FEB. 7 | Microsoft cut the price of its HD DVD drive for the Xbox 360 by $50 and will continue its offer for five free HD DVD movies through the end of the month, the company said on its Web site.
The add-on players will now be priced at $129, and those who purchased the boxes between Oct. 1 and Feb. 28 will get a choice of five free HD DVDs as an extension of Toshiba’s “Perfect Offer” promotion.
Microsoft is trying to boost HD DVD player sales as the Toshiba-led next-generation player format has lost market share to Sony’s competing Blu-ray Disc players since Warner Bros. said last month it would release its films exclusively in Blu-ray starting in June. A week after the Warner announcement, Toshiba cut the suggested retail price of its entry-level HD DVD players in half to $149.
Earlier this week, Amazon.com cut the Xbox HD DVD player price to $79. Amazon's price was $155 as of this morning.
Microsoft last lowered the Xbox 360 HD DVD price in July to $179 from $199. The previous day, Target said it would carry Blu-ray Disc set-top players exclusively in stores. The chain does carry the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on.
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