The reason why Sony is quick to claim victory in the format war

fryet · 03-21-2007, 11:52 AM

Maybe this is obvious to everyone, but I think it is worth stating. If Sony can get people to believe that Blu-ray will eventually win the format war, it will have a major impact on player sales. Consider these 2 types of buyers:

Buyer A: Has decided to buy a player, and is trying to determine which player to buy.
Buyer B: Wants a player, but has decided to wait until the format war is settled so that they be assurred to choose the "winning side".

If Sony can convince Buyer B that Blu-ray will eventually win, Buyer B may get off the sidelines and actually purchase the player. Most Buyers of Type A will be most concerned that the player that they buy will still have a strong library of movies to choose from in the future. If they are convinced that Blu-ray is going to win, then they will tend to select a Blu-ray player, even if HD-DVD is a superior product.

I think you can expect Sony to continue to continue to proclaim themselves as the winner, even though it is very premature to be declaring a winner in the format war. I think it is hurting HD-DVD a lot to be selling half the movies that BR is selling. If this trend continues for much longer (or worsens), people are going to start believing Sony's hype, and the perception will then become reality.

In my opinion, this is what Toshiba needs to do:
1. Make sure that April sales figures show a close format war. Give away free movies as well if they have to. Make sure that Universal releases a lot of new movies in the month of April.
2. Get a $300 stand-alone player out the door by June.
3. Hope that they are right, and the only reason that BR is currently leading is due to PS3 owners redeeming a free movie coupon.
4. If any data starts to show HD-DVD winning, declare themselves the winner. That will cause Buyer A and Buyer B focus more on their product.

**PFC5** · 03-21-2007, 12:10 PM

Good post fryet!

Sony wants to make it a self fulfilling prophecy, but they always do this and more times than not are wrong with their proprietary formats. I think Toshiba has to start giving COUPONS for free movies instead of sending them directly so they will be counted in retail sales numbers like they are for BD. This was a smart move by Sony, and Toshiba needs to take notes.

unotis · 03-21-2007, 12:22 PM

The HD DVD camp has to start advertising the new movies coming out on televison just like Sony does, they need to make it plain that the movie is coming out on DVD and HD DVD. Sony advertises the new movies and coming out on DVD and Blu-Ray, the consumer needs to know there are 2 formats to choose from.

If they realize this and actually look at both of them ,Toshiba will have the leg up with their obvious value and quality over Blu-Ray and will take the lead in the format war. Nobody even the Blu-Ray camp disputes the quality of the Toshiba HD DVD players.

loganhunter200 · 03-21-2007, 12:27 PM

Why are we still discussing the same thing over again. There are so many threads about Sony claiming victory already. Mod, please kill this tread.

fryet · 03-21-2007, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unotis

The HD DVD camp has to start advertising the new movies coming out on televison just like Sony does, they need to make it plain that the movie is coming out on DVD and HD DVD. Sony advertises the new movies and coming out on DVD and Blu-Ray, the consumer needs to know there are 2 formats to choose from.

If they realize this and actually look at both of them ,Toshiba will have the leg up with their obvious value and quality over Blu-Ray and will take the lead in the format war. Nobody even the Blu-Ray camp disputes the quality of the Toshiba HD DVD players.

I think this is one of the advantages that Sony has. Sony owns one of the movie studios in the BR camp, so they are able to tell that studio how to market their product. Toshiba, on the other hand, has to convince Universal to do something which may be harder to do.

You are also correct that Toshiba has released some fine products for HD-DVD this past year. Personally, I had expected it to take Sony longer to beat Toshiba in sales. I first expected them to release a better player, and only then to slowly start to take over the lead in movie sales.

03-21-2007, 11:52 AM	#1
fryet High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Bay Area, CA Age: 38 Posts: 632	The reason why Sony is quick to claim victory in the format war Maybe this is obvious to everyone, but I think it is worth stating. If Sony can get people to believe that Blu-ray will eventually win the format war, it will have a major impact on player sales. Consider these 2 types of buyers: Buyer A: Has decided to buy a player, and is trying to determine which player to buy. Buyer B: Wants a player, but has decided to wait until the format war is settled so that they be assurred to choose the "winning side". If Sony can convince Buyer B that Blu-ray will eventually win, Buyer B may get off the sidelines and actually purchase the player. Most Buyers of Type A will be most concerned that the player that they buy will still have a strong library of movies to choose from in the future. If they are convinced that Blu-ray is going to win, then they will tend to select a Blu-ray player, even if HD-DVD is a superior product. I think you can expect Sony to continue to continue to proclaim themselves as the winner, even though it is very premature to be declaring a winner in the format war. I think it is hurting HD-DVD a lot to be selling half the movies that BR is selling. If this trend continues for much longer (or worsens), people are going to start believing Sony's hype, and the perception will then become reality. In my opinion, this is what Toshiba needs to do: 1. Make sure that April sales figures show a close format war. Give away free movies as well if they have to. Make sure that Universal releases a lot of new movies in the month of April. 2. Get a $300 stand-alone player out the door by June. 3. Hope that they are right, and the only reason that BR is currently leading is due to PS3 owners redeeming a free movie coupon. 4. If any data starts to show HD-DVD winning, declare themselves the winner. That will cause Buyer A and Buyer B focus more on their product.

03-21-2007, 12:10 PM	#2
PFC5 Super Moderator Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 28,385	Good post fryet! Sony wants to make it a self fulfilling prophecy, but they always do this and more times than not are wrong with their proprietary formats. I think Toshiba has to start giving COUPONS for free movies instead of sending them directly so they will be counted in retail sales numbers like they are for BD. This was a smart move by Sony, and Toshiba needs to take notes. __________________ Denon AVR-887 Klipsch RP-5 Pwred Towers (mains) (525 watts peak each 12"Subs) All Klipsch RC-25(ctr),(2)SS1(surr),(2)SS1(rearSurr) Toshiba (2)HD-A20,PS3,BD35 For SACD/DVD-A Samsung HD-841 Panny 50pz80u plasma SETTINGS RCA HD50LPW162 50"DLP w/HD2+ SA 3250HD 47" LCD+Yamaha5790+HD-A1(bedroom) Harmony 680 + (2) 670s (amazing remote/support) Game room with Onkyo receiver & B&W Speakers The_Cable_Game Take the high ground and be happier

03-21-2007, 12:27 PM	#4
loganhunter200 99 is the magic number Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 472	Why are we still discussing the same thing over again. There are so many threads about Sony claiming victory already. Mod, please kill this tread. __________________ F Uuuuuuuuu Toshiba!!!

03-21-2007, 12:22 PM	#3
unotis UNOTIS Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: FLORIDA Age: 54 Posts: 3,347	The HD DVD camp has to start advertising the new movies coming out on televison just like Sony does, they need to make it plain that the movie is coming out on DVD and HD DVD. Sony advertises the new movies and coming out on DVD and Blu-Ray, the consumer needs to know there are 2 formats to choose from. If they realize this and actually look at both of them ,Toshiba will have the leg up with their obvious value and quality over Blu-Ray and will take the lead in the format war. Nobody even the Blu-Ray camp disputes the quality of the Toshiba HD DVD players.