Possibly what must be a last throw of the dice for the embattled high-definition format has seen games console manufacturer Microsoft cut the price of its Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on to $129.99 from its original $179.99.

This follows price cuts by Toshiba on its range of HD-DVD players in a bid to stem the number of people going off and buying a Blu-Ray player in the shape of a shiny new PS3.

The good thing about the Xbox add-on is that you get five free discs, whether they're any good - well your guess is as good as ours.

Absolute Gadget contacted the Microsoft PR stock quote vending machine about price cuts in the UK and Europe. A spokesbot informed us that there were "no announcements to date of the price drop coming to the UK or Europe".

However the price cut is immediately effective in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Which is great news for colonials.

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