The next-gen gaming console war is being
fought on many fronts. One of the more important battles is whether the world is going to rally behind Sony's
Blu-ray Disc format or around Toshiba's competing HD-DVD specification. The competing camps are doing their damnedest
to sign up content for their formats because they figure that if they've got the content, the market will follow and
standardize around their technology.
In October of last year, Joystiq sister site Engadget reported that 20th Century Fox had joined the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) though at the time they hadn't made any real commitment to the format. Fox has now come down squarely on the side of Blu-ray, announcing a "final" decision to support Blu-ray. With this decision, the top six movie studios are evenly split between the two formats.
This is good news for Sony as it helps support their gamble on Blu-ray for the PS3. It's also a validation of Microsoft's decision to stay mum on exactly when they'll be adding High-Definition support to the Xbox 360 and what form it'll take, though most expect the Xbox 360 to support HD-DVD.
For historical perspective on format wars, see this explainer on the Betamax vs VHS Format War.
