Futuresource Consulting is forecasting the sale of almost 12 million Blu-ray players this year; and that's not including the Sony PlayStation 3 console, which has a Blu-ray player built-in.

The UK-based research company says that things are already on track to reach its projection of 1.2 million Blu-ray units sold in the first quarter of 2009. "In last year's crucial Q4 period," reminds Jack Wetherill, Research Consultant at Futuresource, "three million Blu-ray players were shipped globally, which represented more than 50 per cent of the total for the year." Futuresource predicts that, despite the economy, this year's fourth-quarter will see more than six million Blu-ray players ship.

"Dramatic" price reductions will help to fuel interest in the technology: Wetherill expects price tags to drop by 25% during the year. "In the last quarter of 2008, average retail prices for standalone Blu-ray players fell by 15% in most major markets," he adds.

Of course the growing list of Blu-ray disc titles will also encourage mass consumer adoption of the technology. Futuresource has already predicted that we'll see the sale of 100 million Blu-ray discs this year in the U.S., Western Europe, and Japan alone.

Also helping to drive adoption of the format will be new promotional efforts surrounding high-definition viewing; and 3D technology, which is just coming to the forefront of the early-adopter phase.

"We'll see Blu-ray continue to gather momentum in all major markets across the globe," says Wetherill.

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