Heise Online, a German IT website, is reporting that during a press conference, representatives from Pioneer announced that Universal will break their exclusivity agreement with HD DVD. This would allow Universal, the only large studio exclusively supporting HD DVD, to freely distribute their movies on Blu-ray. It is important to note that this announcement has not yet been confirmed by Universal.
It has long been speculated that Universal was receiving monetary compensation for being an exclusive HD DVD studio. This announcement would signal that they have decided to forgo the compensation in order to release titles on Blu-ray. Most would agree that this move would effectively end the war, and no matter what side you support, a single HD format is the best long term solution.
Keep watching this space, and we'll update the story as needed.
