Hitachi Maxell Ltd , a maker of magnetic tape, Mitsubishi Chemical Corp and Mitsubishi Chemical Media Co Ltd said on Tuesday they would team up in developing next-generation optical recording media. High-capacity memory media will replace current products such as recordable and rewritable compact discs and digital versatile discs (DVDs), the companies said, adding that the market for such products is expanding and strong future growth is expected.

The three firms aim to improve efficiency and reduce costs through the collaboration and are in talks to decide details, they said in a joint statement.

Demand for high-capacity memory media has been increasing lately partly because of an increase in downloads of motion pictures, a Mitsubishi Chemical spokesman said. Mitsubishi Chemical Media is a Mitsubishi Chemical subsidiary involved in storage media such as compact discs and DVDs.