In another absolutely crushing blow to the HD DVD camp, today the biggest retailer in the nation announced that it had decided to only sell Sony's Blu-ray hi-definition movie discs and Blu-Ray players, and will phase out Toshiba's competing HD-DVD formatted discs and players over the next several months. The announcement came through the official Wal-Mart blog - checkoutblog.com

Following recent announcements from Netflix and Best Buy to move toward exclusive Blu-Ray support, there is little (if any) doubt that the HD DVD format has no chance to overtake Blu-Ray.

"We've listened to our customers, who are showing a clear preference toward Blu-ray products and movies with their purchases," said Gary Severson, Wal-Mart's Senior Vice President of Home Entertainment in a statement.

No official reponse yet from Toshiba or the HD DVD group on this latest announcement from Wal-Mart, but there is no way to spin this as anything but a hugely negative blow to HD DVD's chances of survival.

Source: Official Wal-Mart Blog