Wal-Mart to Toshiba: Thanks but No!

Wal-Mart announced today that it will no longer sell HD DVDs or HD DVD players. This move comes as blow to Japanese electronics maker Toshiba. Sony and Toshiba, both Japanese owned companies, have been battling one another for the developing high-definition DVD markets. Sony, the maker of the Blu-Ray, and Toshiba, with the HD DVD, are among several companies vying for supremacy with the high-definition formats that are incompatable with one another. Sony has been able to pursuade five of the seven major movie producing studios to exclusively release their high-definition films in the Blu-Ray format. With the addition of the Wal-Mart endorsement, Sony has all but locked up that portion of the industry. Many consumers avoided purchasing either format, afraid of buying a system that would soon be obsolete.

I find it ironic that even with five of seven major movie studios on board with Blu-Ray, Toshiba was able to keep their HD DVD alive. However, without the support of Wal-mart, they will be unable to maintain the format. Like HD DVD or not, Wal-Mart just did to Toshiba what it does to all other companies that do not go the Wal-mart way...they are gone, or at least the portion in competition with Wal-mart is gone.