There is a good precedent for Blu-ray -- Sony's PlayStation 2, currently the dominant game console with more than 106 million sold, helped push the standard DVD format. The PS2 came to market in 2000, about three years after the DVD was first launched.

"We think the same will happen with the PS3 and Blu-ray," Parsons said.

In the gaming console war this holiday season, Sony's PS3, priced at around US$600, faces two main competitors in Microsoft Corp's Xbox 360 at around $400 and Nintendo Co Ltd's Wii for about $250.

Microsoft recently added an optional HD-DVD player and began offering full-length film and TV downloads in high-definition via its Xbox Live online gaming service.

Mark Knox, a spokesman for the HD-DVD consortium, said offering HD-DVD as an add-on was an important distinction.