darinp on 22 February 2008
damkira said:
"The pivotal decision that led to the end of the hi-def DVD format war was the result of an auction between rivals Sony and Toshiba ..."
According to the same sources I know which have supplied the $500 million or $400 million figures, it was not an auction because Warner told Toshiba that they wouldn't go HD DVD exclusive (even for money) unless Toshiba could get another big studio to switch. Warner wanted to end the war and be on the winning side, which they saw they could if they went with Blu-ray. Without another studio going changing, Warner going to HD DVD exclusively would have been unlikely to end the war anytime soon. Toshiba failed to get another studio to switch and so Warner went to the side that could close the war out quickly. Of course both sides were willing to offer incentives (this is business) but Toshiba wasn't given that option without meeting another requirement. I find it interesting how some people have latched onto Sony giving something to Warner while ignoring the part from the same sources about Warner not allowing Toshiba to just match what Sony offered. Kind of like a star quarterback telling a team that he will only go to them if they can sign a star wide receiver and when they fail to do that, the quarterback signs with the same team the star wide receiver plays for, since the quarterback wants to win championships. The quarterback getting paid doesn't mean it was just a bidding war for his services. --Darin
