All The Tropes

Dueling Products: Difference between revisions

Page Discussion

Dueling Products (view source)

Revision as of 07:02, 7 May 2014

2 bytes removed ,  10 years ago
m
update links
VisualWikitext
m (Mass update links)
m (update links)
Line 21:
| DVD-R(W) || DVD+R(W); DVD-RAM || Recordable and rewritable DVD formats. || DVD-RAM was the first to the market, and had an entirely different design to the other two. DVD-R(W) and DVD+R(W) were very similar formats, but the latter had some subtle differences that supposedly gave it better back-compatibility with older DVD hardware. || A draw between DVD-R(W) and DVD+R(W) -- most manufacturers quickly started producing dual-mode DVD±RW drives, which nullified the differences between the two formats. Most users are still unsure as to why this format war ever started in the first place. DVD-RAM was definitely the least successful of the three; despite being the most technically advanced of the formats, it also suffered much more from compatibility problems than the other two formats.
|-
| HD DVD || Blu-ray Disc || A high definition optical disc format. || Toshiba led the design of HD DVD and Sony launched Blu-ray, after the two companies had failed to agree on a common standard. Both formats debuted in 2006, with the first HD DVD discs and players appearing in April and beating Blu-ray rivals by two months. HD DVD equipment and movies initially were cheaper to produce and sell, but Blu-ray discs had more capacity (up to 50 gigabytes versus a 30GB maximum for HD DVD) for video, hi-fi soundtracks and special features. || Toshiba discontinued its format on Feb 19, 2008. Three key factors in HD DVD's defeat: Sony securing retailer support over time, [[Warner Bros]]. announcing that it would cease HD DVD support on Jan. 4, 2008 (after having been the only movie studio to issue discs in both formats), and finally Wal-Mart announcing exclusive support. The [[Play StationPlayStation 3]] is assumed to be a factor, although the two other decisions were based on player sales ''other'' than the PS3.<ref>This might have been a [[Pyrrhic Victory]], as Wal-Mart has recently announced DVD and Blu-ray movies will not be displayed on aisle caps due to slowing sales.</ref> Conventional wisdom is that in 2006 the public wasn't ready for another new format so soon after DVD, and after two years of format wars and three years of recession they're now looking to abandon physical formats entirely, embracing a digital-download future that the content industry is still scared of (but getting dragged into kicking and screaming anyway...)
|-
| Columbia 33 1/3 rpm long-playing record || RCA 45 rpm single record || Vinyl microgroove discs with better, quieter sound and more durability than shellac-based 78 rpm records. || Columbia introduced the 12-inch LP in 1948, but RCA was unwilling to license a competitor's technology and responded with the 7-inch 45 a year later. || This battle became a draw, with both formats flourishing for nearly four decades, until compact discs overtook the former and cassettes the latter.
Line 53:
| [[Steam]] || Direct2Drive, Impulse, Origin (formerly EA Store), Games for Windows Live marketplace, many others. || Internet-based game delivery and content management systems. || Steam was the brainchild of Valve, Direct2Drive was created by IGN, Impulse was founded by Stardock, Origin is run by EA, and Games for Windows Live marketplace, unsurprisingly, is run by [[Microsoft]]. || Steam benefited from having a [[Killer App]] in the form of ''[[Half-Life 2]]'', and currently holds a commanding lead. Direct2Drive and Impulse squabble over who is in a decent second place (due to conflicting reports on their own share), and the other services scrap it out over the remaining marketshare. While the Games for Windows Live marketplace ''was'' predicted to be the Next Big Thing, it ended up being loathed by many gamers, partly for technical issues and being not nearly as well-designed or seamless as Steam, and it has been losing considerable support. Recently EA has been aggressively marketing its new Origin service, to the point of ceasing Steam distribution; early response from gamers has been lackluster, but its [[Killer App]] ''[[Mass Effect]] 3'' could make it successful.
|-
| [[Xbox Live Arcade]] || Playstation Store, [[Wii Ware]] Marketplace || "Casual gaming" marketplaces for home gaming consoles. || Xbox Live Arcade debuted on the original Xbox, but really took off with the [[Xbox 360]]. The other two debuted on the [[Play StationPlayStation 3]] and [[Wii]] respectively, and later expanded their range to include the [[Play Station Portable]] and [[Nintendo DS|DSi]]. || Xbox Live Arcade is currently the most successful and has the best overall reputation, likely due to the fact that it was the first out and the Xbox 360 is currently selling better than the Playstation 3. The Playstation Store is also quite successful, albeit not to the same extent. On its own terms the WiiWare Marketplace would be in last place by an embarrassingly huge margin, but as an offshoot to Nintendo's already-successful Virtual Console service, they can probably live with that. That being said, all three services are rapidly losing support from indie developers due to much more open digital distribution services such as the iPhone app store, Steam, Desura, and so on - XBLA has been under fire by developers for years as being much less indie-friendly than it should be - such as ludicrous fees (in the tens of thousands) for ''patches'' of all things.
|-
| Kindle || Nook || E-book readers, which are tablet-like devices that display digital versions of books in a smaller, water-resistant form. || Amazon came out with their Kindle back in 2007, while Barnes & Noble's Nook came out two years later. || Hard to tell at this point, but the Kindle seems to have more exposure.
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Special:MobileDiff/1009677"