Here's a longer version of what we're running in the paper.
The idea of creating a home theater takes a big leap forward with the introduction of
high-definition movie disc players this year. But because of a lingering war over what format
the discs use, it's not worth diving into the market yet.
The simple advice is to stay on the sidelines and hope for the war to end soon so you don't
run the risk of buying something that will be a dead end. But the reality is more complex than
that, and you may be forced to take sides even if you really don't want to.
Until this year, buying a DVD player was simpler since DVDs came in only one format (that
was not the best high-definition).
But now, the battle between Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs at the
dawn of high-definition video players is just like the VHS-Betamax war in the early days of
the VCR. If you're buying a PlayStation 3, you're already voting for Blu-ray. If you're buying
a Toshiba laptop, you're likely going to be voting for HD-DVD, though Toshiba has models with
regular DVDs.
Dean Takahashi, 02:21 PM in ,
My take on these numbers: At this rate, Microsoft isn't going to hit its goal of 10 million units by year end. (They have repeatedly said they will). This forecast is also already downsized from the comments that they would sell 10 million by the time that Sony sold its first console.
Microsoft barely beat out Nintendo's Wii here, even though the Wii is supply constrained and the Xbox 360 is not.
Sony's number is consistent with its warnings, but 197,000 is worse than what many expected. Will they hit the target of 1 million sold by year end?
Doesn't look good for them either.
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