While price cuts in the world of consumer electronics are routine, usually the big announcements come around a trade show or other press event. When a price cut comes out of the blue it is often a sign of a sinking ship. Given that Microsoft waited until a month after CES and two weeks before the Game Developers Conference to cut the price for the HD DVD add-on drive, I'm thinking the company wants to move products for a device that could soon be yesterday's tech.

Gaming blog Major Nelson reports that the price is dropping from $179.99 to $129.99. Buyers can still take advantage of the limited time offer (till the end of February) to get five free HD-DVDs with purchase. And don't forget that the drive comes with a copy of "King Kong." That's a lot of movies for the money, but even promotions like this one probably won't stop Blu-ray from coming out the winner in the format war.

Post by Peter Suciu