Technically it wasn't so much a war as it was a one-sided beatdown, the equivalent of a major power invading Easter Island. And, really, it can't even be considered a war. It was more along the lines of an opening match on an ultimate cage-fighting card. Either way, Sony and its Blu-Ray technology can claim victory over rivals Toshiba in the hi-definition format war. In Toshiba's press release, they stated, "Toshiba will begin to reduce shipments of HD DVD players and recorders to retail channels, aiming for cessation of these businesses by the end of March 2008. Toshiba also plans to end volume production of HD DVD disk drives for such applications as PCs and games in the same timeframe, yet will continue to make efforts to meet customer requirements."
The knockout blow in the battle was most likely Blu-Ray's packaging along side of Sony's gaming console, the Playstation 3. HD DVD, which sided with the Xbox, required an additional purchase to turn the Microsoft gaming systems into movie machines. Another major factor was the failure of Toshiba to secure exclusivity from any major movie studios, while Sony Pictures fed directly to their Blu-Ray department.
