Blu-ray Alert: Is This It for Blu-ray?

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment expects Michael Jackson’s This Is It to help drive Blu-ray sales off the wall.

It’s being released here on March 3 in three HD editions: a standard case, a steelbook and a deluxe box set.

In an interview with DVD Industry, Sony’s Australian home video chief, Kim Overall, cites It, along with 2012 (March 17), New Moon (April 30) and the 3D version of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, as opportunities to boost Blu-ray sales in this market, which lags behind Australia.

Overall partly attributes this to pricing, which is not surprising given Sony’s Blu-ray titles are some of the most expensive.

While Sony was one of the first to push the HD format, it has been Warner Home Video and, ironically, given it originally backed HD-DVD, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment that have aggressively priced the product, with the latter next month launching one of its biggest re-promotions yet.

Watch for great deals on titles that have been released within only the last few months, including the chance to buy The Bourne Trilogy separately for $30 each.