MiniDiscs would' ve been the perfect format if it hadn' t been for mp3. I think that Sony didn' t see how big mp3 would become. Still, many people like Minidisc for its high quality sound. I like them because they look cool.
Also, the UMD' s are basically Minidiscs so they might as well count as a single format.
Sony' s Memory Sticks are doing fine, even though it' s not a standard format.
It' s not stupid to try and make a standard format but it' s risky bussiness due to the high development costs.
That' s why Sony is using the PS3 to spread the Blu-ray and even though I dislike the high price of the console I do understand their strategy and I find the PS3 very valuable if you really want a future proof HD-console.
I' m sure there are other companies that have tried and failed with formats too. Just not as many times as Sony.
Personally I believe both HD-DVD and Blu-ray will be good enough to satisfy our needs but I' d prefer a Blu-ray victory, because then Sony can invest more in their future videogame projects.
But whatever, even though UMD or Blu-ray doesn' t become popular or standard they still have the potential to deliver more content on their respective consoles compared to their competitors.
< Message edited by ginjirou -- 26 Aug 06 9:19:18 >