Actually Beta wasn't last as it wasn't a two-way race. Philips VCR, Video 2000, laserdisc, RCA Selectrivision, and more. The initial cost of a Beta player or recorder was generally higher than VHS, and Sony waited a long time to license the tech. JVC licensed VHS early and widely.
Sony had actually bet on one hour initially because TV shows were mostly half an hour or an hour. This left movies and sporting events mainly as the issues with recording time. They eventually brought out longer tapes, but it was a combination of factors up to that point that kept Beta from leading.
Now, compare and contract MiniDisc vs. CD, Memory Stick vs SD, UMD vs. Download vs. SD, and where Sony actually won with Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD. MiniDisc went away. Memory Stick mostly went away. UMD went away. But where Sony widely licensed the superior technology early on, it won.
Sony had actually bet on one hour initially because TV shows were mostly half an hour or an hour. This left movies and sporting events mainly as the issues with recording time. They eventually brought out longer tapes, but it was a combination of factors up to that point that kept Beta from leading.
Now, compare and contract MiniDisc vs. CD, Memory Stick vs SD, UMD vs. Download vs. SD, and where Sony actually won with Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD. MiniDisc went away. Memory Stick mostly went away. UMD went away. But where Sony widely licensed the superior technology early on, it won.