Sony paid Warner Bros. $400 million USD to go Blu-ray exclusive

$ony--Scumbags
Warner Brothers--Prostitutes

'Nuff said

I think it;s better that the more expensive 10 000 000 sold side wins instead of the 1 000 000 cheaper side...

LIke what's better? 10 000 000 people crying for refunds for their in some cases thousand dollar systems or a tenth of those people?

Personally, right now I don't really care that much, but oh well.

THAT'S BUSINESS :P

That's right... It is all business. Everyone and everything can be bought at a price... The only question is how much? :-P

I can't seem to find this article. Someone link it or I am calling Ghostbusters on Afterdawn. I wanted to read the article to see where they say they got this info from. I don't doubt Sony would pay Warner, but I would like to read it though.

Hey business is business. Do what takes to win and crush the weaker. I don't believe in that philosophy but it's whats done, can't be helped.

Can we get an official confirmation from Sony/BDA or Warner?

Oh wait - no we can't!

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What remains a mystery is just how big a push Warner needed to pick sides. Analysts say Sony only prevailed following a heated bidding war against Toshiba, with the reward reaching as much as $400-million (U.S.). Neither side has confirmed the size of any bids or payments.

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Originally posted by Ludikhris:

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I can't seem to find this article. Someone link it or I am calling Ghostbusters on Afterdawn. I wanted to read the article to see where they say they got this info from. I don't doubt Sony would pay Warner, but I would like to read it though.

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Thus is the standing business model of corporate America.

Crush the opposition.

Pay off the players.

Topple those who stand in the way.

Corporate America thrives on greed, and greed knows few boundries.

lol

some ppl just take this "format war" too seriously. they are just discs, mostlikely will be replaced when we see ultrahd. Let sony have their litle sadbox for 7-10 years if they want it that bad. They seemed to win anyway (more bd hw sold) so i would´t be so sure about those numbers.

BFD! I'm not gonna pay the razy prices they demand for Blu-
















BFD! I'm not gonna pay those outrageous prices they demand for Blu-Ray or HD-DVD hardware and disks. Stickem where the sun don't shine...

Originally posted by iluvendo:

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$ony--Scumbags
Warner Brothers--Prostitutes

'Nuff said

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The point of that was?

maybe they did pay Warner $ 400 million but until it is confirmed then I will pass no judgement.

it does seem rather strange though if both sides were involved in a bidding war when Toshiba announced that the Warner decision in January took them "completely by surprise" now that is not the kind of statement released by a major corporation involved in a 2 horse bidding war - something doesn't add up there.

why would Toshiba not immediately announce the fact that they were outbid by a ridiculous amount from Sony as the excuse for losing the format war ? It would gain them much sympathy and divert attention on what is currently seen as their marketing incompetence etc.

if it was true , i'm sure Toshiba would have already said it

Originally posted by 7thsinger:

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Thus is the standing business model of corporate America.

Crush the opposition.

Pay off the players.

Topple those who stand in the way.

Corporate America thrives on greed, and greed knows few boundries.

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strange how the "GlobeAndmail" chooses this moment to release this "new" story - 8 weeks after the purported deal was struck and a few days after the format war ended. The journalist who wrote the piece wouldn't happen to be sitting at home with an HD-DVD player would he ?

Originally posted by domie:

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strange how the "GlobeAndmail" chooses this moment to release this "new" story - 8 weeks after the purported deal was struck and a few days after the format war ended. The journalist who wrote the piece wouldn't happen to be sitting at home with an HD-DVD player would he ?

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Originally posted by iluvendo:

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$ony--Scumbags
Warner Brothers--Prostitutes

'Nuff said

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Originally posted by iluvendo:

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$ony--Scumbags
Warner Brothers--Prostitutes

'Nuff said

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Originally posted by rcd87:

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Originally posted by iluvendo:

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$ony--Scumbags
Warner Brothers--Prostitutes

'Nuff said

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so just becuase its sony you have to have a dig, do you think tosihba didnt try and buy warner aswell,

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Please. WHO CARES. HD-DVD is DEAD!!!! IT'S NEVER COMING BACK! WHY WON'T PEOPLE JUST GET OVER THIS CRAP, JUST GO BUY A BLURAY PLAYER AND QUIT BITCHIN'!

BR didn't win they bought out the market such is the game, well played sony well played, lets hope all those bills don't make you more greedy/desperate than you already are.....

yeah man i agree with that one guy that said its just business.

Peace

Originally posted by ZippyDSM:

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BR didn't win they bought out competition such is the game, well played sony, let hope all thos bills don;t make you more greedy that you already were.....

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Quote:

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Originally posted by ZippyDSM:

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BR didn't win they bought out the market such is the game, well played sony well played, lets hope all those bills don't make you more greedy/desperate than you already are.....

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AMEN!

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Originally posted by 7thsinger:

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Thus is the standing business model of corporate America.

Crush the opposition.

Pay off the players.

Topple those who stand in the way.

Corporate America thrives on greed, and greed knows few boundries.

---

Quote:

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Originally posted by 7thsinger:

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Thus is the standing business model of corporate America.

Crush the opposition.

Pay off the players.

Topple those who stand in the way.

Corporate America thrives on greed, and greed knows few boundries.

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Mmm... psst! Sony is a *Japanese* company.

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Originally posted by pirkster:

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Originally posted by 7thsinger:

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Thus is the standing business model of corporate America.

Crush the opposition.

Pay off the players.

Topple those who stand in the way.

Corporate America thrives on greed, and greed knows few boundries.

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Mmm... psst! Sony is a *Japanese* company.

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But I never heard of Toshiba or WB giving any of us a free ROOT KIT virus. Not that I'm fond of Toshiba or WB either

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Ya man what losers buy CDs these days ;)

Get with the times! lol

Sony didn't pay that. Its a lie. Sony is still selling out of spec players for $400+ while Toshiba sold players with the same laser tech with features that are just now in the Blu-Ray spec for $150+. The consumer is the one eating that $400 million. We will continue to eat it for a while. Out of spec players are $400... can you imagine what the in-spec players are gonna cost when they get released?

DVD has a long life ahead unless Sony decides to sell players at a reasonable price. If not they will have to be content with their 3% of movie on disc sales.

Maybe MS will save us with a $179 blu-ray add-on.

AS of right now you can either buy an overpriced out of spec HD player, stay standard def, or rely on your rich swedish friends who spend their days ripping Blu-Rays and putting them on mininova for free.

Good play and investment by Sony. Look where it got them...

Originally posted by jony218:

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Quote:

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But I never heard of Toshiba or WB giving any of us a free ROOT KIT virus. Not that I'm fond of Toshiba or WB either

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Unfortunately I have to correct you, "Sony never gave anyone a FREE rootkit" , in order to get the rootkit, you had to purchase the music CD. Sony is not in the habit of giving anyone anything for free. You want to play "you have to pay".

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You guys and your damn prices. It's the PS3 all over again! >:(

If it's too expensive, then wait! Nobody cares that it's too much for you. I bet in a year's time we'll be seeing players for $250, maybe less. I think they already have a BR read drive for that price... Can't remeber. Don't like it? Use Ebay.

Obviously price isn't that big of a deal for many. If it was, then HD-DVD would be #1 right now.

TY :P

First off, if (and that is a big if) it is true that Warner switched because they got paid a lot of money and not that blu ray was just plain out selling hd dvd, the money didn't just come out of Sony's pockets. There are a lot of companies in the blu ray camp that put a lot of money into it that would split that bill. Also, 400 million for something that will make them billions is a good deal if you ask me. Blu ray is now the format for hd movies, digital downloads will not really gain much ground until there is fast reliable internet service in all parts of the devloped world (fat chance) and a cheap fast blu ray burner to make a hard copy back up of your digital file (which, by the way, will make these companies more money).

$400 Million? Damn!!!!!!!!!!!!!

400 Million? Well it appears that sony didnt want a repeat like before with Betamax. Money talks and B$ walks.
Too bad for us consumers, sony is a major anti-consumer, Riddled with DRM crap.

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Obviously price isn't that big of a deal for many. If it was, then HD-DVD would be #1 right now.

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Sony have taken a gamble. Theyve thrown everything they got at bluray. If bluray is a flop and the majority of people choose to stick with SD or even go with instant over the internet streaming. Sony could find themselves in a lot of trouble.

Funny how people bitch when Sony does something but when Toshiba did it they had nothing to dispute or say, I wonder why?.....Hippocrates

As for the root kit, let it go already it has been addressed and fixed (not to mention it is the PAST) so it is a non issue as of TODAY.

Why do people always have to harp on what is the past? I know why. It fits their needs today to try and make a point that really has no validity since they have no real point with CURRENT topics.

Originally posted by lecsiy:

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Sony have taken a gamble. Theyve thrown everything they got at bluray. If bluray is a flop and the majority of people choose to stick with SD or even go with instant over the internet streaming. Sony could find themselves in a lot of trouble.

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We complain about both Sony and Toshiba and the way they handled the whole HD-media fiasco, however to them it really is "just business". How else can you read about Toshiba having their format suffer defeat, and yet they turn around and buy Sony's Cell processing plant for $835M?

It probably went down like this...

Howard Stringer: *ring-ring* "Yo! Nishida-san! It's Stringer! Wasssssaaaabbbbiiiii! I always wanted to do that! Anywho's I just wanted to let you know I'm sorry for the whole HD thing!"
Atsutoshi Nishida: "Hai!"
HS: No hard feelings, right?
AN: "Hai!"
HS: "So I've got this whole cell thing I wanna unload. You know anyone interested?"
AN: "Hai!"
HS: "You want it??"
AN: "Hai!"
HS: "Okay. How's 835mil sound?
AN: "Hai!"
HS: "Cool. Let's go have a bottle of sake and ponder how else to take advantage of consumers around the world!"
AN: "Hai!"

...or something like that.

i saw a hddvd player at walmart for 128 dollars today and if i would have had the money i would have bought it .and i dont have a high defination tv and wil not buy one until i can get a 26 inch tv for at least 250. would love too have one for my regular tv to play dvds. not hd.

Originally posted by Oner:

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Funny how people bitch when Sony does something but when Toshiba did it they had nothing to dispute or say, I wonder why?.....Hippocrates

As for the root kit, let it go already it has been addressed and fixed (not to mention it is the PAST) so it is a non issue as of TODAY.

Why do people always have to harp on what is the past? I know why. It fits their needs today to try and make a point that really has no validity since they have no real point with CURRENT topics.

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Originally posted by 905drager:

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We complain about both Sony and Toshiba and the way they handled the whole HD-media fiasco, however to them it really is "just business". How else can you read about Toshiba having their format suffer defeat, and yet they turn around and buy Sony's Cell processing plant for $835M?

It probably went down like this...

Howard Stringer: *ring-ring* "Yo! Nishida-san! It's Stringer! Wasssssaaaabbbbiiiii! I always wanted to do that! Anywho's I just wanted to let you know I'm sorry for the whole HD thing!"
Atsutoshi Nishida: "Hai!"
HS: No hard feelings, right?
AN: "Hai!"
HS: "So I've got this whole cell thing I wanna unload. You know anyone interested?"
AN: "Hai!"
HS: "You want it??"
AN: "Hai!"
HS: "Okay. How's 835mil sound?
AN: "Hai!"
HS: "Cool. Let's go have a bottle of sake and ponder how else to take advantage of consumers around the world!"
AN: "Hai!"

...or something like that.

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All I know is that when HD DVD players drop to $80 USD or less I am picking one up immediately, my 32 inch HDTV will appreciate it i'm sure :)

Originally posted by DVDBack23:

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All I know is that when HD DVD players drop to $80 USD or less I am picking one up immediately, my 32 inch HDTV will appreciate it i'm sure :)

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My, my. Who would've thought that it would be over so quickly. Just a little more than 6 weeks after Warner's announcement it's all over.

Like error5 said before, business students will be analyzing this format war as the classic case study on "How to Lose To Your Competitor While Having An Arguably Superior Product" AKA "How To Snatch Defeat From the Jaws Of Victory."

Warner was the key to whole victory and it doesn't really matter how much Sony or the BDA paid them. Getting Warner on board was ultimately the winning play.

I think the HD DVD group was just too overconfident. They were already celebrating before CES 2K8 and had a 2-hour press event scheduled. They just didn't make sure that the competition was not going to pull the rug from under them. In the end they had no one to blame but themselves.

What's the point in buying an hd dvd player now. You have a limited number of releases available and no future support. I guess it would make a nice upconvert for that price. All those movies on hd dvd will eventually be released on blu ray.

Originally posted by c1c:

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What's the point in buying an hd dvd player now. You have a limited number of releases available and no future support. I guess it would make a nice upconvert for that price. All those movies on hd dvd will eventually be released on blu ray.

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Originally posted by DVDBack23:

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edit: nice link juanker but not gonna pay 97 dollars for it :) It will drop soon enough, Ive been patient :)

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Well congradulations Sony. Nice job of winning dirty. Here is something else you won: I will NEVER buy a Sony product in the future. That $2000+ LCD I was set to buy will not be a Sony. Sorry, I just don't want to deal with a company I consider absolute filth.

Can you imagine the lawsuits and swift DOJ interaction if Microsoft paid stores like Best Buy or Circuit City not to sell the Ipod?

Exact same situation. Amazing the hypocrites we have in government.

Quote:

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Originally posted by DVDBack23:

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edit: nice link juanker but not gonna pay 97 dollars for it :) It will drop soon enough, Ive been patient :)

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Didn't you say you would pay $80 for a HD-DVD player? Am I reading it wrong, doesn't the link say the price is $82.97?

DVDBack23, I am more than happy to throw $2.97 your way out of compassion for the poor HD-DVD format! :-P I love being cheeky when I can get away with it. :-D

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Originally posted by nopcbs:

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Well congradulations Sony. Nice job of winning dirty. Here is something else you won: I will NEVER buy a Sony product in the future. That $2000+ LCD I was set to buy will not be a Sony. Sorry, I just don't want to deal with a company I consider absolute filth.

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Originally posted by wetsparks:

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Originally posted by nopcbs:

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Well congradulations Sony. Nice job of winning dirty. Here is something else you won: I will NEVER buy a Sony product in the future. That $2000+ LCD I was set to buy will not be a Sony. Sorry, I just don't want to deal with a company I consider absolute filth.

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you may as well go live in a cave in the middle of no where and live off the land then because any company in the world would gladly pay a little bit of money for a huge gain. Think that Microsoft wouldn't pay 400 million dollars to make their zune the dominant mp3 player? or ford to make their cars the dominate car on the market?

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I really don't care if SONY paid or not. i think that Toshiba do the same thing.
I not pretend to buy nothing until good prices appears in the market.I will stick with regular DVD's.

I think the biggest point that people are missing and only one person mentioned earlier is .......I have a Ps3 but will never buy a goddam film as I will go to my nearest library and rip every dvd9 film I want to watch FOR FREE- sorry not free dual layers are 40pence at the mo' and watch them upscaled on my Ps3.! so who cares who won the format war.....rippers rule not Sony!!!!!!!!!!

What a suprise !! in this captalist driven world that we live in SONY has managed to buy off the competition with cash - lets make no bones about this - MONEY not CONSUMER choice is the winner here!!!
Yet again a big player like sony muscules in with s**t loads of cash,
and now WE the CONSUMER must eat/like and use THEIR choice. And of all the players it had to be the No.1 anti consumer friendly bunch - SONY - Lets hope that somebody somewhere comes up with a new type of media and that they crash and burn !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hate how you guys ALWAYS make Sony into a Big Bad Rapist or something :P

Like if I had to make a decision and one of the companies had a bigger bribe then the other, then I'd take that company with the bigger bribe. Who wouldn't? You guys would all do the same thing lol

Money talks. The more, the better.

Originally posted by vinny13:

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I hate how you guys ALWAYS make Sony into a Big Bad Rapist or something :P

Like if I had to make a decision and one of the companies had a bigger bribe then the other, then I'd take that company with the bigger bribe. Who wouldn't? You guys would all do the same thing lol

Money talks. The more, the better.

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Plus, they had no ads :S

This is why I still despise SONY: SunnComm's MediaMax and First4Internet's Extended Copy Protection (also known as XCP) - which Sony BMG claims to have placed on the music CDs to restrict consumer use of the music on the CDs but which in truth do much more, including reporting customer listening of the CDs and installing undisclosed and in some cases hidden files on users' computers that can expose users to malicious attacks by third parties, all without appropriate notice and consent from purchasers. The CDs also condition use of the music on unconscionable licensing terms in the End User Licensing Agreement
I will avoid anything SONY as long as I can.

Wow, so their music WAS messed. That's a great reason to avoid their TVs, surround sound systems, radios, speakers, games, movies, shows, CD players, dvd players, laptops, desktops... Hell. What else do they make that's usually better then most?

Those Sony stores must be some kinda religious hell. I don't know what kinda person can even say that damn horrific word.

***

That's friggen' lame. One thing that happened in the past and now apparently to some all of their stuff is patched for the devil. That's completely biased and retarded.

I'm not sure why the blue ray people are so happy.
Competition always drives the prices down. Now sony has the monopoly so they can charge whatever they want. Who do you think will be paying the 400M in the end.

Originally posted by xtwister:

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I'm not sure why the blue ray people are so happy.
Competition always drives the prices down. Now sony has the monopoly so they can charge whatever they want. Who do you think will be paying the 400M in the end.

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its not like Sony is the only company making blu ray players, the competition is between Sony and the other blu ray companies to sell players and discs to make money from their combined product.

I believe that the companies will decide if and when Blu-Ray will take over DVD.

Like, if they start to slow down the production of DVDs and in the future focus more on Blu-Ray, what are you gonna do? Once HD becomes more of a standard in people's homes I think thats when they will slowly phase out DVD (which won't be for a long time).

Originally posted by vinny13:

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I believe that the companies will decide if and when Blu-Ray will take over DVD.

Like, if they start to slow down the production of DVDs and in the future focus more on Blu-Ray, what are you gonna do? Once HD becomes more of a standard in people's homes I think thats when they will slowly phase out DVD (which won't be for a long time).

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Does it make a difference that SONY is related to BMG? The thinly disguised reformation of NAZI investors. see: Boorman, Theisen-BornMisa[sp], Bush Family, etc.. All of them should be tried as wartime profiteers.

have u ever called sony customer service?? i guess not cuz their stuff never fails, some battery incident that's about it.

If sony paid , that's something that happens all the time even when your teacher at college chooses one book for class, betwenn A or B,and chooses A it's usually cuz A paid more, than B gets turned down

Ya I've never had problems with Sony... My 5 Disc CD player from YEARS ago still works great and my Playstations are still alive :P

Their stuff is usually the best, like their LCDs and some cameras and such, but you pay a lot for it.

Originally posted by xtwister:

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I'm not sure why the blue ray people are so happy.
Competition always drives the prices down. Now sony has the monopoly so they can charge whatever they want. Who do you think will be paying the 400M in the end.

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Wow anyone else think of bribery after reading this article. I feel that the price is a very heavy price to pay and hopefully Sony can make the money the invested preety fast.