Lots of HD-DVD Goodies From Microsoft Starting Aug. 1st

Today Microsoft announced lots of good things for the HD-DVD format that will begin to go into effect starting August 1st. First, the add-on HD-DVD drive for the 360, previously $199.99, is now $179.99. Second, the 360 is now part of the 5 HD-DVD movie deal which in the past was only offered from Toshiba. Now this isn't any 5 HD-DVDs you want though, they are from a list of 15 available movies. To see the list and how to get your 5 FREE HD-DVD movies go here (pdf file). Third, the movie 300 will be available on demand in High Definition starting August 14th. Finally, ALL Xbox Live members will be able to download in ADVANCE for FREE the pilot episode of Heroes Season 1 in High Definition.

Sounds like a good deal to me, but is this a desperate attempt to attract more customers to the HD-DVD Format? Or is Microsoft finally ready to win this High Definition war? I'll guess we'll just have to wait and find out.

[From Xbox.com]