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Gartner calls recent price cuts by Toshiba “useless resistance.”

It’s been a rough two months for Toshiba and the HD DVD Promotional Group, and the dark clouds show no signs of clearing. Gartner Inc. is already calling Blu-ray the winner in the high-definition disc arena and says that the recent moves by Toshiba to cut prices is nothing more than “useless resistance.”

“Gartner believes that Toshiba’s price-cutting may prolong HD DVD’s life a little, but the limited line-up of film titles will inflict fatal damage on the format,” said Gartner analyst Hiroyuki Shimizu. “Gartner expects that, by the end of 2008, Blu-ray will be the winning format in the consumer market, and the war will be over.”

The news from Gartner isn’t the only bit of bad news rolling in for the HD DVD camp today, however. Woolworths may be a name that has long since been forgotten in the United States, but the retail chain still lives on in Europe and other regions around the world. The retailer recently announced that its 820 stores will no longer carry HD DVD titles and it instead will put its full support behind Blu-ray.

The company states that the reason for the change of heart was due to Blu-ray’s stellar performance over the holiday season — according to Woolworths, Blu-ray titles held a commanding ten-to-one sales lead over HD DVD titles.

“Sales figures clearly show that the market is moving towards one format of high definition DVD, Woolworths’ Steven McGunigel. “The main reason is the success of Sony’s PlayStation 3 machine. Because it plays Blu-Ray discs, there are over ¾ million homes in the UK that can view the new high definition format. Switching to Blu-Ray only will provide one clear offer to customers in the format they want to watch high definition movies in.”

Woolworths’ stores will become Blu-ray exclusive in March. HD DVD titles will continue to be sold from Woolworth’s online site, but brick-and-mortar shelf space will be reserved for Blu-ray.

Blu-ray’s momentum in the high-definition DVD format war picked up steam when Warner Bros. announced that it would back Blu-ray and cease further HD DVD releases beginning mid-year. Similar announcements were made by New Line Cinema and HBO Home Video.

Ken Graffeo, executive VP for Universal Studios and co-president of the HD DVD Promotional Group, tried to put a pleasant spin on the recent turn of events and notes that Toshiba’s HD DVD players are also perfect for upconverting standard-definition DVDs.

dailytech.com