You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here
The ongoing discussion over the unification of the rival formats, HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, appears to be over with no agreement having been reached.
Speaking to Nikkei Electronics, Ken Kutaragi, Sony Computer Entertainment president, said that talks between Sony and Toshiba were at an end. The negotiations, over a unified format, began in February, but it appears neither company was willing to make any sacrifices to their format. Sony’s Blu-Ray has the edge when you look at it purely based on capacities, with 50GB compared to HD-DVD’s 30GB. Toshiba believed that the lower production costs associated with HD-DVD meant they had the edge over Blu-Ray.
In the end it would appear that it will be up to the major movie studios and consumers to decide which format wins the war. HD-DVDs are planned to be released later this year in North America with backing from several major movie studios and look set to get a head start on Blu-Ray. This is not the end, though, as the PlayStation 3 will have a Blu-Ray drive which will no doubt help boost sales of Blu-Ray format media as the PlayStation 2 did with DVDs.
About the Author
