Ever since the recent news that Toshiba was pulling out of the HDDVD market we suspected this announcement was soon to follow. Microsoft's has officially discontinued the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on.
I suppose the only good news from the statement is that the player will still be covered under the standard warranty as long as you have the player. The bad news is it wont do you much good since most stores no longer carry HD DVD and manufacturers will no longer make them.
Microsoft Statement Below
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. As we stated earlier, we do not believe this decision will have any material impact on the Xbox 360 platform or our position in the marketplace. HD DVD is one of the several ways we offer a high definition experience to consumers and we will continue to give consumers the choice to enjoy digital distribution of high definition movies and TV shows directly to their living room, along with playback of the DVD movies they already own.
The real question now is whether Microsoft will choose to build a Blue-ray add-on for the Xbox 360 or not. Looking back, it was certainly the right decision for the company not to include an HD DVD player in the console unlike Sony did with Blue-ray. They now have the choice to build the new add-on while not affecting the core gaming platform. On the other hand, one could argue that Sony's decision to include Blue-ray with their PS3 is the exact reason they won the format war in the first place. Only time will tell what Microsoft does next. I for one would be happy to see a Blue-ray add-on. It's just to bad that I had to buy a HD DVD player to get it.
