Amazon.com is giving a bit of a boost to both Xbox 360 owners and HD DVD proponents this week by cutting the cost of the add-on HD DVD players for Xbox 360 game consoles down to $130 plus tax. That represents a cut of 28 percent ($50) off the manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the next-gen disc drive, which is $179.

Also, Toys“R”Us was matching the Amazon price move early this week for the game console’s next-gen disc player. Last July, Microsoft first cut the MSRP on its HD DVD player for Xbox 360 owners from a high of $199.

It’s not known how long the Amazon.com price points will last. Despite the new price drops on the Xbox disc players, last month Wal-Mart was briefly selling standalone HD DVD players in a pre-holiday sales blitz for $99.