What in the hell is Sony doing?!?

[coogrfan]

Nevermind the PS3, the really interesting part of the article is further down:

Quote:

Sony is engaged in the format-war with Toshiba, which produces the HD DVD discs and the adjacent player. In a move that seems to be a reminiscent of the Betamax-VHS war from the ’70 and the ’80, Sony declared that it will not provide any help to the adult film industry for their movies on its proprietary Blu-ray disc format, although the company will not try to stop them completely. The Japanese electronics behemoth will not permit its disc replicating subsidiary, Sony DADC, to handle adult film titles. It appears that in markets where Sony has operations around the world it won't duplicate any movies above a certain rating or that have not been certified by a local motion picture association. This has determined the porn industry (which cumulates revenues in US that top NBA and NFL revenues combined) to adopt the HD DVD as their next optical format for movies.

What is it they say? "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it", or something like that.

Talk about shooting yourself in the foot. Sony is currently way ahead in the format war, so what do they do? Throw the opposition a potential lifeline.

Dumb, dumb move.

[bkfount]

porn is already out for bluray...

[CaptainZombie]

Quote: Originally Posted by bkfount

porn is already out for bluray...

Thats what I thought.

[coogrfan]

Quote: Originally Posted by bkfount

porn is already out for bluray...

You're missing the point, guys.

Quote:

Sony wouldn't disclose exactly where it draws the line concerning the adult rating, but the rule means that adult movie makers will have to find someone else to reproduce their films in bulk. While other companies offer such services, the adult industry feels it is being cut out of the Blu-ray camp altogether. Several adult film companies said the issue is not just gaining access to the "replicators" that reproduce their movies in bulk, but that they also can't get help with technical issues from the companies backing Blu-ray Disc.

This is exactly the same mistake Sony made during the VHS-Betamax format war back in the 70's-80's. You could find porn in both formats back then too, but Sony's refusal to officially license adult films caused the adult industry to focus it's efforts on the VHS format. The result was that VHS emerged as the winner, and the Betamax (in spite of a clear advantage in picture quality) went the way of the 8-track cassette.

At least back then Sony had an excuse, no one had any real idea how profitable the adult film industry would become. They'll have no such excuse this time.

[CaptainZombie]

Quote: Originally Posted by coogrfan

You're missing the point, guys. This is exactly the same mistake Sony made during the VHS-Betamax format war back in the 70's-80's. You could find porn in both formats back then too, but Sony's refusal to officially license adult films caused the adult industry to focus it's efforts on the VHS format. The result was that VHS emerged as the winner, and the Betamax (in spite of a clear advantage in picture quality) went the way of the 8-track cassette. At least back then Sony had an excuse, no one had any real idea how profitable the adult film industry would become. They'll have no such excuse this time.

You make some valid points. But here in 2007, people are finding many different avenues of getting porn these days instead of "physical" medium or more so "virtual" via the net. Yes, there are those that aren't tech savvy which will run out to get their porn on DVD. This is where it will hurt BD to a degree as this format war is still in the baby stages and I don't see people running out to spend $35-$50 a HD-DVD porn disc. Again I could be wrong here.

[utexas]

It could be an ethics/morality decision to not help the adult industry.

[coogrfan]

Quote: Originally Posted by utexas

It could be an ethics/morality decision to not help the adult industry.

Possibly so, and if that is the case I can to some extent sympathize. But morality aside, when you look at it from a purely business pov it's just not smart.

[stiffarmleft]

Quote: Originally Posted by candyman56

You make some valid points. But here in 2007, people are finding many different avenues of getting porn these days instead of "physical" medium or more so "virtual" via the net. Yes, there are those that aren't tech savvy which will run out to get their porn on DVD. This is where it will hurt BD to a degree as this format war is still in the baby stages and I don't see people running out to spend $35-$50 a HD-DVD porn disc. Again I could be wrong here.

Back in the day VHS porn was more expensive than regular movies. I remember looking through the Adam & Eve catalog and seeing movies for $50. I agree that most pervs, me included, have made the switch to internet porn so this will not be as big a blow to bluray. Excuse me while I go back to my real doll.