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Originally Posted by SensualPoet
I am sorry, but you are misinformed. Warner made the switch to Blu-ray on the eve of the CES Show in Las Vegas and that ended HD DVD; Toshiba pulled out a couple of days after the show.
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This is correct, and I never stated otherwise. I just wasn't quite this specific.
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There was definitely hundreds of millions of dollars on the table in various payments -- I'm not suggesting bribes, but rather business incentives in the coming year or so for co-sponsorship of advertising etc. I was there on the periphery of the inside action. Had Sony not stepped up in negotiations literally at the 11th hour with a deal that could not be refused, Toshiba would have won the day; in essence, Toshiba blinked.
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Now, in order for me to be "misinformed," that would make both Forbes and Variety dead wrong. And these are highly reputable sources for financial and industry information. If you read my post carefully, you will see I stated Sony's admission of advertising money and retail "display" sponsorship. However, it is a far, far cry from the "billions" you are suggesting (the numbers are in the linked article). It's also a far cry from "paying off" studios as you also stated.
On Toshiba
giving money to Paramount, here is the Variety statement, quoted by FormatWarCentral.com:
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FormatWarCentral.com:
http://formatwarcentral.com/2008/05/...-from-toshiba/
In a report from Variety about earnings for Viacom we read of a one time payment from Toshiba. The article refers to a ‚ "22% bump in home entertainment revenue on one-time items including a $29 million payout from Toshiba for Paramounts exclusive backing of the HD-DVD.‚" The article goes on to say that ‚ "Viacom said homevid revenue would have been down slightly if the payout wasn't included due to lower catalog sales."
It is now 100% clear that Viacom took money from Toshiba to drop Blu-ray Disc.
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So, as I said in my previous post, Sony did not "payoff" any studio. Toshiba, OTOH, did. This is according to both Forbes and Variety.
If you are going to claim some sort of "11th hour monetary deal" you are going to need a citation. Something that has evidence behind it. I would not be surprised if this happened -- though I highly doubt Toshiba would have won the format war anyway -- but there have been so many bogus claims about Sony and Toshiba during and after the format war, I am not willing just take your word for it. Especially after you already highly inflated the numbers, and are claimed Blu-ray caused Sony's financial difficulties due to "payoffs," even when
your cited article does not at all.
-Pie