Sony Pictures Moves Back Blu-ray Releases to June

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) president Benjamin Feingold today said the studio's first batch of Blu-ray releases will be ready by May 23 as planned, but the release date will be moved back to June 20 in an effort to ensure a more coordinated launch. "The majority of our retail base and hardware partners have requested that we reconsider this date to better coincide with the first commercially available Blu-ray-compatible hardware." Feingold said. The decision to hold off shipping Blu-ray titles to retailers comes a month after Samsung announced its first Blu-ray player wouldn't arrive in stores until June 25. The eight Blu-ray titles scheduled for release on June 20 are 50 First Dates, The Fifth Element, Hitch, House of Flying Daggers, A Knight's Tale, The Last Waltz, Resident Evil Apocalypse and xXx.