My only advice on this - do NOT walk into a BESTBUY with your receipt! The employees all look at you with this confused "$50 gift card?" look on their faces and they will eventually tell you to call 888-BESTBUY to redeem. just fyi.

astrophel

Sorta refunds on HD-DVDs? Wonderful, but wake me when the 360 gets a hard drive better than the inevitably insufficient 20 Gig (half of which is unusable firmware space), or the ridiculously overpriced and unnecessary 120 gig. I'd gladly participate in a trade in program for hard drives if they came out with say...a 40-80 gig at a remotely reasonable price.

TheBlackWatch

Nobody "got fucked" here. There were two competing formats, and as an early adopter, you took the risk of choosing one before everything had settled and a winner had emerged. So did I. We chose wrong, and that sucks, but nobody mislead us. There was no guarantee on the box that HD DVD would defeat Blu-ray and reign supreme for eternity, and we obviously knew that one of them was going to end up vanishing. Kudos to Best Buy for doing this. They don't owe us a dime.

That said, it's a shame they went with the more expensive technology. HD DVD seemed like a good, safe, relatively cheap way to get HD content. Oh well. Planet Earth will still keep me entertained for years to come.

Chip1010

@negativexer0: You ever heard of a company called Dell? Yeah they will come to your house and fix your computer for you the next day. My sister's hard drive crashed and they sent her a new one express and talked her through rplacing it on the phone when she was away at university. And last time I cheked best buy was being sued for $54,000,000 because your service department lost a womans computer. Sounds wounderful don't it?

BrentW

Way to go Best Buy! That's a win in my book for both sides.

psychobaka

You gotta get your facts right Kotaku... Best Buy is giving you a free $50 dollar gift card and you do not have to return your player. Also, they are adding hd-dvd players to its rade-in program where you can trade-in your hd-dvd player for money. A free $50 dollar gift card is a great way to soothe early adopters. Its not best buy's fault you picked the losing format and yet theyre still giving you a free $50 dollar gift card if you bought it from them before February of 2008.

Madness

This reminds of that time I bought an iPhone and shortly thereafter I got 100 bucks back for being the guinnea pig...

Maybe it's time I stop being the bacon and become more like the egg...

As we all know, At breakfast - the chicken was involved... but the pig was committed.

RKyle

@BrentW: Best Buy service plans cover a (1) battery replacement, one of the best reasons to buy one in my opinion. If they told you different, you need to call the 800 number and set that store straight. I obviously work there, and totally believe in those plans. If you think it takes long for Best Buy to fix a notebook computer, try going through the manufacturer.

@Justcrim: I fail to see how this tactic is "slimy" as that it rewards people for shopping @ Best Buy. Of course the hope is that you will spend more there, why wouldn't it be? How is that different from any other outlet that offers gift cards? How is that different from any store that has hopes of making a profit? 10 million dollars is a gamble, no small amount even for a big corporation. There is no requirement for people to purchase anything beyond the gift card amount, to me they are doing the right thing: taking care of people who were "early adopters" and lost out. What is Wal-Mart doing for those who bought HD-DVD players? Circuit City, before the 90 day window?

I might be a little jaded, but I can can promise you that there is no other company I am aware of that takes a customer experience more serious than Best Buy. If you doubt me, take that little survey on the bottom of a receipt and check that box that asks if you would like to be contacted by the store. Sorry about the long post, but if all stores were run the way they were supposed to be run, everyone would be happy!

negativexer0

sweet deal for everyone who got fucked.

joelface

Toshiba should bite its lip and partner as a BluRay manufacturer. The infrastructure is there. A trade in discount would guarantee some form of revenue. What a pity.

Patient

they arent the only ones refunding gift cards, i've seen other stores also taking returns. Do you think they strip the players down and use the internal parts?

influenze

I'm keeping mine. There are at least 200 HD DVD movies out there and they are going to be DIRT CHEAP.
I just got the complete Matrix Trilogy for 41 bucks on Amazon and all HD DVDs in Best Buy are 30 percent off.

Blu-ray flicks are still 25 bucks on average. I have both formats already, I might as well get my money's worth. Dead as it may be, it's still an HD format. I'll support it as long as I can find movies for it.

But props to BB for at least doing something about the situation. I remember when this bullshit first started the CEO was really pissed about having to support 2 formats because he knew this day would come sooner or later.

heretrix

God people need to read, the 50 bucks is FREE!!! You don't need to turn in your HD DVD player... Please read more than what Kotaku did...

Sheeple...

EvilSnowMan

It looks like good customer service, but I bet that as those players were probably sold hugely underpriced, they will make a nice profit on disassembling those players and selling the parts (e.g. those scarce blue lasers). No company would issue such a costly return plan if there weren't any financial benefit in it for them.

Anyway, if you plan to trade it in, be very glad Best Buy does this! Because customers knew the risks of being early adopters when they bought their HD-DVD player, and there is no reason why Best Buy would need to give you money back.

Grauw

Rip off. Id keep it and cash in on all the awesome deals going on right now.

NutManIV

What the heck is Best Buy going to do with all those drives?

Anyway, I'd trade mine in and get a new game for the money/credit. Vegas 2 or something sounds reasonable.

Candlejack

Kotaku is reading comprend good... They see 50 dollar with DVD HD and buy back they think. For win the

EvilSnowMan

@Modus_Operandi:

Yes, why go out and waste time and money by buying another drive when you already have one at your disposal that's compatible with both your PC and your 360? Brilliant...

Pezdispenser

@slomo788: Im not actually wrong. If Blu Ray lost, the format wouldnt just up and disappear. Like HD DVD wont disappear because there are recorders in Japan, and they will still be supplied. But, the cost of the discs would not go down as quickly as it would if it was still a consistent format being upgraded all the time for more layers and faster speeds. This would all start to lose Sony more money because people would drop out of the Blu Ray camp, and leave them with the bill. So yes they would still be losing, but no it would not be lost and forgotten. But I never said it would. So, I guess I am still right.

@Aresef: Hate to point this out now, but you missed out on 2 free movies. When Best Buy did the Heroes deal, the player ALSO qualified for the 2 free HD DVD movies with ANY HD DVD Player (HD DVD Add On included) that was going on at the same time (it was listed on a separate page). I know this because that is when I purchased my player.

@velvet396: The story doesnt need to be updated, people just need to learn how to read, and ignore the editorial commentary.

"If you answered yes to both of these questions, you can return that old door stop to Best Buy and get a $50 gift card in return." -Editorial Commentary

"The gift cards will automatically be mailed out to qualifying folks at the beginning of may. If you are not a Reward Zone member you can bring in your BB receipt or credit card info. They will also be offering an online trade-in center where customers can unload their unwanted players beginning March 21." -Where it lists that GC are being sent out automaticly

Justcrim

Bravo, Best Buy. No precedent for this, but it's an awesome customer service move.

They may try to rob you blind with some prices here and there, but on the whole I really like shopping at the place.

Norellicus

I <3 Best Buy. Sure you pay a few dollars more for somethings but stuff like this makes up for it (mostly). I bought mine there when they did the Heroes HDDVD set bundle with the player.

Free gift card FTW!!

Mr.SithNinja

you really need to update the post - you don't have to trade in your player. they're sending these gift cards out automatically. if you don't receive one by May 1, call customer service.

velvet396

@Aresef: Apparently you get to keep the player. If you're lucky they'll just send it to you in the mail. If they don't, just show the receipt and you're done.

slomo788

You don't have to return the drive. You get the $50 anyways.

darthmole12

I'm torn. I got a pretty kickass deal on mine at BB. I got the Heroes boxset anf the five freebies plus King Kong. I also have Transformers on HDDVD. It's also the only upscaling DVD player I've got, so I'm thinking of keeping it for now.

Aresef

Interesting that a corporate entity can react to real world events, like the death of HD-DVD.

tei

@ForwardInReverse: Hey, Best Boy is my (slang) job title. What are you trying to say?

mind in rewind

@Pezdispenser:Yes why buy a nice low cost, sleek and small external drive when you can mount another huge appartus to your desktop? Brillant!

Modus_Operandi

@justcrim: No you're wrong. If BD would have failed it wouldn't have affected the PS3 in terms of games. Just look at UMD in the PSP. This is actually one of the reasons PS3 owners felt more secure in the format war: no matter who wins, the drive woudln't become dead paperweight or a "faster DVD drive."

slomo788

@justcrim: I'm pretty sure we all know that companies operate for a profit and that there is no such thing as a free lunch. If you really want to screw best buy bring their lost leader (the gift card) to best buy and buy some that is worth less than or equal to $50. It is my opinion that they suck, I bought an extended warranty for my laptop there, they take forever to fix it when I send it in for repair, they won't fix my screen, the battery was dead in just over a year, which they won't replace. They also told me that after three repairs the computer would be considered a lemon and I would be given a new one. I'm on my 4th repair now and they saw it has to be a "major repair" which is up to interpretation however they want.

BrentW

@totoro: Currently, Xbox 360 has 1 HD option. Down from 2. You call it hosed, but Microsoft would beg to differ. You can still see HD movies via Marketplace, and expect by the end of the year an announcement of the Xbox 360 Blu Ray add on. I am willing to guess it will be $200-$250 launch price (possibly as low as $150 depending on market price of stand alone players and the PS3).

So I would have to ask how you see how HD DVD losing negatively affected the Xbox 360? The only console set to lose if the format war wasnt in their favor was Sony. Since all their games would have been dedicated to the format and the system drive was Blu Ray only.

Justcrim

I hope Best Buy Canada does this....

AudibleDefect

@Modus_Operandi:And how much am I getting back for this here, Betamax player?

Probably the same thing my friend will get for his CED players.

battra92

ATTENTION PEOPLE WITH 360 HD-DVD PLAYERS!

Don't toss them just yet, if you have a PC, just hook it up to that. My friend did it and he says that it's actually faster and better than his internal DVD drive. An extra disc drive never hurt anyone, so go ahead and do this.

Pezdispenser

@ForwardInReverse: Its like the title of some late 80's porn film.

Modus_Operandi

@TKWarrior: It wasnt a fake in store website. It was just a website that reflected the local prices of that region. And when you check online, you see national prices, which could be lower then in store prices in your area. The problem that came up was they could not verify the lower price you saw online, and some jerk stores would call you a liar if you tried to tell them you saw it lower on their own website. And since you couldnt prove it in store, they took advantage of you. They fixed the problem by putting both sites available to employees so there would be no more deception. At no point was it a fake or even false site. But I dont really get the point of having it since everyone who goes to bestbuy.com goes to the WWW and sees the national price. But, since in store prices could be more. If they ever wanted to sell the product in store through a BB.com terminal, they would still get a cut of the profit, and would be selling it at the price you already knew versus seeing a lower one online.

Justcrim

@totoro: How exactly is the 360 "gimped" by HD DVD losing the format war? The drive was always meant as an alternative to DVD, it didn't ship until a year after the 360, so was the 360 "gimped" for an entire year?

I was depressed that HD died since the bulk of my high def movies were in the format, but I made my piece and moved on to blu-ray since I already had a PS3. So getting $50 from Best Buy is like birthday present from them. Since I bought my 360 drive a year and half ago it's gotten quite a bit of use. Plus it's the only way the 360 will upscale regular DVDs so I use the drive whenever I watch movies.

superbagman

@Modus_Operandi: Best Boys

ForwardInReverse

@Maximus9: The profit made with gift cards. By rule of thumb, most people who come in using gift cards spend over double what the gift card value was. So, in this case they are hoping you come in and buy a PS3 or Blu Ray Player plus some movies. Which would bring in about close to the $50 loss (if not more) and on top of that, you are more inclined to continue buying your Blu Ray titles from them because of how they treated you with the HD DVD rebate.

It is a slimy tactic that may cost them $10 million in gift cards, but that can easily be made up with these gift cards being sold, and comes with the free advertising known as word of mouth advertising and publicity.

I have told a few people about this (word of mouth) and I received this news from Kotaku which found it at Cnet (publicity).

The slimy part isnt them giving out the money. The slimy part is that most people dont know this is all a trick. To get people to see big business as a good friend, and not as a money hungry jerk that you hear tons of stories about everyday online. (Think back a few weeks to the story of Best Buy's not honoring or taking down false advertisements in store they knew to be false...)

Justcrim

@Maximus9: PR.

Good pr is worth its wait in gold.

CrimsonAngel

I don't understand why ppl say the HD DVD add-on is useless.

1. Obtain HD DVD add-on
2. Buy HD DVDs at a DEEP discount or rent them through Blockbuster Online
3. Rip them all to an external HD (I have a TB sitting on my dresser)
4. Enjoy 1080p movies through a media center (like the PS3!) or simply burn them to Blu Ray in a year when Blu Ray burners are cheap. Voila, instant Blu Rays.

Bulletkkake

I think it's amazing how the press hasn't really commented on all the hosed 360 owners that bought an HD DVD. Have I missed the coverage in main stream media? I'snt this akin to selling 5 million 'frupo' gas powered cars, only to stop selling 'frupo'? It's brilliant how this has now gimped the 360 with the absence of any alternate drive solution. I remember how someone on the site once said - MS hopes both formats fail so they can focus on digital downloads. Perhaps they were right.

totoro

@Maximus9: It's marketing. I assume this can't be much more expensive to have an ad on a popular show or something, but I know this can be much more effective. Just for that, and even though I didn't buy a HD DVD player there, they have my money for GTAIV next month.

slomo788

As much as BestBuy has been bad to their customers in the past (fake in-store website anyone?) this is actually really cool.

As early adopters we knew the risks when buying one format or the other, and BestBuy didn't owe anyone anything beyond the regular return policy. Just don't use the gift card on something stupid like monster cables.

TKWarrior

Why is it "now useless" Flynn?
Or are you being ironic dear?

I wasnt aware Americans had grasped the concept of irony but there you go.....

KIDDING!! Before I start getting hate mail or something.

Seriously tho I have both formats and have recently been buying a shit ton of HD DVD'S from the states for next to nothing, thanks to the state of the Dollar.So im loving HD DVD at the min. I LOVE AMERICA.

BTW any Kotaku readers going to Burning Man this year?

Basscadet

It's nice. But just keep in mind it's not all altruistic.

Spoony Bard

How generous of Best Buy! I wonder what's in it for them?

Maximus9

Best Buy is also now liquidating all HDDVD's for 30% off.

Kyle81

You dont have to give up your player, the Xbox HD add on is included, and MOST people who purchased the unit wont have to do anything. Just look for it in the mail. If you dont get it in the mail, or are worried they might miss you, just give them a call and have your receipt handy.

"Most Best Buy customers won't have to do anything to receive their gift card. As a demonstration of its commitment to its customers, Best Buy will proactively mail cards to all customers that the company can identify as having purchased an HD DVD player. Members of the Best Buy Reward Zone program, customers who purchased Performance Service Plans (PSPs) or who made their purchase on BestBuy.com should look for their gift cards in the mail by May 1. Other customers who may not be easily identified can call (888) BEST BUY to receive their gift cards with proof of purchase through a credit card or their Best Buy receipt. "

that is straight from the Best Buy press release on the subject.

Justcrim

sold mine for a profit, now I get $50 free for a PS3/Wii/PSP/DS game of my choice...WOOT

Seiven

digg it up! [digg.com]
Get the word out.

bassgoonist

@Modus_Operandi:
You would be shocked
The format war is over,
but still yet they fight.

Dorphat the Insomniac

@Dorphat the Insomniac: Yeah... I dont know anybody who is a fan of best buy...

ctuck

Yay, free $50! Wait, does this count for the 360 add-on?

mind in rewind

@Dorphat the Insomniac: Best Buy has fanboys? Really?

Modus_Operandi

And how much am I getting back for this here, Betamax player?

Modus_Operandi

Oh thank you best buy
for being so generous,
here come the fan boys.

Dorphat the Insomniac

Actually, the press release from Best Buy says that you don't need to return the player.

Snuffbox

I'm still keeping mine.I have both formats of hd,but I don't see the need in trading it in.I only paid 99bucks for it and it still makes a good dvd player.Plus I have a few movies.It just takes forever for it to load up.Toshiba A-2 I think it is.

enewtabie