Format war
A format war is the competition between two or more different formats to become the industry standard.[1] Standards are important in every industry and format wars are common.[1] The winning standard usually gets the largest market share. The losing format often suffers dying sales until it is gone completely.[2] Sometimes the winning format is technically the best, but usually the different formats have different advantages.[3] Being first or being cheaper can also help one design win out over its rivals.[4]
Examples[change | change source]
- Direct current vs. Alternating current for power distribution.
- Various Rail gauges
- wax cylinders vs. the Gramophone record for early music recordings
- VHS vs. Betamax for video recording tape
- Microsoft and Intel (Wintel) vs. Apple Inc. and Android computer operating systems
- Blu-ray Disc vs. HD DVD for laser discs
References[change | change source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Charles Hill; Gareth Jones; Melissa Schilling, Strategic Management: Theory & Cases: An Integrated Approach (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2004), p. 219
- ↑ David Ellis; Julia Johnston, Split Screen: Home Entertainment and the New Technologies (Toronto: Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, 1992), p. 39
- ↑ Stephen Martin, Industrial Organization in Context (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 308
- ↑ David Ellis; Julia Johnston, Split Screen: Home Entertainment and the New Technologies (Toronto: Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, 1992), p. 40
