Lately I’ve made a number of posts about various retailers dropping their pricing on the Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD deck under $200, which was started by Wal*Mart pricing them at $198. Well, Wal*Mart seems to be getting even more aggressive, planning to price the HD-A2 at just $98.87 as a ‘Secret In-Store Special’ this Friday, starting at 8AM. It is just while quantities last, and I wouldn’t expect them to last long. HD DVDs are also being priced at $14.96. You know these specials are just designed to get people into the store to buy more.
Toshiba is likely desperate to dump their stocks of HD-A2s, since these units are second generation players which are now obsolete as the third generation HD-A3 is out. Since they’d have to take a write down on surplus stock anyway, why not dump them at retail dirt cheap and buy some market share for HD DVD? A fairly smart move on their part. But they’re taking a big loss on the hardware with these prices, so don’t expect players to stay this low once the back-stock has been sold through.
Picked up from DailyTech, via a tip from my co-worker Steve.
EDIT: It seems Best Buy is price-matching Wal*Mart. At least in stores that still have any HD-A2s left in stock – and when they’re sold out, that’s it.
