It’s often been said that there are two things that drive innovation in the tech industry: gaming and pornography.

While one pushes the boundaries in video and audio technology, the other pushes a much more visceral need, the need for gorgeous, high-definition boobies. Mankind has been seeking new and better ways to “strangle the one-eyed dragon” for millenia and with the advent of video technology, the porn industry has become the front-runner in deciding which formats the mainstream would adopt. During the Betamax vs VHS wars of the 80s and 90s, Sony, the creator of the Betamax standard, made a stand against the porn industry and proclaimed that they could not use Betamax to peddle their so-called smut. We all know how that war ended, and apparently Sony hasn’t learned from its mistakes.

Digital Playground, a prominent adult movie publisher has been informed by Sony that adult movies can not be published on Blu-ray, hence they have chosen to go with the alternative HD-DVD format. While this may seem like a concession to the more puritanical values of Middle America, it could also mean a huge disadvantage for Sony’s new format, as the adult movie industry regularly publishes more than 11,000 titles every year. Their profit margin may be low on a per title basis, but with that many titles, they numbers quickly begin to add up.

It remains to be seen if this will cause the death of Blu-ray, but by cutting off that huge section of the market this early in the battle, Sony seems to be shooting itself in the crotch.

1. plyr3005 says:
   January 16th, 2007 at 1:31 pm

   yea, no.
   most likely, the impact would be lowered considering porn is so easily availble on the web, so while HD DVD may gain an advantage, it won’t be as drastic as the VHS v Betamax format competition.

2. Dale North says:
   January 16th, 2007 at 5:12 pm

   wow. I had no idea that porn couldn’t be put onto bluray.