February 9^th, 2006 (12:19am) - Sony Pictures is the first movie studio to announce a price tag for Blu-ray Disc movies. The company said today that older Blu-ray Disc titles will sell for $17.95, roughly the same as DVD movies when they hit the market in 1997. New release Blu-ray Disc movies will sell for $23.45, about fifteen percent over what suppliers were charging for new-release DVDs.

"The premium is for a way better format and to remind retailers that at the time we launched DVD, VHS was selling for $55 wholesale in the first window," Benjamin Feingold, president of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment said. "The higher pricing structure for new releases is meant to accommodate the sell-through and rental markets."

DVD-UMD Bundles

Sony also talked about DVD-UMD bundles that will eventually transform into Blu-ray Disc-UMD bundles. Starting on March 28, consumers can buy DVD-UMD combo packs of The Grudge, Resident Evil, Underworld, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Terminator. Each combo is priced at $28.95, a few dollars more than Sony typically charges for a new DVD. Sony typically charges $24.96-$26.96 for new DVD releases, while titles new to UMD generally list for $19.95.

"With the launch of Blu-ray, we’re going to try to introduce the managed-copy concept, where if you buy Blu-ray you’ll be able to get additional versions (of the same title) to use in your home," Feingold said.

"Ultimately, we might even get to the point where we’ll offer consumers the ability to have different versions of the same movie on different devices in the home -- that’s something we’re working on."

"A lot of people have DVD players and also have PSPs, and this way for one price they can get one movie and play it back on both formats," Feingold said.

No mention was made however on the pricing of Playstation 3 Games. As of right now rumors indicate Sony will strike for the jugular with a price tag of $80.00 per game. However taking what we now know into account if they continue with a 15% markup then games would be roughly about 46, 57.50, or even 69 dollars. Only time will tell, keep your browser marked on Gamersmark for more as it breaks.