Toshiba Quits HD DVD; Format War Over
I was on the elevator heading to work and I saw a quick news splash on the “elevator news update” that Toshiba has pulled out of the HD DVD business. This is no shock considering all of the studios, retail outlets and online rental companies that suddenly decided to join Blu-ray.
“This was a very difficult decision to make … but when we thought about the trouble we would cause to consumers and our partners, we decided it was not right for us to keep going with such a small presence,” Toshiba Chief Executive Atsutoshi Nishida told a news conference.
It’s no surprise how I felt about a Blu-ray win after my article Format Wars was posted in Truth Serum. However, I hope that this leads to cheaper Blu-ray players outside of the PS3. And I’m also curious to see if Microsoft sticks to its statements of supporting the winning format no matter which was victorious. Could a Blu-ray add-on be in the near future for Xbox 360 owners?
February 19th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
…this is the way the world ends….
Well, for those that have HD-DVD players….one small, but sad positive note is that you probably will be able to pick-up HD-DVDs real cheap as stores get rid of their stock.
February 19th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
“so what happens to all my 360 games now that Blu-ray won?”
February 19th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
DjDATZ…..they continue to work fine since they were DVD9 discs.
February 19th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
and thats why i did not buy a hd dvd player but i do hope the go blu ray cause then i will buy that
February 19th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
I’m just glad that this “war” is over. But I am hesitant to switch my library over to Blu-Ray considering how soon an all digital distribution system will be the industry standard…
February 19th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
@DjDatz, lol, I’ve seen a few comments around, (all who think dj is not to bright, note the “quotation marks”)
February 19th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
Well good for Sony. As for me I DON’T CARE! The formats are just the same except one has more space. If the 360 was using the HD-DVD format for games I would be more interested but it’s not. Why should it manner to me as a gamer? I have more games than movies and don’t have a HDTV. Sony did a good job of standing tall during the war. Now only they can do something about this console war? LOL
February 20th, 2008 at 7:46 am
I am not buying blu-ray unless I am ablsolutely forced to. There was no difference between the two…
It sad that Sony was loosing the console wars so they had to pay off studios to switch to thier format…
February 20th, 2008 at 8:07 am
people will see what no competition does. it was competition that led to the BR camp including features that HD DVD had…it was competition that got BR players to lower prices (although still expensive).
however, now…what’s the motivation? oh yeah i get it..”they’re looking out for the consumers” lol
February 20th, 2008 at 9:02 am
Thanks for the icon update. Add the luck one also when you get around to it.