Most claims of "luck" don't hold up when examined closely.<p>There are rather few cases of some technology being superior in every conceivable way to its active competitor; usually, each has relative pros and cons.  Beta <i>wasn't</i> superior in every way to VHS - at every point while they were still earnestly competing, VHS tapes had longer run times.  Early Beta tapes only lasted <i>one hour</i>, not even letting you record an entire movie.  (ETA: It was <i>very</i> popular to record on LP and SLP modes in VHS, further reducing quality to get extra recording time.  Recording fidelity wasn't a winning factor.)<p>Almost as bad, Sony waited a long time to license the format, <i>turning away</i> interested manufacturers who then produced VHS machines.<p>End result?  A (more) open format that was both more available and distinctly superior in an key aspect won out.  Not exactly a roll of the dice.