Get your $50 HD DVD player for the Xbox now, it will be gone soon! Microsoft has confirmed that it is dropping the price of the external HD DVD player for the Xbox 360 from $129.99 to $49.99, effective immediately. Best Buy has listed the peripheral for $49.99 on bestbuy.com even before the Microsoft announcement to several press outlets. K-Mart also price cut the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player to $49.99 on Sun. to online customers, while Amazon has sold out of the device on Mon. morning, and is available only at a discounted price through a third-party seller.

The player has previously seen its MSRP drop from $199.99 to $179.99 to $129.99 over the past year. Microsoft still intends to provide product support and warranty service for the Xbox 360 HD DVD player, but the drive is no longer in production and will soon liquidate from all stocks.

Meanwhile, HD DVD sellers have slashed their prices for movies in the dying format. A $59.90 HD DVD with the latest movies now retails for about the same price as a regular DVD. For example, Best Buy Co. Inc. last week started selling HD DVD titles starting at $14.99 to in-store and online customers, while Amazon also slashed severely its prices for the high-definition format.

Microsoft decided to put an end to the HD DVD player production for the Xbox 360 video games console after Toshiba Corp. surrendered last week to Sony’s Blu-ray format. Microsoft has been one of Toshiba’s biggest supporters, and as a proof to that, the company unveiled in 2006 the HD DVD external unit to go with the Xbox 360. However, Microsoft’s latest move became inevitable as Toshiba lost the war against Sony’s Blu-ray.

The impact on the Xbox 360 sales should be minimal, considering the fact that Microsoft only sold the HD DVD player as an external add on, separated from the console itself.