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Europe has bought 2.37 million Blue-ray disks since the format went on sale in 2006, achieving the landmark figure faster than it took standard DVD to when it first appeared in 1997.
The news comes just three months after the format broke the one million European sales mark in November last year.
Blu-ray sales accounted for 79 per cent of all HD disk sales over the last year in the region, leaving the rapidly faltering HD-DVD format trailing behind with 21 per cent of sales.
The flagship Blu-ray title over the Christmas period was Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End which achieved nearly 100,000 units, closely followed by Simpsons: the Movie and Casino Royale.
“News from Warner Bros at CES last month caught the headlines but what this news proves is that the tipping point in the format war in Europe happened several months prior to CES and the tide has been running strongly in favour of Blu-ray Disc for many months,” commented Frank Simonis, Chairman of the BDA European Promotions Committee. “Our challenge now is to move Blu-ray Disc into the mainstream. As a format, Blu-ray Disc is proving more attractive then even DVD-Video at the same time in its development.
