Blu-ray’s victory means some companies will prosper, leaving others to suffer from HD-DVD’s loss. Microsoft is one of the losers in this format war, and today it announced an official withdrawl from HD-DVD.

 Microsoft employees announced the news on the Gamerscore blog, an outlet for Microsoft Xbox and Games employees to share "inside" information.

"As a result of recent decisions made by Toshiba, Hollywood studios, and retailers, Microsoft plans to withdraw from HD DVD. Xbox will no longer manufacture new HD DVD players for the Xbox 360, but we will continue to provide standard product and warranty support for all Xbox 360 HD DVD Players in the market."

Microsoft adds that it is still dedicated to the Xbox 360 platform and the decision will not have "any material impact" on the console’s position in the marketplace. Though if you enjoy HD-DVD and its now ridiculously low price (as well as its shrinking library), there’s good news: the company will continue to honor the warranty for your growingly useless HD-DVD add-on.

There was a recent rumor making its way through the grapevine saying that Microsoft will drop the HD-DVD add-on to $50, but the withdrawl from the format means the rumor is likely false. Though the price-cut would be a fantastic deal, the purchase would be a terrible waste of money.

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Entry was posted on Saturday, February 23rd, 2008 at 10:33 pm under Microsoft, Online video, Technology.  Print This Post

Read more entries by Danny Mendez.
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