Sony vs Toshiba
Closing Case Chapter 7 1. Why did both Sony and Toshiba perceive it to be so important to get an early lead in sales?
Based on past format wars, the trend had been “winner takes all.” With that in mind, Sony and Toshiba attempted to get as many early adopters as possible and secure early sales so that more people would recognize and buy their particular format over the other in the future. Whichever company achieved the quickest jump start would see an accelerated demand for its format and hopefully lockout its competition, even though that did not end up being the case for the Sony and Toshiba format wars. 2. What strategies and assets enabled Sony to win the format war?
Sony successfully executed many of the strategies that are needed to win the format war. They beat Toshiba to owning Columbia Pictures, MGM, Disney and Fox Studios, while Toshiba only ended up with Universal Studios committed to HD DVD. Sony continued to implement strategies that would help them sustain the competitive advantage over Sony. They then introduced Blu-Ray to its gaming consoles and laptops. To further increase the supply of Blu-Rays, Sony licensed the format to other consumer electronics firms. By licensing their product to others, it made the Blu-Ray player more available to customers, thus causing companies to make more products in their format. 3. What might Toshiba have done that might have led to a different outcome?
If Toshiba would have been more proactive in attempts to line up film studios to commit to issuing discs for HD DVD and licensed their format at to other electronics firms, they could have seen just as much success as Sony. They limited the sales of the format by preventing it from being easily accessible to customers. Or Toshiba could have done extensive R&D to come out with a gaming console, or other type of electronic device that could be compatible with the HD DVD graphics instead of battling Sony directly in acquiring studio films.
Based on past format wars, the trend had been “winner takes all.” With that in mind, Sony and Toshiba attempted to get as many early adopters as possible and secure early sales so that more people would recognize and buy their particular format over the other in the future. Whichever company achieved the quickest jump start would see an accelerated demand for its format and hopefully lockout its competition, even though that did not end up being the case for the Sony and Toshiba format wars. 2. What strategies and assets enabled Sony to win the format war?
Sony successfully executed many of the strategies that are needed to win the format war. They beat Toshiba to owning Columbia Pictures, MGM, Disney and Fox Studios, while Toshiba only ended up with Universal Studios committed to HD DVD. Sony continued to implement strategies that would help them sustain the competitive advantage over Sony. They then introduced Blu-Ray to its gaming consoles and laptops. To further increase the supply of Blu-Rays, Sony licensed the format to other consumer electronics firms. By licensing their product to others, it made the Blu-Ray player more available to customers, thus causing companies to make more products in their format. 3. What might Toshiba have done that might have led to a different outcome?
If Toshiba would have been more proactive in attempts to line up film studios to commit to issuing discs for HD DVD and licensed their format at to other electronics firms, they could have seen just as much success as Sony. They limited the sales of the format by preventing it from being easily accessible to customers. Or Toshiba could have done extensive R&D to come out with a gaming console, or other type of electronic device that could be compatible with the HD DVD graphics instead of battling Sony directly in acquiring studio films.