Sony to launch Blu-Ray titles on June 20 in the markets

Consumer electronics giant Sony would be delivering its first seven titles in the high-definition Blu-ray format through its Sony Pictures Home Entertainment division.

The launch is scheduled for June 20 and it would coincide with the launch of the first commercially available Blu-ray DVD player from Samsung Electronics. Sony is also scheduled to launch a Blu-ray-compatible PC on this date.

A lot is at stake for Sony with this launch. They have invested a lot on this format and they need a mega launch to provide a decent challenge to the HD DVD format. Toshiba’s HD DVD format based players and digital content is already available in the market and has found a lot of interested buyers.

Now it is Sony who has to prove that Blu-Ray is indeed better than its rival format. The launch would also provide some hint on how the consumer market would react to the launch of the Sony Playstation 3 gaming console, which would ship with a Blu-Ray drive. It would be a lot messy for the company if the format fails in the market.

Some of the titles to come out on June 20 are “50 First Dates,” “The Fifth Element,” “Hitch” and the “House of Flying Daggers.”