After years of talk and an abortive attempt at aligning with its rivals in the HD-DVD camp, Sony and its partners will launch their first Blu-ray players and Blu-ray Disc (BD) software titles in late May. Samsung will be first out of the gate with Blu-ray hardware, followed by Sony and Pioneer. BD movies that will ship on May 23 include 50 First Dates, The Fifth Element, Hitch, House of Flying Daggers, A Knight’s Tale, The Last Waltz, Resident Evil: Apocalypse and XXX. What, no Hudson Hawk? More BD titles are expected throughout the remainder of the year, Sony says, with prices ranging from $29.99 to $39.99 per movie, depending on the films' age. That's about a $10-to-$15 premium over comparable DVD movies, so it's unclear how quickly consumers will jump on board. Factor in the incompatible HD-DVD format, also launching this year, albeit at lower prices, and you have the makings of a real fiasco. Let the format wars begin
