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Digital Playground, a prominent adult movie publisher has been informed by Sony that adult movies can not be published on Blu-ray, hence they have chosen to go with the alternative HD-DVD format.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.