Sony's at it again with regard to proprietary formats. This time their forced "standard" is Blu-Ray. You'd think they would have learned something from the humiliating defeat VHS dealt Betamax. Sony's big attempt to penetrate the market for high definition players is its Playstation 3 gaming console, but even that can't save this moribund format. Adding Blu-Ray drives to the PS3 has held up production and inflated the already high price by a few hundred dollars. Meanwhile HD-DVD is supported by the X-Box 360 (which is already firmly entrenched in homes) via an add-on drive, and the Nintendo Wii generates buzz with innovative gameplay and networking.
Sony also includes exclusionary provisos in its licensing agreements, stating that players that wish to support Blu-Ray cannot play back HD-DVDs. It's this type of pettiness that only hurts consumers who want dual-format players. Some have said both technologies are doomed to failure, but I don't think that's so. Even with the increase in digital downloads, no one really has space to save a bunch of high definition movies. People are collectors, so I think good ol' optical media still has a lot of years left. From what I hear the Blu-Ray transfers are half-assed, and there are tons more titles available on HD-DVD (HD-DVD certainly has more presence on retail shelves).
I don't think we'll be seeing Blu-Ray much longer. At least I hope not.
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