GameStop no longer taking HD DVD trades, possibly not taking 360 HD DVD drive either

Doesn't look like there's going to be any glory in death for HD DVD -- we've just received confirmation that GameStop is no longer accepting HD DVD movies as trade-ins, and several GameStops have apparently already stopped taking the Xbox 360 HD DVD drive as well. We're also hearing that the 360 HD DVD drive will no longer be accepted at any GameStop as of tomorrow, and that there's a major price cut in the works -- which makes sense, but we'll see what happens. For now, though, it looks like HD DVD fans jumping ship may have to resort to eBay -- or start peddling discs out the back of their cars.

[Thanks, Mark]

[Kiwi616 @ Feb 19th 2008 9:08PM]

This should be expected, happened with all dead consoles too.

[phrozunsun @ Feb 19th 2008 10:44PM]

what no one seems to realize is both formats are dead.

HD-DVD/Blu-ray are the Zip-disk of Optical Media:

5 1/4 -> 3.5 -> Zip = CD -> DVD -> HD/Blu

It's overpriced and there's already cheaper and more efficient alternatives. I'm sure it will find it's niche that will keep it alive for a little while (Like Zips in the graphics industry), but this round was over before it started. Too many cheaper and easy to use digital distribution methods exist already - On demand TV, Set-top boxes, Media Centre PCs with bittorrent, itunes....

[thethirdmoose @ Feb 19th 2008 11:12PM]

So suppose I make a movie with my home camcorder (HD), and I want to give it to all my friends. Am I supposed to purchase lots and lots of flash drives? Am I supposed to use my basic DSL connection for a streaming server?
Optical disks will be relevant for a while.

[ben @ Feb 20th 2008 12:04AM]

You forget that Joe Sixpack doesn't have the time to set up a TVersity Media server, organize files on his computer, set up a ftp server, get invited to a private bittorrent tracker, or search trough the internet for places to buy things - he just wants to watch Live Free or Die Hard on his big screen tv, and the best way for him to do that is go to Best Buy, or wherever else he bought the TV, and get a Blu-ray disk.

Your normal ordinary regular people are still going to do what they always have, which is take the path of least resistance.

[NinjaTickets.com @ Feb 23rd 2008 2:13AM]

Blu Ray discs are like $.65 they are going to be extremely useful in everyday computing in the up coming years, and Blu Ray yields a picture and sound quality that ip/qam can not match (~50mbps). It doesn't mean much when you're watching on a 32" tv with stereo speakers, but with 65" 1080p DLP sets dipping below $1700 everyday users will soon be able to tell see the difference.

[phrozunsun @ Feb 20th 2008 12:15AM]

I'm not saying optical discs wn't be relevant, but the average joe won't care that bluray disks are a little better than dvds.

the fact is,
1. DVDs are "good enough" (especially for the average joe), like 3.5" floppies were.
2. People just finished re-buying everything on DVD after a complete jump in quality from VHS. The difference isn't THAT dramatic between DVD and BR.
3. No one's going to drop 600+ for a new BRD player.
4. There's not pirated BRD's at pacific mall yet.
5. There's not alot of porn for BRD. Porn saved the DVD...

most people i know that aren't techies still don't even know what blu-ray is, and those who do, don't really know anything about it other than the hype about it. Outside of techies and videophiles, I doubt too many people really care.

[lou @ Feb 20th 2008 12:58AM]

@phrozunsun

you are either living on cloud 9 or blind if you think there is no difference between HD and DVD!!

[Brian Jarrett @ Feb 20th 2008 12:59AM]

@ phrozunsun

Dude you really need to stop praying to the direct download god. You support DD with sources like itunes and comcast on-demand but you a missing a huge flaw currently with DD called compression. I know providers claim to have true HD quality but it's not an original source or loseless. BR and HD DVD offer loseless formats.

The people who care about this stuff are not the just the tech savvy, but the average joe who is upgrading to their new Kmart or Walmart HDTV. Plus, Walmart's muscle is going to help phase out all other formats much like how Comcast is using their cable muscle to FORCE people to change from analog to digital.

HD vs SD is very noticeable, so it's not a "little" improvement like you say.

[ben @ Feb 20th 2008 1:05AM]

First, Porn didn't kill betamax, that's a myth; and the business the adult entertainment industry does with videos is relatively small compared to the film and television industries.

Second, Blu-ray is still a developing technology, but it's nothing like a zip disk. It's a complete case of apples to oranges. We're talking about a consumer video format, BRD's viability as a data storage format is secondary to it. Furthermore, Iomega's ZIP format was successful until flash and rewritable CDs came out. So really, BRD is part of the portable data storage progression from the floppy, to the quasi-floppy(of which ZIP was the most popular), to flash and rewritable disk media.

Third, since Blu-ray has won among early adopters, it has been christened as the HD media standard moving into the next generation, and you will start seeing it get much further assimilated into the home theater market.

[paragraph @ Feb 19th 2008 9:11PM]

Not a big surprise.

Hopefully the price drops really low... i mean deadly low... we have a few in stock, and i know they arn't going to sell...

[Danny P @ Feb 19th 2008 9:13PM]

Nice photoshop w/ the BIG album cover!

[3rdsun @ Feb 19th 2008 9:36PM]

yeah props who'd a thunk it

[Flashpoint @ Feb 19th 2008 10:59PM]

my first thought was

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

[EdgeOne @ Feb 20th 2008 12:59AM]

Great pic! I actually feel better about owning a HD DVD add on just from the laughs I've been getting on all these articles.

Its like the Death of HD DVD is a bigger deal than than the actual death of HD DVD... if you know what I mean (and if you do, you're probably avoiding writing a paper)

[Eric M. @ Feb 19th 2008 9:14PM]

Oh man, forget the article I LOVE the pic. I think we definitely need to find out who the photoshop guy engadget has on payroll is because he def. brightens up my day..lol

[a ham sandwich @ Feb 19th 2008 9:31PM]

yeah really! whoever he is he doesnt get paid enough. so clever!


same thing goes with the guy who makes the funny google logos for holidays.

[AC @ Feb 19th 2008 9:18PM]

I see TT hasn't made an appearance here yet!!

[dkrift @ Feb 19th 2008 9:21PM]

Him and Nifty stopped getting paid by the HDDVD camp.

[Adrian @ Feb 19th 2008 9:31PM]

Yeah probably...LOL!!

[striggity @ Feb 19th 2008 9:19PM]

That pic is friggin' awesome!! :-)

[Brian @ Feb 19th 2008 9:21PM]

haha, nice picture guys.

[Matt @ Feb 19th 2008 9:22PM]

FINALY BETAMAX HAS HAD IT'S REVENGE!!!

[Frank @ Feb 19th 2008 9:36PM]

Betamax... as well as memory stick, digital walkman, and just about every other proprietary crap Sony has tried to shove down consumers' throats.

[ben @ Feb 19th 2008 9:49PM]

At least PS3 does everything in bluetooth and USB instead of proprietary formats like that other company.

[Frank @ Feb 19th 2008 11:08PM]

Ah yes... because everyone else's home theater AV equipment recognizes bluetooth rather than IR for remote control ops. Way to go Sony... I wonder how long its going to take to get a universal bluetooth remote.

[Taylor @ Feb 19th 2008 11:54PM]

@Ben

At least my hardware has proprietary wireless communication that's WAY more efficient than Bluetooth, giving my controllers the best battery life of any current gen console, even WITH vibration!
;)
-Taylor

[ben @ Feb 20th 2008 12:08AM]

For some reason my friend's 360 controllers disconnect all the time when he's playing halo online. Might have something to do with living in a dorm with a lot of wi-fi interference.

[eeeMan @ Feb 19th 2008 9:22PM]

this hype is complete bull. who gives a rats arse

[Rob @ Feb 19th 2008 9:22PM]

Engadget has gone Gansta. West Side ... GameStop's decision kind of sucks though. I wanted to play around with the Xbox add-on and a few movies just to mess around with it once prices were low enough to justify the purchase of a defunct video format. But, I think it may have more to do with the rumor that GameStop is going to stop carrying video material in their stores and concentrate only in games sales, than just HD-DVD's demise. Also, they probably realize that too many people would come in and trade-in their movies for store credit. Now, the question is, and Engadget didn't mention it, is GameStop accepting trade-ins with SD-DVD and/or Blu-ray. If the answer is no, then they're getting out of the dvd sales business.

[Eric M. @ Feb 19th 2008 9:28PM]

FYI, Biggie is East Coast my friend. =)

[Rob @ Feb 19th 2008 9:34PM]

Eric, see now you're going to start the East Coast - West Coast nonsense. Then the shootouts start. You're right though, I forgot Biggie was from NYC. But, saying "East Side" sounds kind of silly though. So, I had to go for "West Siiiide." Wurd !!!

[Mike @ Jun 25th 2009 2:01PM]

R.I.P. 2pac!

[Daza @ Feb 19th 2008 10:09PM]

Remember, Sides != Coast.

[Paul @ Feb 19th 2008 10:29PM]

That does raise the question, why is it always the West Side?

It seems everwhere I go, the East Side gets the reputation as the rich pretentious ass holes, and the west side gets the reputation of the down home thugs.

[EdgeOne @ Feb 20th 2008 1:08AM]

There's a West Side of the East Coast and a East Side of the West Coast. Sides and Coasts ain't da same, dogs

[Adrian @ Feb 19th 2008 9:23PM]

on another not it'd be cool if the license plate said "BLU"

[Adrian @ Feb 19th 2008 9:24PM]

Yeah probably!!! LOL

[lame..... @ Feb 19th 2008 9:28PM]

Wow... The Engadget staff forgot to take their meds today. Can we say OCD???? When will your HD-DVD coverage become obsolete? That's what users want to know!!! Persoanlly, I cannot wait for the firesales!!! After which, I will build up my blu-ray collection with their over-priced, inferior product.

[Matt @ Feb 19th 2008 11:10PM]

When you are trying to make snide remarks please make sure that you don't use the spelling of a 5 year old.

[ben @ Feb 20th 2008 11:07AM]

As a general rule, one punctuation mark at the end of every sentence is enough.

[atncgnito @ Feb 19th 2008 9:28PM]

Nice pic !!

[Ali D @ Feb 19th 2008 9:36PM]

Dear engadget,

Stop posting about bluray and HDDVD. People kept saying this would happen soo friggin much that it became true. repeating HD-DVD faliures will not make blu ray any better.


Yours truly,
Angry reader.

[Deluxe @ Feb 20th 2008 2:21AM]

Poor boy, add some sugar to those sour grapes :)

[I.P. Freely @ Feb 20th 2008 9:21AM]

Awww... at least your iPhone is still significant... oh wait...

[Ali D @ Feb 19th 2008 9:36PM]

Wow

People are soo materialistic. I hope they know everything they own will always become obsolete. The only thing that doesnt is your imagination. Go out and use your mind for a bit.

(comming from a casual x360 & psp gamer)

[jbstingray @ Feb 19th 2008 9:48PM]

Bitter much? Two posts in a row about how angry you are... that's intense.

Obviously you have a 360 HD DVD and/or standalone player and it is soon to be six feet under. My condolences, but no need to generalize the human race as materialistic as well as knock Engadget. Remember, you can always skip over any post!

-jb

[Xboxman @ Feb 19th 2008 10:12PM]

No i dont have a 360 hd-dvd. Its just that people get soo excited to spend more money on more useless things. Seriously my analog tv is just fine. I dont mind people buying useless expensive crap (their money not mine) but what bugs me is the fact that people keep bringing these things up like its some kind of wonderful life changing experience.

[jasheeky @ Feb 19th 2008 11:39PM]

Ali bheta, go cry now to mummy. hd-dvd is dead mashAllah

[Eric M. @ Feb 19th 2008 10:33PM]

Well if I die before something becomes obsolete, than I beat the system!

And in Heaven HD-DVD and Betamax are bestest of friends =)

[John P @ Feb 19th 2008 9:41PM]

I might actually invest in the 360 add-on if the price is low enough. $30 or $40 would just about be a selling point for me. Still works, right?