Feb 12, 2007
Author: Paul Heath

I just received this in my inbox from the folks at Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Take a look:

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) today announced the latest additions to its robust Q1 Blu-ray Disc (BD) slate, adding a broad selection of new release and catalogue titles, and many 50GB dual-layer discs, that will be available on store shelves one week prior to the launch of PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3) on March 23 in Europe.

The first 500,000 PS3 owners across Europe to register on the PLAYSTATION® Network will receive a copy of the James Bond blockbuster Casino Royale on a 50GB dual-layer Blu-ray Disc (BD).

Casino Royale, the 5 million worldwide box office smash, hits shelves March 19 in tandem with the 50GB thriller, Layer Cake– giving consumers a double dose of Daniel Craig in high definition. Visionary writer and director Guillermo del Toro’s (Pan’s Labyrinth) Hellboy, a supernatural action adventure based on Mike Mignola's popular Dark Horse Comics series, will make its debut on BD that same day. Stranger Than Fiction, starring writer and producer Will Ferrell as a man whose world gets turned upside down when he begins to hear his life chronicled by a narrator only he can hear, hits shelves on BD April 2 followed by Big Fish, an adventure as big as life itself, starring Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney and Billy Crudup on April 9.

“We are delighted that early purchasers of PS3 in Europe will have the opportunity to experience Blu-ray movies for themselves,” said Matt Brown, Executive Vice-President, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Europe. “Based on the enormous box-office success of Casino Royale worldwide, we’re confident that when consumers experience Bond on the PS3 - they will be hooked.”

Casino Royale includes a collection of added-value features available in 1080P High Definition visual quality, with uncompressed audio features to deliver the best possible audio experience, making it the perfect vehicle to highlight the broader entertainment credentials of the PLAYSTATION 3 system.

“The launch of PLAYSTATION 3 in the U.S. has already had an enormous impact on the marketplace. Blu-ray is outselling HD-DVD two fold in the U.S., resulting in a 700 percent increase in software sales since the mid-November launch,” said David Bishop, President, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

SPHE recently released its first 50GB BD titles in Europe including Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (January 15), Black Hawk Down (January 22) and Click (January 29).

Sony Pictures Animation’s first full-length animated feature, Open Season, starring Ashton Kutcher and Martin Lawrence, launches today (February 12) and marks the debut of the first MPEG-4 AVC encoded BD title from SPHE. New release All The King’s Men, featuring an all-star cast, including Sean Penn and Jude Law, will be available to consumers on March 6.

Catalogue titles also available today include action-adventure comedies A Knight’s Tale starring Heath Ledger and RV featuring Robin Williams. Additional catalogue titles will be available to consumers on March 19 with the release of Kung Fu Hustle, 50 First Dates and XXX.

The PLAYSTATION 3 60GB model will launch in the PAL territories of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Australasia on March 23. The first 500,000 consumers to purchase a PS3 in Europe and register on the PLAYSTATION®Network will be eligible to receive a copy of Casino Royale on Blu-ray Disc. For further details, please visit www.playstation.com

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