Right.
They DIDN’T learn from VHS vs. BETA.
They DIDN’T learn from laserdisc vs. CED.
They DIDN’T learn from DAT vs. MiniDisc.
They DIDN’T learn from SACD vs. DVD-Audio.
They keep following the same playbook, and they keep losing. One reason I’m betting the outcome of this “race” will be “none of the above.”
And don’t forget cassette vs cartridge, and two incompatible quadrophonic formats.
OTOH, there was an earlier format war, between 33 1/3, 45, and 78 rpm, rivals protected by patents and featuring exclusive artists. By the time I was aware of such things as turntables, each had four available speeds (16 2/3 was also on there, although I’ve never seen such a format disk), and 33 1/3 was king, with 45s used for singles, and 78 dying out (although the first John Fahey album was issued on 78s as part of an elaborate hoax).
oops, forgot to mention the 8mm format, followed by hi-8, both from Sony and very few others.
oh yeah, and I think most remember that almost-a-DVD format with the lower price and limited trial period that Circuit City was pushing less than ten years ago, which lasted about ten months.