Betamax finally admits defeat

Sony closed the final chapter Tuesday of its legendary battle to dominate the home video-tape machine market, when it announced it would discontinue its Betamax VCRs.

Sony will stop manufacturing Betamax machines at the end of this year as the company refocuses its efforts on new technologies dominating the market, said spokeswoman Shoko Yanagizawa in Tokyo.

The announcement marks the end of a 27 year run, during which the fabled brand sold 18 million units worldwide in a race against archrival Victor’s VHS to set the video format standard.

Betamax was first to the market, hitting stores in 1975, and peaked with global sales of 2.3 million units in 1984.

But the decision not to share its technology with rival companies proved to be Sony’s fatal mistake.

In a classic case of the underdog winning the race, Victor’s VHS _-short for video home system - had clearly won the battle by the mid-80s. The technology used now in millions of video recorders around the world is Victor’s.