Blu-Ray: Sony's biggest blunder?
The big Hollywood studios aren't embracing the Blu-Ray format for high-def DVD disks. Instead, they're lining up behind the HD-DVD alternative. And that could mean disaster for Sony, which is putting Blu-Ray in its PlayStation 3 game machine. Indeed, this is the main reason the machine will cost about $600.
Sony's PlayStation 2 was a gamble too. It incorporated standard DVD at a time when hardly anyone had the technology. That time, the gamble worked, and the PS2 helped DVD movies replace videotapes. But this time, there are two contending standards. By picking Blu-Ray, Sony made a huge bet that it can ill afford to lose. But it might just lose anyhow.