@EvilGamerX:
Well with Toshiba's new announcement and Universal's plan to start releasing on Blu-ray, I can only ask this….
How many more nails does HD-DVD's coffin need?
None. It's gone, dead, and buried. My guess is by Christmas all their stock will be liquidated and that will be the end of that.
It's kind of fascinating when you realize that if Microsoft had chosen to use HD-DVDs with the 360 instead of regular DVDs, HD-DVD would probably have won the format war. Of course, that would have made the console about $100 more expensive, so that would have sucked. But that's all water under the bridge now.
As far as Microsoft goes, expect them to quietly discontinue their external player. They won't make a Blu-ray player, though. My guess is that they'll continue doing what they're doing until the end of the 360s lifespan. HD optical formats are so new, I doubt it will make much of an impact. Much has been made about how the PS3 will move tons of units because of it's BD player, but what matters is the GAMES. From what I've seen, all the greatest games are either for the 360 or are multi-platform. And even then, they somehow still look better on the 360.