HD DVD Implodes but Microsoft Unfazed

Toshiba departs leaving Sony to gorge itself on the next-generation DVD pie.

Reports of the impending demise of next-generation DVD format HD DVD have turned out to be spot on with hardware maker Toshiba, one of the key firms behind the format, announcing on Tuesday that it was getting out of the HD DVD business.

Toshiba president Atsutoshi Nishida said in a statement that the company was "disappointed" for consumers but that Toshiba was still hoping to help "make digital convergence a reality".

"We carefully assessed the long-term impact of continuing the so-called 'next-generation format war' and concluded that a swift decision will best help the market develop," Nishida said.

Toshiba will stop all HD DVD player shipments by the end of March and will ratchet down PC HD DVD drives as well.

Meanwhile Microsoft, which has worked extensively with Toshiba and tapped HD DVD as its format for the Xbox 360 movie drive, said on Monday that the move would have no "material impact" on the console.

"As we've long stated, we believe it is games that sell consoles and Xbox 360 continues to have the largest next-gen games library with the most exclusives and best selling games in the industry," the statement reads.

Microsoft's reaction is perhaps unsurprising considering that the company is pushing its movie download hard. The company got the nod from Paramount, which will start adding movies to the Xbox Live Marketplace Video Store in the UK.

While HD DVD has been struggling for some time now, the deathblow came quickly. The last month has seen several high-profile retailers back rival format Blu-ray, a list that includes US rental firm Netflix and retail giant Wal-Mart.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo