I guess it had to happen; Microsoft officially announced the end of the Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive.  Too bad we found it to be the best and most practical HD content drive during the entire format war; you could even use it on your PC for HD playback if you wanted.  Well, if you still want one, apparently places like Amazon and Best Buy are just giving them away.  Just be sure you realize the format is, well, DEAD.

Xbox 360 HD-DVD Drive canned - but you can buy it cheap! - General Tech 2

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp will stop making video players based on the HD DVD standard for its Xbox 360 game system, a move that comes days after Toshiba Corp pulled the plug on the high definition movie technology.

The move, announced on Saturday, follows recent decisions by Hollywood studios such as Time Warner Inc’s Warner Bros and retailer Wal-Mart to exclusively back Sony Corp’s Blu-ray, a high-definition video technology rival to HD DVD.

Microsoft had been one of the biggest backers of HD DVD along with Intel Corp, but the tide turned against HD DVD after Warner Bros, which had supported both, defected to Blu-ray last month.