As you might have heard from our previous articles on the subject, HD DVD has received some very bad news over the past few weeks, which turned it from a possible candidate to the title of "format-war victor" to a terminal patient waiting for the plugs to be disconnected. However, it would seem that Toshiba's not about to let its baby die that easily and has already started working on some form of contingency plan to cut its losses.

Thus, in a statement released today, the company has announced that it is stepping up its successful marketing campaign for HD DVD with several major initiatives, including here joint advertising campaigns with studios and extended pricing strategies (cutting the prices of standalone players).

First of all, let's take a look at the new pricing policy. Thus, starting from January 13, 2008, the MSRP of the entry-model HD-A3 will be $149.99, the HD-A30, with 1080p output, $199.99, and the high-end HD-A35, $299.99.

"While price is one of the consideration elements for the early adopter, it is a deal-breaker for the mainstream consumer," said Yoshi Uchiyama, Group Vice President Digital A/V Group. "Consumer sales this holiday season have proven that the consumer awareness of the HD DVD format has been elevated and pricing is the most critical determinant in consumers' purchase decision of the next generation HD DVD technology. The value HD DVD provides to the consumer simply cannot be ignored."

Furthermore, Toshiba intends to carry out an extended advertising campaign that will further enhance consumer awareness of the benefits of HD DVD and drive sales to retail among potential consumers, with the advertising strategies to include television, print and online media channels. Toshiba also claims that it will work with its dealers and studio partners on joint marketing and promotional initiatives to promote HD DVD, although it's not quite clear whether the respective studios will actually still support the format.

I don't know about you, but it seems that Toshiba's plan is a bit thin. It all relies on slashed prices and advertising campaigns, with no information regarding the actual support from the major film studios, so it remains to be seen whether this campaign will actually have some results or is just a format's last breath.

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