For starting format wars.
Sony has produced a lot of great products over the last few decades. The company has had some major flops too, Betamax being the most famous (although the MiniDisc player was a close second). In this decade-long battle, JVC’s VHS won the format race. But why? Beta came out first and was actually superior in quality compared to its competition.
Beta failed mostly because of its short recording time, a measly one hour at first. People wanted to record movies and football games, and this just wouldn’t cut it. Eventually, Sony would extend the play time, but Beta always trailed VHS. The inferior product also failed to win consumers over because of Sony’s awful marketing, bad design, and high price point.
But let’s get to the key factor behind VHS’s victory—porn was not available on Betamax.
Sony had to ruin it by not fighting hard enough to win over the consumer (and for being too goody-goody about the smut videos). Of course, the real losers here are all the chumps who didn’t buy VHS in the first place. It was quite a costly transition to make (especially since the DVD craze came shortly after). And of course, every consumer would eventually be hit by the wave of similarly snide technology companies that continually change platforms and media players just because they can.
So don’t worry, Sony isn’t shedding a tear; it’s back on top with Blu-ray. Which, of course, means you will soon have to update that tired old DVD collection you spent years building. It just goes to show that in a battle versus technology, you will always lose. What does this mean for the future? Due to changing formats, you will have to repurchase the Beatles’ “White Album” at least six more times in your life.