Just about everyone knew it was coming (except for Toshiba and the handful of rabid HD-DVD fanboys) and now its a hair from being official. First reported in Japan and now being confirmed just about everywhere Toshiba is closing shop on HD-DVD and writing off a massive loss. Read in full over at thedigitalbits.com

“There’s MAJOR breaking news today in the high-def format war: Japanese broadcaster NHK is reporting that Toshiba has decided to exit the HD-DVD business. The company has apparently stopped further HD-DVD development and will close its factories in Aomori Prefecture, in northern Japan. Reuters has picked up this story as well, and you’ll find it here at Yahoo news and elsewhere. It was also being widely reported in the evening news across Japan last night.”

It’s also being reported that some retailers are seeing some of those Paramount/Dreamworks Blu-ray titles that were cancelled at the last minute reappearing in their systems. Namely Transformers (YES!) and Blades of Glory.