
First off, while some pointed to 'Royale' on Blu-ray as an anomaly, arguing that the disc's high sales numbers were more a function of the film's appeal and accessibility to the PlayStation 3 audience, 'Planet Earth's strong sales on both formats would appear to indicate otherwise. Not only isn't the disc a gamer-friendly action spectacular like 'Royale' (although it's sure to boast some stunning visuals), but the multi-disc set carries a relatively steep Amazon price of $69.95, compared to more accessibly-priced single disc Blu-ray edition of 'Royale' at $26.95.
Secondly (and perhaps of most interest to industry-watchers and early adopters alike) the strong sales for 'Planet Earth' on HD DVD coincide with what would appear to be an impressive sales recovery for HD DVD -- at least as measured by Amazon.
