San Diego (CA) - Following recent cuts in Blu-ray Disc players and continued beatings of HD DVD, Microsoft has taken $20 off the MSRP of the Xbox 360 HD DVD player add-on.

The basic Xbox 360 peripheral is the best-selling HD DVD player and even with the purchase of the $300 game console it has remained an inexpensive way to move into the high-def format.

It also remained the longest-running player to stand at its original MSRP.  With other standalone HD DVD devices seeing recent price drops, Microsoft has followed suit and brought the $200 add-on to around $180.  The announcement was made at this week's Comic-Con show in San Diego.

Toshiba's least expensive player was cut to around $300 several weeks ago, with retailers taking that down to as low as $230.  The cheapest Blu-ray player is currently the Playstation 3 at around $500.

Though sales of HD DVD movies has grown over the past several months, the format is still lagging well behind Blu-ray.  The new price for the Xbox 360 player will be effective beginning next month.

Like Sony's Blu-ray promotion that's running right now with some devices including the Playstation 3, HD DVD backer Toshiba will offer five free HD DVD movies with the purchase of a player through the end of September.  At a combined MSRP of at least $100, the free movies bring the price down to more like $80.

Also at Comic-Con, a release date of August 28 was given for the first season of the NBC series Heroes.  It will feature a "download center" in the disc menu where users can connect their HD DVD player online and access new and exclusive content.



In the spirit of the movie 300, also slated for HD DVD, 300 attendees at Comic-Con will get a custom, limited edition Xbox 360 Elite consoles with theming from the movie 300.

$180 is still a lot of money when all the good movi...

Jul 26, 2007 11:45     

$180 is still a lot of money when all the good movies are on Blu-Ray. I'll just stick with my PS3.
RdwngsFn81 report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

RdwngsFn81: Titles are mostly the same.

Jul 26, 2007 12:33     

RdwngsFn81: Where are you getting your information from? Most of the titles are the same. If you want to be picky with the few titles that are only available in one format then how about the Matrix Trilogy? As of yet its only available in HD-DVD. Also, 180 is still a lot cheaper than 500 for a PS3. I don't even own an xbox360 but hook my HD drive into my HTPC. I can't justify throwing 500 into a gaming console when most of my gaming is done on the PC anyway. This drive is still the best solution for cheap high def.

winkgood report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

HD or just TV

Jul 26, 2007 13:59     

Why pay $180 when I can watch the same movie on my DVD player with my great surround sound and not miss out on anything SOOOO SPECIAL? Keep all that Blu-Ray mess to yourself, PS3's don't even have a lot of games that worth it.
Mr D report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

IPTV anyone?

Jul 26, 2007 14:29     

What about IPTV? Let alone I already can purchase an HD movie off my cable box for $4.99 and have it for 24 hours which is plenty long for me, AND I don't have to buy a new HDCP DVI/HDMI capable TV.....when mine can already do 720p or 1080i right now....
Devin report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Wow a $20 savings

Jul 26, 2007 14:38     

I'm sure everyone's going to run out and buy one. I was going to buy a PS3 but I changed my mind because I can save $20.
J Doe report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Re: $20

Jul 27, 2007 09:41     

J Doe, so you rather spend 500 bucks that 180 on a new gaming system? 20 bucks saved is 20 bucks earned, and in this case 20 bucks off is 320 bucks saved. You win the dumbest comment of the year fanboy. PS3 still sucks, Nintendo Gameboy advance is still doing better than the PS3 in sales.
Podude report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

um...you guys missed the point here

Jul 27, 2007 12:34     

ps3 has the blue ray built in for 500 bucks... xbox costs 300, plus the 180 bucks for the hd-addon is 480. so really, it's only 20 buck difference if you want blue ray player or hd-dvd player. now of course, if you already have an xbox360, then your in luck sorta, cause you already payed the 300 bucks for the console, now your just making it slightly more usefull.
sillyperson report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

HD DVD

Jul 27, 2007 15:00     

MS is dumping the HD DVD drives cause they want to sell a blueray add on, cause HD DVD is on the way out....
ChuckSlayer report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Darn it!

Jul 27, 2007 16:12     

I just got my HD-Player at the end of May, early june...now this crappy news...grrrrr...I'm not happy!
Hiruu report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Podude you are poor

Jul 27, 2007 16:26     

Hey genious of course the gameboy and Wii are doing well because they are made for broke people like you that too concerned about a whopping $20! Make some real money and what you want doesn't matter. The point is PS3=quality xbox 360 is a peice of crap. I have both and the 360 has already destroyed 3 of my games and I've only had it for a month. 360 179 hddvd drive is still more than $500 retard.

a report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

One key factor in the format war

Jul 28, 2007 16:54     

Can't get your porn on blu-ray, but you can with HD-DVD. This will be a key factor in the format war.
microsoft is best report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

The Wii didn't get much respect at first either...

Jul 29, 2007 00:49     

But, since it was the cheapest, it is winning... Think about it for a second. Is Blu-Ray REALLY that much better? I didn't think so either.
Narg report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

One key factor

Jul 30, 2007 13:16     

It is my understanding that Porn will be available on blu-ray, so you can wack off twice as long,and your blu-ray disk is less likely to be scatched when handling so much. happy wacking, microsoft lover.
ChuckSlayer report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

"It is my understanding that Porn will be available...

Aug 01, 2007 13:42     

"It is my understanding that Porn will be available on blu-ray, so you can wack off twice as long,and your blu-ray disk is less likely to be scatched when handling so much. happy wacking, microsoft lover." I don't mess around with the HD DVD player when i see a movie, do you?
Lakus report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0