Many months ago I purchased my first HDTV, and I wanted to take full advantage of its capabilities so I ended up purchasing both an Xbox 360 + HD DVD add-on and a Playstation 3. The format war didn't seem like it was coming to an end anytime soon, and I was impatient. It didn't some as much of a surprise when Toshiba officially announced the death of HD DVD, but what did come as a surprise is the email I received from Best Buy shorty thereafter.

The email basically said how they were sorry for my poor choice in techno-gadgetry, but that they were dedicated to my satisfaction (that's what she said) and would be sending me a gift card, no strings attached. This is really where I was surprised. I wouldn't have thought it particularly unusual had they only offered a trade-in, but to just offer a gift card for nothing in return is a really nice gesture. Today I received my $50 gift card from Best Buy along with a short letter - so I guess they weren't just kidding. Here are some choice excerpts from the FAQs on the back side of the letter:

Is my HD DVD player still useful?
Absolutely. It will continue to play HD DVD movies and continues to be an excellent player for your regular DVDs, improving the picture to near-HD quality.

I bought an HD DVD player as a gift. Can I still use the gift card? As the purchaser of the HD DVD player, you've received the gift card. You can choose to use the gift card yourself or pass it on to the gift recipient. But you'll be a total douche if you keep it for yourself.

Okay, so they didn't really say that last little bit. Image above the result of "HD DVD for teh win" on Google Image Search.